Is Next Week Really Thanksgiving?

Yes, yes it is. I can't believe it. Where did this year go? Ok, moving on to the meeting.

Today's meeting went pretty smoothly. There were no inappropriately long discussions. We passed 8 referrals today. The chaos was kept to a bare, bare minimum. Almost everyone showed up.

But, of course, there are just a few things that I wasn't thrilled about.

1. The first 15 minutes of every BNI meeting is reserved for "open networking." That basically means that everyone is standing up, milling around talking business with the rest of the members. It's important that everyone is standing because it keeps the energy up in the group, visitors can see that everyone is engaged with each other, and if those two reasons aren't enough, it's just one of the rules. Having said all of that, I find it quite disrespectful when I ask seasoned members who definitely know better, to stand, and they ignore me. The worst part was that these are people who, when they were on leadership team 2 months ago, made sure that everyone was standing. Now, for anyone reading this who is not a current BNI member, go to a BNI meeting, any meeting. You will see how important those first 15 minutes are in building rapport with members, discussing common clients, and starting off the meeting on a positive note. There are some BNI rules that I disagree wholeheartedly with for various reasons, and this was one of them until I realized the effect that standing vs. sitting during open networking has on the rest of the meeting.
2. I'm trying to come up with a second issue, but really, that was the big one that stuck out for me today.

In a completely unrelated matter, I need to start writing down the faux pas and freudian slips that happen during the meeting. Here is a list of various comments taken out of context that have been said over the past few weeks. And I will update this list as things come up.

~~~~~~ I need something soft to lie on. What's your wife's name?

~~~~~~ When we are done, you will feel all creamy.

Ok, so it's not a long list. I don't have a great memory. I'm going to keep a post-it note pad next to me from now on because the lines that I'm missing were too funny not to document. :-D

Well, I wish everyone a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

A Member Minute: Cliques are not a good idea and lead to problems. Lots of problems. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done about it because most people do not even realize that they are a part of one until it is pointed out to them. But, if you happen to not be in a "clique" please don't be passive agressive about it. Everyone went to high school and remembers being the odd one out. But, unlike high school, feel free to say something about it. People are in BNI, in theory, because they are looking to network, which requires being social and being able to communicate. Bottom line, don't be a clique. If there is a clique that you feel excluded from, say something because 99 times out of 100, it is not intentional and you will be invited to join the conversation.