Hey Randy, thanks for your input, its much appreciated.

I have only been in WA 6 months and seen some big changes but I can't compare to how WA used to be, so thank you for that.

Have a nice week.

Mick

You bet Mick... hoping your new week is awesome!!!

Randy

Thanks for your reply Bob

You're welcome, Mick. I sure hope this idea doesn't have the detrimental effect you're describing. What do you think about mentoring behind the scenes using Private Messaging?

So do I Bob.

I am all for passing it forward and members who bring in new members will surely mentor those individuals. That goes without saying.

My concerns are where all this is going and is it going to be detrimental to the future of Wealthy Affiliate?

Probably not and maybe I have got it all wrong.

It all needs to be clearly defined so that everybody knows just what is going on.

Clarification is good

How can creating secret groups be a great initiative? I beg to differ.

I agree with Bob. Boardroom meetings are often confidential but the good of any business cannot survive without them!

I initially had the same concerns as you. But these groups aren't secret and the participants are sharing everything they learn. It's part of the formula (at least in Bo's group) so I feel I'm benefiting too. Initially they were restricted but everyone had to have access if they want. The success remains to be seen.
Debbie

Thanks, Debbie, well maybe because I am not part of these groups that I chose to no read the members posts associated with them, simply because I thought it would just be idle chit-chat like many posts are.

Have a nice week.

Mick

Karen, how does creating a New Group and training that group benefit us?

Hello Mick,

When people share the findings and insights of groups that can help the whole...

This group thing is going on in an informal manner all the time, it is not new nor outside of what is allowed on this platform...Actually, I am not quite sure why anyone would have a problem with them...

You may not need nor want to be involved and that is ok. There are members that could use the extra support which a group provides...

Up to now, I have not seen you comment on any of the many posts that I have published reference groups and the initiative to get them available for members here...

Better for me to add in my comment to Grace's recent post on this subject...

It is quite long but will cover my perspective on the subject

"Hi, Grace...

Group work has been around since the cave-man days, so I do not think there is any 'secret sauce' to them...There are certain attributes that all successful groups have that helps make them be effective though...

If you learn about groups, how to form them and run them, you or anyone can use them to further the cause of group members and perhaps other people that group members interact with...

Let me provide my perspective...

I am not a member of Bo's group but am working this from a different angle. He and I started the initiatives around the same time I think (not sure when he initially announced his idea for a 5 member group, so this is a guess)...

Whereas what he is doing is limited to 5, what I envision and will help get in place are multiple groups. The reasons for this are many.

I am not sure if you have had many group experiences before, but if you have, you likely had mixed results. Some were excellent to good, some were just okay, and others were just a waste of time...

If you have a good one that is focused, has a plan, members that are committed and follow through on group goals and deliverables, and members that are committed to one another, it can be a vehicle that allows each member to get more accomplished than they would on their own.

You are absolutely right that the training is here for all to soak in and act on. For various reasons, it works better for some than others. For those that feel a bit of an additional push/support would help them, groups may be just the trick...

Groups help keep you on task. Groups look at problems members may be having and try to help fix them. Groups allow closer communication with a finite set of people who have agreed to work together to help each other...

Groups can build a sense of belonging, a sense of self-worth, a sense of 'Yes, I can..." It can be easy to get lost in the masses here, think of how many posts people are making daily. Not all get attention...

A group will allow members to have a voice, albeit one within the group. That may have more of an impact than getting 180 comments on a post or adding a comment to a post that has 180 comments...

When that happens, the author often does not even read through all of them, let alone provide feedback to them (understandable)...

Their voice will be heard, minimally by group members that are working and supporting one another, in addition to whoever may hear what they have to say outside the group through their posts, comments, success stories, and etc...

All this is a positive thing most certainly.

Who knows how others might be positively affected by reading about member's observations and experiences, their successes or failures as a result of their participation in one group or more groups...

In the case of what I am setting up, the groups will be self-directed with some general guidelines and recommendations. They will have 6-8 members, and there may be more than one group for a subject area, market segment, or niche...

