How To Build Your Power of 6

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 at 10:20 PM

First of all, Happy Easter to everyone! I hope you are able to enjoy a little downtime this weekend. I just flew in from Seattle, so let’s get to it…

Okay, so in the last post I told you about my mentor and friend, Dave Stech. I transcribed the incredible training call he gave March 20th with Larry Benet, and now I want to share with you the bulk of Dave’s concepts of The Power of 6. More specifically, I will reiterate Dave’s points about how having 6 high-quality people as your mastermind team is so important.

So, who are these 6? They are people that meet 6 critical, non-negotiable criteria.

1) Your 6 must be equal to or better than you are at what you do, and/or have complimentary and synergistic skill sets to yours and are great at what they do.

The important take away here is that you always want to surround yourself with top-notch people. When you associate with high-level performers, YOU become that much better. And when you become better, you can serve others better and enjoy much more success in any endeavor.

2) Your 6 must meet your 6 “value” filters:
· they don’t have uncontrolled egos
· they don’t have uncontrolled greed
· they can be implicitly trusted
· they are competent at what they do
· you like them
· they are committed – to you and to win – no excuses – just as you are committed to them

Seem like a tall order to fill, finding 6 people to live up to these filters? It is; but remember: You only need 6.

3) Your 6 must be givers, not takers.

As you start to surround yourself with people who have the predisposition of giving, you will be able to feed off their momentum. The hope is that you, yourself, are a giver as well. When you present yourself to the world as a giver first, doors of opportunity open. People want to work with you and hear what you have to say because they sense that you are bigger than yourself; you are dedicated to something special.

As the great Zig Ziglar says:
“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

4) You must teach your 6 to find their 6, and they must be willing to
commit to getting the best 6 themselves, and to teach their 6 to
find 6.

I already mentioned Dave’s point about surrounding yourself with
people that are equal to or greater than your ability level, and why it
is important. Can you imagine building an entire network of people
like that? It has been said that there is strength in numbers, so
make YOUR numbers strong.

5) Your 6 must commit to consistently strive to perform at a higher level, and the worst performer must be replaced every year.

Dave gives some sage advice on how to evaluate your Power of 6:
“In December of every year, you will sit down and evaluate your
Power of 6. You’ll rank them 1 through 6, with 1 being the best. You’ll
be calling #1, recognizing and thanking him/her personally, and then
recognizing him/her in the presence of your Power of 6, and then in
the presence of their PO6. You’ll recognize #2 through #5 again, and
also recognize them with their 6. Why all this recognition?
Recognition is more powerful than money. Recognition feeds the
soul. It’s one thing to be successful; it’s quite another to be
recognized as successful.” I cannot emphasize this powerful principle
enough. It strengthens a team like none other when you recognize
people for their outstanding efforts. Plus, as Dave says,
“It’s the right thing to do.”

So what do you do with #6? Well, listen to what Dave does…

“You’ll replace them. Through no fault of yours, they haven’t
lived up to the promise they made to you, and probably not to their 6
either. That doesn’t make them a bad person. That doesn’t mean
they can’t be your friend. They may have had personal or
professional setbacks. If so, and if the setbacks are truly behind
them, and if they genuinely recommit to themselves, to you and
to their Power of 6, you may elect to keep them in your 6. It’s your
call.”

So what is the sixth point? Well, here is Dave’s direct charge to YOU:

“I have a sixth and final point, but I’d rather ask you, the reader, to suggest an idea that may be better. Have at it…”

Now is your chance. Go to www.ThePowerof6.com and tell Dave what YOU would do. Give him your honest input, and expect great things, because Dave is writing a book, and whoever gives the best “6th Point” will get the honor of having their work published in his book! This is tremendous, so go now and give your input.

Good luck and enjoy!

Until next time, I’ll see you in the next post…

~JT