How to create your dream team

The dream team, or mastermind, how it is called in “Think and grow rich” by Napoleon Hill, is an alliance between a group of people who work together in harmony for the achievement of a common goal or purpose.

A great team will enable your organization to achieve power. Power always comes from organized effort and is manifested in various forms. Some of the more important forms are:

1. Economic power (financial power)
   
2. Psychic (or brain) power (what you know)
   
3. Relationship power (who you know)
   

When building a great team, think of the kind of power you want to grow.

Fundamental requirements for organizing a dream team

1. A definite major purpose
2. The proper choice of members – any member must be in complete sympathy with the goal of the alliance and must be able to contribute something definite to the achievement of that goal. The contribution may come in various forms: education, experience, contacts. Thus, it is very important to determine if the individual can and will work for the good of the group. If any team member is not able to do this, the respective person must be replaced from the group.
3. Finding appropriate motivation – you should give something in return for the service received – the compensation should be of equal or greater value than the expected service. So, it is very important to determine the exact reward for each member, in proportion to their contribution. Not doing this properly will lead to failure to achieve the team’s goals.
4. The group must remain active, in order to be effective
5. The activity of the group must follow a definite plan, have a definite deadline (or milestones) and move towards a definite end (you should clearly define what the finish line is).
6. Well organized and continuous work (tasks) must be ensured at all times, for all team members
   
7. There must be a group leader, who is accountable for the activity of the group. The main responsibility for the group leader should be to facilitate the group, so that they can concentrate on their contribution – “The greatest among you should be the servant of all” (The Bible)
8. A positive mental attitude – this determines the success or failure of the mastermind. So make sure that your team does not have saboteurs, as they can poison the mind of fellow team members and harm the organization.
9. A confidential relationship – the purpose of the alliance should not be discussed outside the group, unless it is of public interest, or it consists of a public service.

Steps to put together your dream team

There are several steps that you should follow when building your team:

1. Clearly define your desire (I describe how to improve on that here). The goal is very important! (See this post on how to set goals) When you want to bring someone to your team, you should always ask yourself the question: Does this person help me to reach my goal in a meaningful way, or not?
2. Bring as many people as you require into your alliance and put your plan to action. You should associate with people who share common values, goals and interests but who also have a strong desire to contribute to the overall effort. Also, remember that thrill and errors are part of the process to achieve success, and use these to motivate your team.
3. There are 2 key characteristics that you should be looking for when increasing your team:
   • Ability to do the job
   • Ability to work in harmony with others

The most important quality deciding a man’s value as a mastermind member – the mental attitude towards himself and his associates – they must value harmony and cooperation above all else.

Compensating your team members

You should decide in advance what you can offer as compensation for the services of the people in your dream team. Remember that, in such ventures, doing more than you are paid for is especially important. So, as the leader, you must set an example for others to follow.

Each member must agree from the start on the contribution they add and envision their benefits and profits. To that end, try to give each member the fullest personal benefit they could receive and develop in them the fullest potential of their ability.

Always be fair in what you offer.

Meeting with your team

You should start the project with meetings at least twice a week until the plans are perfected and everyone has a clear picture of what his or her contribution is.

Make sure you establish what the strengths of the team are, as well as the weaknesses. Create the plans containing all the tasks and steps to be taken.

After the planning phase is completed and the execution stage begins, you can establish weekly meetings to assess progress towards your common goals.

Make sure that everyone reports on the following:

1. What has been completed in the past week
2. What they are working on in the following week
3. Any obstacles that the person encountered and are affecting the productivity.

Maintenance of the dream team

You should strive to maintain the harmony between yourself and the other members, as well as between the members themselves. But how can you have and maintain harmonious relationships? In order to answer this, you must understand the major motivating factors to which people respond. According to Napoleon Hill, there are 9 such major motivating factors:

1. The emotion of love – the gateway to one’s spiritual power
2. The emotion of sexuality – this can serve as a powerful stimulus to action when transmuted into the professional area
3. Desire for financial gain
4. Desire for self preservation
5. The desire for freedom of body and mind
6. Desire for self-expression, leading to fame and recognition
7. Desire for perpetuation of life after death
8. The emotion of anger, often manifested as envy or jealousy
9. The emotion of fear

The two motives to which men respond most generously in business alliances are the emotion of sexuality and the desire for financial gain. However, you should make sure you understand what is the major motivating factor for each of the members of your team. In this way you can reward them in a way which is most meaningful for them.

Make sure to create non-threatening environment, so that your team members trust you enough to disclose their true motivating factors. When in the wrong hands, such information can damage your team, so keep it confidential.

The family mastermind

One important dream team, that you should be part of, is your family.

When looking for a partner for marriage, make sure you use similar criteria for selection as for your professional mastermind alliance. Thus, the number one quality you need into your marriage from the start is harmony. Desire to contribute towards common goals is equally important.

Make sure to incorporate your entire family into your dream team (this includes children also). Even if the children see it more or less as a game at first, you will be amazed of how involved they can be and what they can do. Remember that imagination in children is often times much more powerful than in adults. They may surprise you with their ideas.

Set aside at least an hour every week to talk about all aspects of the family life together.

Harmony is essential for the well being of your family and every member should help and contribute to the common goals.