All activity will be public per guidance from Kyle, which I can live with, and will take place within the Wealthy Affiliate realm. This is somewhat restricting, as we will not have access to some of the tools that help make such groups as what we are forming work...

My experiences with groups...

(1) Educational setting...

Many years ago I was in a Doctoral program. A large part of the curriculum consisted of group work. Candidates were spread around the world, and much like what we have here, there were time differences, jobs people had, or businesses members were running.

We had to make it work somehow to get projects completed and submitted, we had to find ways to organize and get tasks assigned, we had to assign someone to lead, etc.

All of us learned so much from the group experiences over three years...I have to say I was sold long before that...

I also taught as an adjunct professor for 10 years at 3 different colleges and universities, providing training for a variety of subjects that I was deemed qualified to teach others about.

In that setting, I used groups often. It was a developmental activity that helped students not just learn what was in the books, but also apply the lessons to real-world situations...

It worked out well (I also got some pretty good reviews from students, a good thing hehe) for the students...

(2) Military setting...

While in the military over 25 years, I participated in group work on so many levels and in so many situations. It really helped get things done and did not cause problems or dissension over the normal levels of this sort of stuff...

(3) All successful groups have some common attributes...

There have to be some ground rules that all members agree to follow, some common goals that members are striving for, a commitment by group members, and some creative leadership or mentoring to leverage the group format to get the most out of it...

How We Will Apply This To Mentoring Groups

Right now, with the program I am setting up, there is one really experienced WA member, Catherine (she has been a member for over 10 years), who has volunteered her time and skills to serve in an advisory role.

I will be a second advisor, not so much for my online experience, which to now is approaching three years...Rather it is for my experience working with groups in various settings...

We will hopefully get more members that are willing to serve in this role, as otherwise commitments that I have and Catherine have means there will be periods when we do not have an advisor helping the groups...

This role is one that will mean working with members and group leaders to make sure the groups have the best chance of being really effective and where members get the most from their participation...

What I see...

There is a need for a means to create a closer touch with those members that are willing to share their experiences and guidance with members. The group setting provides this means effectively...

This may be happening on a case by case basis now, but not as much as it could, given the power this platform offers...

You may have reached out when you needed it, and maybe you received the help you needed...That is a good thing...

However, there are many members that would like to reach out but do not feel they can, or maybe they add a comment and get no response from some of these senior people...

In short, they feel a bit like a boat in rough seas without a sail nor an anchor...Not conducive to staying the course and making it as an online marketer.

They likely are closer than they think to the point where they achieve success, but give up. I do not know the statistics, but I would guess that this happens at between the 4th and 6th month as a member...

I equate this to hitting the "wall" - this is in reference to my earlier days of running marathons - there was always a point when everything in your body and brain was telling you to give up, to stop running, to quit...

If you gritted it out and kept running, you reached the finish line...

An aside...

You would be a great leader of a team here BTW, you have the attributes and are a natural leader, plus you take action. I do think that you can serve in a role of advisor or a member too successfully.

Okay, back to the subject at hand... : )

Why I think groups can work in tandem with the training we have here...

In the Army, you were never in one role for long. After one or two years, things changed, you moved to the next major challenge, and once again joined the associated groups in that new setting...

That change was actually a good thing...You had new problems, new group members, new resources perhaps, and new viewpoints and new solutions...

Over time, you get comfortable working within the group setting as a part of getting things done. Was it the ONLY way to get things done? No. But, it was useful and used, often...

It did not break up the cohesiveness of the whole. The Army was the Army and rather than a distraction or detracting from what the big machine was doing, groups augmented and helped that machine roll more smoothly...

It can be the same with this platform and the training plus the many features we have available to us as members.

Bottom Line...

So to get down to the gist of your question from my perspective, the reason for considering working with groups, in addition to the training here, and using the group as a complementary avenue to the training, is that you will have a chance to work with a finite set of people on a regular basis.

It provides a more personal and immediate experience for participants...

The group members can help one another focus, be held accountable, answer questions, build leadership, and support each member's push to have success, and have that success faster...

