Bel Air Sessions: Creativity, Company Culture & Controversy
To kick off 2024 properly, Inner Circle founding member Judd Weiss (@advancedmyco) provided the space for our leaders to innovate and collaborate.
I created Inner Circle Mastermind to be a place where leaders of innovative (and therefore controversial) categories could meet and discuss the “good, bad, and ugly” of running a business in today’s rapidly shifting world.
The conversation is different at the leader’s table.
That’s what I’ve found over the last twenty years of developing teams for projects I care about.
If you want a career up-level, it’s not going to happen with the guy who always complains or the person who is trying to fill up your ear with the latest gossip and hearsay.
We ALL know this, but our lives are like gardens, and some people have some weeding to do.
If not you, someone you rely on to do your job well.
We are only as strong as our weakest link.
That’s why leadership is essential. It’s also why “not my job” thinking only ultimately limits your own potential.
On the flip side, we must surround ourselves with conscious and careful action-takers and people who we sense and say, “we can go the distance together.”
That’s what it takes to build an idea that can turn into a company and revenue-generating asset for everyone it touches.
Yes. It’s the warm and fuzzy “soft-skill” stuff that keeps teams together long enough to turn a meaningful profit and enrich the communities they touch.
Are we exercising accountability with a balance of compassion in our teams?
You need both.
None of this happens by accident, which is exactly why I build and fund teams the way I do.
After twenty years in team building, we realized it’s ultimately the teams who show up, take ownership, expand into new skills, and really care about their customer that can go the distance.
In our Bel Air sessions, we like to keep our Roundtables small, so they often sell out ahead of time.
If you want to commit to a session that you can count on to secure a meaningful seat in rooms with “builders and action takers,” then Inner Circle might be the place for you.
You are one or two connections away from real progress and insight.
This “limited seating” framework gives everyone ample space to provide context and “focus time” on problem-solving, making connections, and planning strategic introductions.
WARNING: This idea and format makes some people uncomfortable.
We say, “great!” Because nothing grows in your comfort zone.
What I’ve found after participating in and facilitating masterminds for the last 12 years or so is this: We are often much closer to the key answers and connections that we need to make a real difference in our progress and earning power.
This holds true at an individual career level and whatever problems you are collectively trying to solve in your current project.
Controversy is part of the recipe.
Controversy Follows Effectiveness
Any entrepreneur who has truly sat down and thought about it knows we are only a few bumpy days away from a courtroom.
To be an executive is to take risks.
To stay small and hide from our creative potential also carries risk; some would say even more risk.
A good life requires us to participate in society.
That’s why it’s important to follow the “laws of the realms we do business in” as much as possible while also leaning into innovation and controversy in meaningful ways.
Running a truly dynamic and innovative brand requires that you do both.
Balancing Risk & Meaningful Innovation
If your business isn’t innovating on at least one “key” edge, what is the point of your business?
Any project worth taking on (in this next phase of your career) will require you to take risks in several dimensions simultaneously.
If you do it carefully and build correctly, it will be worth it.
If you would like to see about reserving a seat at an upcoming Bel Air session (well ahead of time) so you can book travel and other considerations, let us know.
We can send you the event schedule and a discount on your ticket. /discount
Consider Applying For Membership
Inner Circle members receive first access to a growing schedule of hand selected small-room networking and leadership development opportunities.
We meet virtually several times per week.
All members get access to our team of vetted experts in areas like: Funding, small business finance, technology and security, marketing and automations, team development, and workplace wellness.
We also have concise, actionable training modules (for you and your team) you won’t find anywhere else.
All membership happens through the application portal.
Is Inner Circle Right For You?
Matt Ritchey
Matt Ritchey is the Co-Founder of Inner Circle and CEO of Mr. Cannabis. He is committed to bettering the plant medicine industry through high-integrity leadership and better business building. He has worked with over 500 plant medicine leaders since 2012 and has a track record of helping teams grow from idea to scaled solution.
