BNI & The Power of One – Episode 855: BNI New Year – Setting Goals, Strategies, Expectations

Host: Tim Roberts
Date: September 23, 2025

Overview

In this energizing episode, Tim Roberts dives into the challenges and opportunities that come with the BNI "New Year," marked by leadership transitions across most regions. Responding to multiple listener questions, Tim tackles the core issue of member complacency — from excessive substitutes and lack of engagement to long-timers “coasting.” With practical strategies, he outlines how new leadership teams can reset expectations, refocus on BNI's purpose, and elevate the chapter's performance through clear goals, real accountability, and celebration of successes.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Current State & Listener Concerns

• Recent Hiatus: Tim apologizes for the gap in new episodes, citing leadership transitions and regional events as reasons for the busy period.
• Recurring Questions: Multiple chapters are facing issues like:
  • Excessive substitutes (“subs”) at meetings
  • Increased side conversations and distractions (laptops, drawing on tablets)
  • Longstanding members disengaging
• Main Issue: Tim identifies complacency as the underlying problem, tying together seemingly separate concerns.

2. Refocusing on BNI’s Core Purpose

• Many join BNI (and other networking groups) simply to grow their business, losing sight of the deeper challenge:
  • “What’s the actual challenge they’re facing in growing their business, and how is BNI the potential solution for that?” [06:00]
• Common Myths about Referrals:
  1. People who like and trust you will automatically give you referrals.
  2. Doing a great job and giving customer service ensures more referrals.
• Both are incomplete; consistent referrals demand active, strategic involvement.

“If it was just about knowing, liking and trusting you, you wouldn't need to network…You’d have enough people in your life to get all the referrals you could handle.” – Tim Roberts [09:05]

3. The True Referral System

• Strong Referrals = Business Trust.
  • A true referral is someone risking their reputation for you. That requires a business relationship, not just personal trust.
  • Building that business trust takes time and intentional effort.
• Training and Educating Others:
  • You must teach members how to find you referrals.
  • The approach varies depending on the relationship and professional context.

“The biggest mistake we make when networking is assuming people know how to find us referrals because we know how to find ourselves referrals – and they don’t.” [18:10]

4. What Makes BNI Effective?

• BNI is the system that supports:
  • Ongoing relationship development (via consistent meetings and one-to-ones)
  • Structured agendas
  • The Givers Gain philosophy
  • Support via regional training and directorship
• Active Participation is Non-Negotiable: Only one person per profession per chapter means one person’s complacency harms everyone else.

5. Strategies for the New Year: Goals, Strategies, and Expectations

• New leadership is an opportunity to reset and reinvigorate chapters.
• Tim’s Framework for Kickstarting the Year:
  1. Set Clear Goals
     • Growth (e.g., through visitor days)
     • Activity benchmarks (e.g., Power of One score)
  2. Layout Strategy
     • Define how to achieve those goals (regular trainings, tracking activities)
  3. Define Expectations
     • Attendance, limited use of subs, active participation, scheduled one-to-ones
  4. Hold Members Accountable
     • Leaders must enforce expectations, not just announce them.

“Once you’ve set the expectations…the key is everybody’s getting a fresh start. It’s a new year. What happened before doesn’t matter anymore. Here’s where we’re going, this is how, and everybody’s got the opportunity to do it.” [37:40]

6. Avoiding Common Pitfalls

• Common Leadership Mistakes:
  • Not setting goals (meetings become “clubby” and unproductive)
  • Setting goals without a strategy
  • Strategy in place, but no real accountability or follow-through
• Market Opportunity:
  • The early fall is crucial for engagement before holiday distractions begin.

7. Accountability: The Hardest—but Crucial—Step

• Expect Resistance: Some members will push back against new expectations.
  • Be prepared to “coach them up or coach them out.”
• Celebrate Wins:
  • Recognize chapter progress publicly to build momentum and morale.
• Leadership’s Role:
  • The leadership team must enforce standards. Regional directors can advise, but can’t do it for the chapter.

“Do not be afraid of losing the unproductive, ineffective member, because what you could get by re-engaging them or replacing them is far more.” [51:30]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Setting the Tone for the New Year:

  • “Don’t come in with a negative approach…It has to be around excitement: new year, new goals, new possibilities. Remind everybody it’s a team sport.” [58:47]

• On the Necessity of Accountability:

  • “If you can’t be accountable, you can’t play. The rest doesn’t matter…You hurt the rest of the team.” [57:29]

• Big Picture Perspective:

  • “Your leadership in your region is there to help…Whether you need to coach ‘em up or coach ‘em out, you’re creating a more successful, more productive chapter – and that’s when everybody’s winning.” [1:00:05]

Important Timestamps

• 00:00 – 06:15: Welcome back, listener feedback, episode context
• 06:15 – 09:05: Main listener concerns, root causes of complacency
• 09:05 – 19:30: Dispelling myths about referrals; necessity of active, ongoing business relationship-building
• 19:30 – 26:00: Building systems for consistent engagement, role of training and strategic one-to-ones
• 26:00 – 37:40: BNI as the system; impact of one person’s disengagement; strategies for leadership teams
• 37:40 – 51:30: Implementing goal-setting, strategy, and accountability; common leadership pitfalls
• 51:30 – 1:00:05: Overcoming fear of confrontation and non-engagement; importance of accountability to culture; closing thoughts

Summary & Takeaways

• The BNI New Year is a pivotal moment to reset culture, clarify goals, and demand engagement.
• Complacency, not lack of knowledge or intent, is the main enemy of chapter success.
• Effective chapters set specific goals, agree on shared strategies, renew expectations, and — critically — hold each other accountable.
• Leadership may face discomfort in enforcing standards, but avoiding tough conversations threatens everyone’s results.
• Celebrate progress as a team, remind members that each person’s participation is essential — and don’t hesitate to help disengaged members either step up or step out.

For new and veteran chapter leaders alike, this episode offers a candid, actionable roadmap to building momentum, boosting engagement, and setting the tone for a high-performing BNI year.