One of the best ways to achieve success is to create a Mastermind group. Also known as alliances. No man is an island, thus, we need to gather all the resources and people we can to achieve what we want in life, be it in business or family. How do you get about developing your alliance, selecting them or maintaining them? Following are ten tips you can use to develop a successful Mastermind Group.

Behave toward your alliance the way you want them to behave toward you

Apply the Golden Rule and your life will never be the same again. What is that rule? It’s "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Treat them the way you want to be treated. If you want respect, you have to treat them with respect. If you want support or encouragement, do likewise when they need it.

My mentor once said, “the only way you could gain respect is to respect them.”

It is more important to be a good partner and get things done, then to obsess on the importance of being right.

We ought to realize that we may not be right most of the time. In fact, we are not even right some of the time. A famous sales trainer Tom Hopkins once said: “Do you realize if you are right 51% of the time, you will be very successful?” A leader, manager or anyone who wants to create and head a team or a mastermind group ought to know that the most important thing is to get results. It’s to get things done, rather than be obsess with the importance of being right.

If you are wrong, admit it graciously and find a solution. That way, you will gain more respect and cooperation from your alliance.

Make relationship bank deposits before you try to make a withdrawal

When I was working as a sales assistant in a local retail outlet, we had an interesting way of showing our appreciation. We call it Emotion Bank Account. Every time a colleague did something great for us, we will write it on a slip of paper and deposit it into a box that bear their name. We do this because we want to show sincere appreciation to those who have helped us.

Create a relationship with your alliance that goes beyond just work or business. You could do things like sending them gifts, buying them lunch, calling them just to chat up or even organizing outings. By doing this, you are making relationship bank deposits that will proof useful in time of crisis.

Regularly share valuable updates with your alliance

Your alliance must be active to do any good. Establish a definite place and time for regular meetings to ensure that you are making progress and dealing with the issues you face. Your early meetings will likely involve fine-tuning the plan you have made for your success, drawing upon the specialized skills of your members.

As your alliance matures and harmony grows among the members, you will find that these meetings create a flow of ideas into every member’s mind. As you work together over time, more excitement will greet every meeting, and more harmony will arise.

Know what your alliance needs.

The key to success is to understand what others need. Everyone wants something. Your alliance don’t work with you because they like you; they work with you because they want something. Here are some of the basic needs for most people. Ask them what they want, and make your best efforts to give it to them.

1) Self-preservation

2) Love

3) Fear

4) Sex

5) Desire for life after death

6) Freedom for mind and body

7) Anger

8) Hate

9) Desire for recognition and self-expression

10) Wealth

Be clear on what you want from your alliance and what you are willing to do to make it successful.

Clarity is the word here. Before you even start out to create your own alliance, you need to be very very clear what you want from your alliance. Does your alliance have the skills, resources to help you out? Can he or she work in harmony with the rest of the members? Without a clear understanding of who you want and why, you will have tough time maintain your group, let alone achieving the goals you set out to make.

Be committed, confident and passionate toward your alliance.

Like any construction, your alliances must be preserved with diligent work. That work will be your task as its leader. Your attention should focus on these areas. Committed to your alliance so that they will be committed to you. Confidence is reliance or trust based on proved fidelity, which means faithfulness to duty and loyalty to obligations. As the leader of the alliance you must inspire confidence in your members by your dedication to your purpose. Last but not least, be passionate and enthusiastic towards your mastermind group.

Do more for your alliance than you promised—exceed their expectations

Be willing to do more than you promised. The more you do, the more you show that you are serious in achieving the alliances’ goals. The more you show that you are serious, the more they will get serious. As a leader of the group, you need to constantly exceed their expectations. By doing so, you not only set a standard, but also inspire confidence.

Resolve conflict immediately.

Without harmony in an alliance, disaster is ensured. You need to have a regular sharing of relationship value within your alliance. Its inevitable, sometimes conflicts will to happen, and prolonged it will grow into resentment between members. As a leader, you need to maintain harmony within the team.

Have a regular sharing sessions where everyone can speak his or her mind, and be open minded about it. Make sure everyone in the team take criticism nothing more than constructive feedbacks. Remember, resolve any conflict immediately.

You cannot partner with an organization or individual who does not want to be a good Partner

There will come a time where you will find someone talented and highly efficient. The problem is, he is a ‘star’ player and not a team player. You cannot have this type of people in your alliance. Harmony is the most important rule is developing and maintaining an alliance.

Without harmony, your alliance will falter, perhaps not right away but at some crucial moment when everything is about to be won or lost. Always think ‘harmony’ when making selections.