As the weather warms up and the days get longer, thoughts have turned to the Christmas and end of year festivities. Has your chapter held a Christmas event? You may have collaborated with other chapters or put on a larger fundraising event.
Collaboration is not a new concept to us in BNI. Essentially what we do on a weekly basis involves collaboration. After all, networking is just collaboration with others to enhance our potential beyond that which we could achieve on our own.
But this concept can be taken further than merely networking within a chapter.
Collaboration between chapters or with other businesses and organisations in the community is a great way to build stronger relationships beyond the bounds of our individual chapter groups. It’s also a great way to expand our chapters and bring greater awareness of what we do at BNI.
A great example of collaboration between chapters in BNI has been the Big Breakfasts held in regions throughout 2014. These involve chapters in close proximity coming together to produce a larger event. A keynote speaker helps to raise the profile of the breakfast. It’s a great opportunity to meet and engage with a larger group of people than you’d usually experience in a weekly meeting.
Another example of a recent collaborative effort between BNI chapters was the Fashion on Morrison charity fundraiser for Nelson Tasman Hospice Trust. Three BNI chapters from the Nelson region collaborated for the first time to get involved in this highly successful event.
BNI Director Consultant Stephanie Millar brought the chapters from the Nelson region together and has some tips for other chapters thinking about collaborating.
Stephanie says collaboration involves
- Awareness – we become part of a working entity with a shared purpose
- Motivation – we drive to gain consensus in problem solving or development
- Participation – we participate in collaboration and we expect others to participate
- Reciprocity – we share and we expect sharing in return through reciprocity
- Reflection – we think and we consider alternatives
- Engagement – we proactively engage rather than wait and see
Stephanie encourages other chapters to find ways to collaborate. She recommends starting small and reminds members that collaboration can be a social activity with a very real return on investment. Get closer through collaboration in 2015.
