In recent public and private conversations I've had with members of the BYU Management Society, I have detected some divergence in opinions about what our primary purpose(s) should be. In the interest of oversimplifying, I would suggest that there are two general camps or schools of thought as to what our primary purpose is or should be:
- General Networking. This group's primary purpose is to get together with other business people who share our values, learn from good speakers on current business topics, meet new people, generally socialize in a business setting that is not filled with alcohol, smoking, coffee, off-color jokes, foul language, etc.
- Specific Networking. This group's primary purpose is to network to grow their business in both the short term and long term. If they are not finding new customers or people who can refer them to customers, coming to a monthly breakfast meeting is not worth the time and fee for the breakfast.
I think each chapter should have a very good discussion (and I would like to have an open dialogue here) on the following questions:
- Which of the two above purposes is our primary one?
- Can we hold out both purposes as equally important and remain a viable organization?
- Can we put one of the two purposes above as the primary one, but keep both purposes as priorities, and remain a viable organization?
- Should we give up one of the above purposes and focus exclusively on the other?
Please leave your comments on this blog so that we can keep all of our thoughts in one place. (To see this same post with comments from other chapters, go to the Orange County Management Society blog and the Rancho Santa Margarita Management Society blog.)
Bill Chapman
