Napoleon Hill, author of “Think and Grow Rich” developed a brilliant business building idea decades ago. The concept is commonly known as “Mastermind Groups”. These groups have many different forms and iterations, but they all share three common traits: The members are all Friendly, growth-oriented, and willing to share information. In his book, “The Laws of Success”, he also points out that a Mastermind group helps to organize useful knowledge which creates an “encyclopedia” that each member can use as a resource for information.

Hill’s exact words were, “no two minds ever come together without a third invisible force, which may be likened to a third mind. When a group of individual minds are coordinated and function in harmony, the increased energy created through that alliance becomes available to every individual in the group.”
The Mann Group has developed and worked with 7 different Mastermind groups over the past 10 years. We have watched the powerful effect this methodology has on the businesses that commit to it. One recent group that we created in partnership with Shimano for the bicycle industry has experienced an amazing outcome. This group of leading retailers identified a need in the industry and has organized a movement to initiate a mainstream marketing campaign to grow awareness of cycling in the US.
The new group, The 20Collective, recently presented their plan to the Bicycle Leadership Conference in Monterey. You can read about that here:
http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-america/2016/04/13/retailer-group-proposes-new-tax-fund-marketing-campaign-other-advocacy#.VxJ3QMc-zyc
When companies work together for the good of the whole, amazing things are possible.