How Ben Franklin’s Junto Revolutionized Leadership?
In 1727, a 21 year old printer named Benjamin Franklin gathered a group of twelve friends in a Philadelphia tavern. They called themselves the Junto, or the “Leather Apron Club”. They weren’t aristocrats or heirs, they were tradesmen and shopkeepers who shared a singular, burning desire. Mutual improvement.
While we often credit modern “masterminds” to 20th-century productivity gurus, the blueprint for high impact leadership was drafted three centuries ago over pints of ale. Franklin realized a truth that many modern executives still struggle to grasp. Your personal ceiling is determined by the quality of your inner circle.
The “No Advice” Zone
The most revolutionary aspect of the Junto wasn’t just that they met, but how they spoke. Franklin was famously wary of “disputatious” people, those who loved to argue for the sake of winning. He knew that ego is the enemy of insight.
Instead, the Junto operated on a protocol that looked strikingly like what we now call Experience Sharing. When a member faced a business crisis, the group didn’t bark instructions or unsolicited advice. Instead, they shared stories. They used a “Gestalt” approach (even before the term existed), offering parallels from their own lives. This created a safe environment where:
- The “Presenter” drew their own conclusions from diverse perspectives.
- The “Peers” avoided the trap of micromanagement.
- The “Group” built a collective “critical thinking muscle” that made everyone sharper.
24 Questions to Tame the Chaos
Franklin didn’t leave the conversation to chance. He curated a list of 24 standing questions to guide their Friday night meetings. (You can find them online). These weren’t “status updates”, they were deep dives into the mechanics of success and failure.
Consider how these three original Junto questions would sound in your boardroom today:
- “Has any citizen in your knowledge failed in his business lately, and what have you heard of the cause?” (Analyzing failure to avoid repeating it.)
- “Do you know of any fellow citizen who has lately done a worthy action, deserving praise and imitation?” (Spotting “Success Clues.”)
- “In what manner can the Junto assist you in any of your honorable designs?” (Active, strategic support.)
By focusing on these questions, Franklin ensured the group never devolved into idle chitchat. They were dissecting the market, identifying talent, and foreshadowing failure in real-time.
Why Leadership is a Team Sport
We often view leadership as a solitary mountain climb. Franklin viewed it as a community garden. Junto was responsible for the birth of the first public library, the first volunteer fire department, and the University of Pennsylvania.
The leadership lesson? Scale doesn’t just happen through more employees, it happens through intellectual leverage. When you join or build a peer group of “like-kind” people, you stop being a “gerbil on a treadmill” trying to solve every problem with your own limited experience. You begin to leverage the wins and losses of a dozen other companies.
If you feel like you’re plateauing, look at your calendar. Is there room for peer group membership?
- Seek Diversity of Thought: Don’t just meet with people in your niche. Franklin had printers, surveyors, and clerks.
- Adopt the Socratic Method: Move from being an “advice giver” to a “question asker.”
- Commit to the Rhythm: The Junto met every Friday for 30 years. Consistency is the only way to build the trust required for radical transparency.
The Bottom Line
Success leaves clues. And 300 years later, the clue is still the same. If you want to lead, don’t try to do it alone.