Mastermind vs. Board of Directors vs. Other Advisory and Self-Help Groups

Mastermind: peer entrepreneurs who assist each other in common efforts. Defined by Napoleon Hill in "Think and Grow Rich" as "coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.”

Community of Practice: a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.

"In all cases, the key elements are: The domain: members are brought together by a learning need they share (whether this shared learning need is explicit or not and whether learning is the motivation for their coming together or a by-product of it) The community: their collective learning becomes a bond among them over time (experienced in various ways and thus not a source of homogeneity) The practice: their interactions produce resources that affect their practice (whether they engage in actual practice together or separately)." Etienne Wenger in https://wenger-trayner.com/resources/what-is-a-community-of-practice/

Advisory Board / Business Advisory Board: a group assembled by a business to provide ongoing advice and counsel to executive team. Compensation may be in the form of stock or fee for service.

Technical or Scientific Advisory Board: a group of technical or scientific experts organized by a business so that the engineering or product development team can get specific guidance about critical technologies or scientific advances that are relevant to current or future product features and roadmap. Compensation may be in the form of stock or fee for service. Sometimes a donation may be made in the advisors name to a charity or non-profit of their choice where payment would conflict with an advisor's employment agreement.

Customer Advisory Board: a representative group of customers that a business calls on at regular intervals for advice on product functionality and direction. Meetings are typically attended by product development, marketing and sales personnel as well as executives. Compensation may take form of an honorarium or a donation in the attendee's name to a charity or non-profit their choice.

Board of Directors: a group of individuals elected by the shareholders to represent their interests. The board typically meets at regular intervals and provides not only advice but also governance, setting policies and providing oversight of day to day management.