My New Experiment: The Accountability Group

I tend to come up with really crazy ideas when I’m up late at night (i.e. nearly every night).  Anyway, I just sent this email (see below) to a group of colleagues and friends.

Implement at your own risk . . .

Dear Friends,

You guys are all people I respect, trust, and admire (and you’re all entrepreneurs who work full-time from home).  So I want to invite you to join a private accountability group that I’m starting.

Before I get into "the rules," I want to let you know that I won’t be hurt, offended, etc. if you decide not to participate.  What I’m about to propose is a little radical, and I don’t expect everyone to want to participate.

The Back Story:

In the next 1.5 years I want to achieve a very specific goal.   So I decided to create an accountability group (kind of like a mastermind group) to help me accomplish this goal, and to help us accomplish our respective business goals.

Here’s how the accountability group would work:

• We would meet once per week, via a skype conference call at a mutually agreed-upon time that stays consistent from week to week
• During each phone call, you must commit to completing at least one high-leverage task that will put you closer to your business goal.
• We’re all encouraged to consult the group for advise on what the highest-leverage task might be for our given goal (there are some VERY talented and successful people who’ve been emailed about this)
• The completion of the task(s) you commit to must be provable (i.e. the nature of the task must be such that you can "prove" you finished it during our next meeting).
• In order to participate, you must put $1k into the group’s paypal account.  If you do not complete the task(s) (that you agreed to) from the previous week, your $1k is donated to a charity of your choice.  If you lose your $1k and wish to stay in the group, you must replace your original $1k.
• The PayPal account will be controlled by a treasurer who we will jointly appoint.  I will not be the treasurer.
• If you decide to participate, you must participate for at least 3 months, after which time you can chose to remove your $1k and leave the group at any time.
• Participants must be "on time" for at least 3 out of every 4 phone calls.  If you’re not on time for at least 3 out of every 4 calls, you forfeit your spot in the group and your $1k.
• You must be on time for the group’s first 3 calls.
• You are allowed to be "absent" for the phone call for which you’re late
• All of these rules, of course apply to me

I honestly don’t know how many people will be game for this, but I know that this kind of group would really help me.  The stakes are high, but that’s a good thing in my opinion.

–Clay Collins

I’ll let you know if this group parts me with my $1k.