Borrow a brain or two

Today a friend and I had an exhilarating and stimulating afternoon helping another friend rethink his business plan.  When we were done with that, we turned the focus on a presentation that I am putting together for a client.  We ate pizza.  We talked. We argued. We laughed.  And we got a lot of work done — good work.  Almost certainly better work than if we hadn’t spent the time together.

Don’t get me wrong,  I don’t think every task needs to be a group project, and often we do our best work alone, but sometimes you need to get a fresh set of eyes, or a sounding board to bounce your ideas off of.  There is nothing like borrowing a few extra brains when you need to look at a problem that’s got you stuck or are making serious strategy decisions.  The key is to find folks that you respect and trust.

Whether you call it a think tank or a mastermind group or a brainstorming club, you’ll find that it can be an enormous help to your personal and business growth.   Pick people who are smart and who can bring a range of ideas and perspective to the table.  If the chemistry is right you’ll know because the egos will be in check and even if your new idea is getting dissected before your eyes you’ll know it is being done  out of  care for you and your success.  And don’t forget, it is not all about you — everyone gets a turn and everybody benefits.  You may find that you really enjoy sharing your wisdom and helping your friends in the way they’ve helped you. You also may find that your saw is a little sharper for the effort.