Questions can be answered more quickly, relationships can be developed, they will have an anchor and a sail, and many may be convinced to stay on longer when they hit that 'wall'...

These are all good outcomes in my mind, and if they share their insights, successes, and even failures, it can help the rest of the members who may be in other groups or not in a group at all...Also a good thing...

I am all about seeing results and many people here are as well I think. This will provide yet another vehicle for that to happen, maybe...It will depend on a lot of things, of course...Groups are only as good as their members decide they will be...

No secret sauce at all necessary...In fact, I am suspicious when such 'secret sauce' is promised, i.e. I do not like the term 'Mastermind' as I think it is a misnomer.

In my short time in the online marketing world, it is an overused and misleading title. It often is used as click bait and the group fails to deliver, is a waste of money, and often a LOT of money...

In my Army days, this term would have caused those using it to be laughed off the grounds by the rest of the masses serving...

Mastermind, indeed! Sad.

Perhaps a more fitting example for one of our group names might be 'The Willing and Able'... Something like that sounds more accurate and descriptive of what they are all about...

One last point...

Participants at ALL levels gain from taking part in groups. I have learned as much as I have led or taught in group settings, and so can you.

Serving as a group leader or an advisor is NOT a chore or yet one more thing to do, rather it is a unique learning opportunity for those that take on these roles...Think about this...

Let's see...

Cheers!
Dave : )"

Because as far as I am aware Botiptons group training is available to everyone at Wealthy Affiliate, not just a small group. I don't know much about Daves group but I believe it is available to everyone. Kyles group is an unknown quantity at this point so I cannot comment on whether it will benefit everyone. However, Kyle and Carson have a vested interested in everyone succeeding, if that means taking a group of people and training them as super affiliates, I am certain part of the premise will be that they share their knowledge. Therefore it will all be available to anyone who has the focus, determination and right mindset to succeed.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen

Well Dave, thanks for your insight and explanation. I did, in fact, read it all.

Back to your reference to me not participating in the questions that your group created, that's simply because I am not part of the group.

I don't have issues with groups but the whole Wealthy Affiliate community is one big group.

New members coming in seeing this will only be hesitant and wonder, what is going on here, and besides if/when they try to join and aren't allowed will only feel left out.

I feel that before it got to this stage then Kyle and Carson should have been involved to see if and how they could improve the training.

As I have mentioned, I feel the training material is more than enough for anybody to succeed but hey that is just me.

Cheers
Micki

Thanks for your reply Karen

I agree with you that the training is enough to have success, Mick...I have gone through it and it is excellent...It sure helped me a lot after being bilked out of money from other people...

Things change all the time online as does what works and what no longer works, but what is here has proven itself year and year (of course there have been updates)...

On your exclusivity point...

If you note the way I am creating the space for group formation, this is to be an ongoing initiative...I would like people to be able to join a group as soon as we have enough members to form one...

As members decide that this may be something that will help them get things done, I will help them form more groups of other like-minded members...This first set of groups is just the start...

At that point, I see this as providing the location where people can express an interest, get them organized and have them plan on how to proceed, and then let them start helping one another...

Of course, we will also operate within the guidelines of what Kyle and Carson provide. If there was abuse, I would expect it would not take long to shut it all down...

So the idea is to make this available to all members...

To stay competitive in today's world, you have to continually seek improvement. The road is littered with once high-flying darling companies that have gone bust because they did not do this...

Wealthy Affiliate is no different. As good as this place is (and it is the best) they too want to keep innovating and improving. Some of the best ideas I ever acted upon came from people that worked for me...

In this case, it is something that, if handled properly, it may be that it can become another feature or tool that is built into the platform (I know likely it would go into a queue, so that will take some time)...

This is a testing and proving opportunity, for members, myself, and for Kyle and Carson as well...I do not intend to abuse the platform or their trust...Whatever we do will be published so we can all learn...

I do appreciate and can understand your opinion...

This discussion brings up another point in my mind...In the Army, we used to say "It is better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission!" at times (You can get away with some things as a Sergeant Major at times as long as you were doing things for the good of the troops)...

