All language subtitles for 5. Brain Trust

So I'm gonna talk

about what we call the mastermind or the brain trust.

And it's, I hope, a useful concept

which is as relevant to anybody starting out on their own

as it is to Greg and I.

So

what the...

And I'm not...

I don't know if this is the correct definition of mastermind

but it's an idea that I was introduced to

quite early in my career

and it's been really useful.

And Greg and I talk about it quite often,

we use it all the time,

which is essentially

that within your

wider group of associates,

not necessarily people that you work with formally,

you will have most or all

of the skills and expertise that you need.

And by thinking about it actively,

you become more calculated about it.

So, you know, I need help with accounts,

I need help with legal,

we need help on the strategic side,

we need help understanding new media opportunities,

digital marketing,

and obviously at the point we're at now,

a lot of those jobs,

a lot of those roles are filled by,

you know, people that we're paying to do the work

but in other situations and other times along the way,

they absolutely haven't, right?

So you'd just have a sense of who within your network

you can reach out to for certain skills

and you slightly formalize it.

You go to them and you say,

"Look, I'm just starting out on this career path,

or this new way of working,

and I don't really understand X and I'm really, you know,

I admire what you do.

It looks like you're really good at it.

And it may be that I come to you

from time to time for advice."

And what you'll find

is that people are generally quite responsive to that,

you know, it's flattering,

and obviously, for most part, you know,

people prefer to help than not help.

And for us now, you know,

where we have obviously a great lawyer,

and we have a great accountant or accountants,

and all of that stuff is much more legit

and sort of grown up, I guess,

we still have a brain, what we refer to as our brain trust

or our mastermind of friends and associates

who have particular expertise

that we need to lean into from time to time.

And for us, a lot of that is about sort of strategy,

like medium and long-term strategy for the business,

and also new areas like podcasts

or emerging technologies or,

et cetera, et cetera.

So I wanted to plant the seed of this concept

which is the mastermind or the brain trust.

It's your group,

it's the people that you already know

who can fill the gaps in your knowledge or expertise

that you don't have,

and will gladly give you that time,

if you go ahead and ask them.

And I'd really encourage you to, you know,

to develop that and work with it.