I read an interesting blog recently (I would give credit if I could remember who wrote it) which made the point that having a closely bonded BNI chapter (or network) is both an advantage and a weakness.
People become so familiar with each other that they think they know all there is to know about the other people. They become tolerant when performance dips and communication slips… to the point that if standards drop they don’t do anything about it, because they don’t want to hurt the long relationship they’ve had.
I’d suggest that silently stewing over poor delivery is toxic, and will eventually go bad anyway. Good friends in strong business relationships should speak up for everybody’s good.
Another problem is the ‘tightness’ of a chapter or network makes it difficult for new members to break in.
If you’ve ever watched ‘Band of Brothers’, you will remember how difficult it was for the ‘replacements’ to break in with the old guard because the long timers expected that the replacements were mostly canon fodder anyway, and it wasn’t worth their risk making friends with them.
Members expect most new members will come and go, so they don’t want to waste time forming new relationships – the effort isn’t worth it… If your network and relationships are not growing, they’re going backwards.
In order for anything – even a business network – to grow and prosper, there needs to be open communication and new blood, constantly!
If you find your chapter or network is getting tired, then change it.