This is not to say that you ignore what the rules state or willfully violate them. It is more speaking of the fact that at times you need to make look at those rules, bend them, and make decisions and take action with the desired outcome in mind...

There were some life and death situations where if I had waited to take action until I got clearance from up high, things would not have happened, and really bad things might have been the outcome...

This is not such a case, but the general principle holds...

Operate within the guidelines, see how we may be able to help a significant number of people succeed faster or to stick around longer so they can succeed, and this group thing will prove itself as a worthy investment of time and effort...

Let's see...Nothing ventured, nothing gained...

Cheers!
Dave : )

Good reply Craig

Hi, Craig...

To make sure that the groups are formed with clear goals and expected outcomes, and due to the delay in everyone adding their initial input, and the fact that we are all over the globe, some delays are to be expected...

Unfortunately, this is not a captive audience, and people have other commitments outside of Wealthy Affiliate. I know I certainly do, and I think others are in the same boat.

I published a schedule of initial posts for all members that have expressed an interest in joining the various groups where we have
enough interest to form one (Generally you need at least 3 or you can just work one on one to reach a common goal)...

Following this, I have been publishing 3 formation posts a day (the
next three will go up today), and it will take another 2 days to get the last 6 subjects posted...

If we do not go through this process, the group thing will not be nearly as effective, because there have to be some rules, some goals, some commitment, some individual goals identified, etc.

For those that may not have seen my posts, here are some expected outcomes from these formation posts:

Our General Goals For This [Formation] Meeting:

- We all will know exactly WHY we have created this group...

- We all can start to get to know one another a little bit from the questions that are answered by each member.

- We will know what each member is looking for from their participation in the group...

- As a group, we will know where each group member is at right now with their online marketing business...

- We will know how each member can best communicate and how we can best operate as a group...

- We will collectively decide on a meeting schedule...

- We will drill down on the training within Wealthy Affiliate that can directly or indirectly help us with [group subject]...

- Any other issues can be discussed and resolved...

- From member's goals, we will shape the group focus to meet each member's expectation...

Other Due-Outs From This Formation Meeting:

Individually, we will gain the following at this meeting:

- You will understand WHY we are all here.

- You will understand WHERE the group is going.

- You will understand HOW we will work to achieve your individual and group collective goals.

- You will understand the MEASUREMENT DATA we will use to analyze how well you are doing and how we are doing as a group.

- You will understand the Group NORMS.

- You will be aware of scheduled meetings for at least 3-4 weeks ahead so you can plan accordingly.

- You will understand HOW we will communicate and support each other.

- You will understand how we will record and report group proceedings, any training sessions we hold, our findings, and our successes or failures here on the Wealthy Affiliate platform...

These are all really important things to have in place...They do take time to determine also...Once we have these together, we can break up into groups and each can get started with a solid foundation...

Note that we are going to be using Wealthy Affiliate training and perhaps some outside traiing that will be useful, depending on group member's requirements...

Note also we are going to be publshing minutes, meetings, findings, and failures/successes for all members of WA to view as they may desire...

I hope this clarifies why this starting phase takes a bit longer and why it is so important...There is an interest and I do think it will be complementary to the training we have...

I can only speak for myself, but I am not doing this for any monetary gain from any member or trying to siphon off the large number of members we have here...

Right now I have my hands full running my offline and online businesses across the EU, in MENA, and in Asia. I am doing this because based on my experiences, I know it can help some people here stay the course and have success...

Hang in there!

Dave : )

Hi Dave. The delay I was speaking of is Kyle's 3 day delay from yesterday until Monday of revealing whom he chose for his Super Affiliate group.

I'm actually signed up for your affiliate marketing group and, as mentioned before, appreciate everything you've done to make it happen. I was in no way referring to you or Bo negatively. I am however surprised at the way Kyle has handled his. It seems unprofessional, at minimum. Orchestrated and international at most. That's my only complaint, and truthfully it is irrelevant.

WA is a great platform and leadership as well as the entire community are unselfish with their time and knowledge. It's a great community here.