Masterminding With Physicians: Forming A Strategic & Successful Alliance

Why do some entrepreneurs fail and other’s succeed?

I do not think I would have been able to successfully grow my business if I did not secure a few mentors early in my business career, and surrounding myself with an outstanding support team.   Of course, I wouldn’t have done this without the blessing and support of my loving wife and family.

But I also had another  support “family”  a network, a safety net – fellow entrepreneurs many of whom who were running and growing their own successful  businesses, that I could pick up a phone call or meet on a regular basis, giving me a blueprint that I could hone and follow.

For the last several years, I’ve belonged to and run mastermind groups, both in my office, or at quarterly and yearly meetings, as well as virtually on bi-weekly and monthly conference calls.  And I am starting yet another one for this summer for physicians and health care professionals.

And our businesses has grown exponentially because of it!

Why mastermind groups?

Mastermind groups allow you to challenge yourself, brainstorm ideas, and serve a common purpose with others. It also puts yourself accountable to other members, leveraging the experience and knowledge of the group.

 The concept of the Mastermind Group was formally introduced by Napoleon Hill in the early 1900's.  "Think And Grow Rich" was a book I read back in medical school.  Hill writes about the Mastermind principle as:

"The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony."

At our meeting there is a shared camaraderie and a spirit of helping each other, because, running an online business can get to be lonely. As I have pointed out in the past, doctors often have a “lone wolf” mentality, which may not translate well into the business world. It is vitally important also to have people in the group with vast knowledge and experience to help guide you, or that can bring different skill sets to the group.

Each format of a mastermind group runs differently but a fundamental component is where each person states "here is where I am in my business, here are my successes, and here are my needs or stumbling blocks"  Ideas are then shared rapidly in the group and solutions are then sought.  A key component is also having goals and milestones for the next time we meet.

If you feel your business is stuck in neutral, consider joining a high-level mastermind group.  Mastermind groups  can truly be a key pillar to your success.

A Doctor By Choice, A Businessman By Necessity

Dr. Sandeep Jauhar wrote an essay in the New York Times recently that really captures the emotion of what's currently happening in medicine. 

Doctors feel disillusioned and overwhelmed by forces that are shifting the focus of medicine away from patient care to commercialism. Everything is now about reimbursement and cost containment. The idea of patient care is being lost in a sea of paperwork, frantic attempts at efficiency, and red tape.

Most doctors aren't business people-- they're physicians first and only-- and this cultural shift is causing many of them to rethink their career choices. The change has already driven some completely out of medicine, and I am concerned many more will soon follow. 

Dr. Jauhar writes,

"Among my colleagues I sense an emotional emptiness created by the relentless consideration of money. Most doctors went into medicine for intellectual stimulation or the desire to develop relationships with patients, not to maximize income. There is a palpable sense of grieving. We strove for so long, made so many sacrifices, and for what? In the end, for many, the job has become only that — a job."

What is being lost today is the idea that medicine is a career that is honorable and unique. There is a sacredness to the patient-doctor relationship that is being driven out by business concerns. When this sacredness  is gone-- and it is almost gone already-- there will be those who will benefit, but physicians and patients will be the ones left hurting, and the ones expected to pick up the pieces that are left.