Benjamin Franklin’s Junto
A Junto is defined as “a political grouping or faction,” and that’s somewhat the entity that Ben Franklin created along with eleven other prominent Philadelphians in the eighteenth century. However, Franklin’s group was apolitical and was a club for the mutual improvement of selves, businesses, and communities. Franklin’s club had nine insightful, impactful questions they regularly asked each other, and the questions very much retain their relevance in the present day.
Please tune in this week as Wayne reveals the nine questions, discusses the rise of today’s “Ben Franklin Circles,” and talks about another modern day iteration of the Junto. What do you think? Are mutual improvement societies as valuable today as they were in 1727? Please share with us in the comments.
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Hello, everyone. This is Wayne Rivers at FBI, where We Build Better Contractors.
This week, I want to talk about Benjamin Franklin's Junto. I don't know where that name came from, but that's what they
refer to. It was a club that Ben Franklin and other leaders in Philadelphia formed, and they called it a club of mutual
improvement. One of the characteristics was you had to display open-minded tolerance and you had to agree to lift up
the other people in the Junto. And did it work? I mean, did this idea that putting brains together regularly to discuss
business and personal issues, did it work? Well, yeah, you have to say it did. Benjamin Franklin was incredibly successful.
He was America's first domestic millionaire. He, along with the Junto, they came up with the ideas for the first volunteer
fire department, the first post office in America, and the first public lending library. So, you have to say that it was
successful over time.
Now, what about this is important to you? Well, there were some great questions that the Junto regularly asked
themselves, and I think we can all benefit from those. And then the idea of getting together for mutual improvement with
your peers is obviously one that FBI embraces. There were nine questions that the Junto regularly asked. Is there
something you need help with? Is anyone here starting a new project and is there a way we can help? Is there anyone
who's doing innovative work that we should learn more about? Is there anyone whose friendship we want? Man, that's a
great question. How can we use our networks to help each other? Is there anyone that we can mentor and encourage?
How about that? That's a great question too. Can we give one another any personal or professional advice? Can we
improve anything about the circle itself? Are there ways the circle should be connecting with and contributing to nearby
communities? All great, rather altruistic questions, wouldn't you say?
People in modern times today are creating what they call Benjamin Franklin circles, or their own local Juntos. Some of the
quotes that people in the article refer to, "Room full of smart, thoughtful people," "I was challenged to face things about
my own habits," "It was painful, but constructive." So, you can see getting together in these circles, if you will, is actually
quite a valuable thing. There may even be health benefits. So, Stanford Professor Greg Walton, called this circle, these
Juntos, he called them belonging interventions. And he said that the exercise of participating in these circles gives
participants the sense that they're not alone, and that's psychologically very uplifting. "It increased subjects' happiness
and reduced cognitive activation of negatives for years after the intervention." So better physical and mental health as a
result of a Junto or a circle.
Now, what's another modern iteration of the Junto? Well, peer groups, obviously. So, if you're not in a peer group in your
industry ... Contractors, obviously, we want to join our peer groups. But if you're in another industry, whether it's
agriculture or home remodeling or whatever it might be, find a peer group. Find your own Junto. You'll get wonderful
business benefits. You'll be surprised at the personal and the mental health benefits that you'll get. And who knows?
According to Professor Walton, maybe there's some physical benefits too. We'd like to hear from you. What do you think?
This is Wayne Rivers at FBI, where We Build Better Contractors.
