As a networking organization, BNI is all about the power of the community and teamwork. But, of course, no team works without individual players doing their part. That’s why in addition to monitoring how each BNI chapter is doing, BNI also tracks individual member participation with the Power of One.
We’ve already touched on the Power of One briefly in our Gamifying Networking blog, but today, we’ll do a deep dive to tell you not only what it is, but why it matters.
What is the Power of One?
The Power of One is what each individual BNI member brings to their chapter. The Power of One person to help a chapter to succeed is best met when it does each of the following:
- One Meeting per week (Attends the BNI meeting)
- One 1-to-1 per week – meets individually with another member
- One referral per week – brings a qualified referral each week. A qualified referral is someone who wants to talk to the member being referred. Read more about qualified referrals in a previous blog! BNI doesn’t want people to put in fake referrals just to check a box, so we encourage testimonials on weeks where someone can’t bring a referral.
- One Continuing Education Unit (CEU) per week – Continuing education comes from listening to an hour of a BNI or other networking podcast, doing a module online from BNI’s proprietary education program, BNI Business Builder, attending a workshop, reading a networking book, or a similar activity.
- One vistor per month – Finding good visitors isn’t completely in a member’s control, so BNI still asks for one visitor, but only per month, not per week.
While exceeding the Power of One is great, as long as a member meets it, they will be well on their way to individual and group success.
Why Does BNI Track What it Tracks?
Nothing BNI does is by chance or by accident. Strong believers in the scientific method, BNI has been honing its methods by testing what works since its inception 40 years ago.
One of BNI’s core values is Tradition & Innovation. That means it cares about its history, but is always open to improving its methods.
All the habits we track in the Power of One have been proven to be effective in helping the individual and group succeed.
Attendance – Half the battle is showing up! If you’re out of sight, you're out of mind, and inversely, so are your other chapter members. Attending each weekly meeting helps to understand how best to refer.
1-to-1s – One-to-ones help build relationships (another core BNI value!) and allow members to learn more about the other members and the businesses they represent, making referrals easier. Often, a one-to-one meeting leads to a new idea about a person to refer.
Visitors – The biggest determining factor for how much money a successful chapter passes is the size of the chapter. So growing is essential. However, even a visitor doesn’t know, the average visitor passes $1000 in closed business even if they don’t join.
CEUs – Lifelong learning is another core BNI value (are you sensing a theme here?) and one of the biggest benefits of being in the world’s largest networking organization is access to the vast amount of knowledge it has accumulated over the last four decades. Learning helps you become a better member, which benefits you and the chapter.
Referrals – Everyone joins a BNI group for referrals. That’s why we network. So you don’t need an explanation of why we track those!
Chapter Traffic Lights Track the Power of One
BNI tracks the Power of One with what’s called a Traffic Lights report. Each member gets to see how they’re doing in each category and overall by seeing where they rate on a color scale. This is a fun way to track networking participation and also leads to some friendly competition.
- Green is the top category to be in with a score of 70 to 100.
- Yellow means a member is approaching the Green, and is not a bad spot with a 50-65 score.
- Red is a score of 30-45 means a member is participating but would benefit from more engagement.
- Gray is the final category with 30 or below.
Staying in the Green is the goal, and if a member can do that each month, it’s outstanding. But naturally, everyone has their ups and downs.
Doing Your Best for the Group
The Power of One is how BNI members hold themselves and others accountable. Positivity and recognition are two of BNIs other core values, so the score is never meant for shaming, but edification.
When we know what to measure, we know how to succeed!
And measuring the right things has helped BNI and its members pass $26.4 billion in closed business in the last 12 months!
Ready to bring your Power of One?
