BNI & The Power of One Podcast

Episode 866: Blended BNI Meetings
Host: Tim Roberts
Date: November 17, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Tim Roberts addresses a listener's question from Massachusetts about the viability and effectiveness of "blended" BNI chapter meetings, where members can attend either in person or virtually. He shares a strong position against blended meetings, emphasizing the risk of disengagement and chapter decline, and offers detailed reasoning and alternatives to the proposed format.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Definition and Context: Hybrid vs. Blended Meetings

• Blended Model: Members choose between in-person or virtual attendance for each meeting.
• Hybrid Model (BNI context): All meetings are either entirely virtual, entirely in-person, or alternate on a set schedule, but not a mix during a single meeting.
• Listener Context: A small chapter (15 members) seeks flexibility by letting members "Zoom in" occasionally to make participation easier.

2. Strong Opposition to Blended Meetings

• Core Message:
  “Absolutely not. Don’t do it.”
  — Tim Roberts [01:46]
• Tim argues that blended meetings are not "hybrid" and believes they will accelerate disengagement, potentially leading to a chapter's downfall.
• Main Concerns:
  • Online attendees are often less involved, multitask, or have cameras off, leading to low engagement.
  • Difficulty ensuring discipline and active participation in online attendees compared to in-person ones.

3. Real-World Analogy: Board Meeting Experience

• Tim shares an anecdote from a recent nonprofit board meeting with mixed in-person and remote participants:
  • Remote participants were quiet, less participatory, sometimes not visible, and often forgotten except at voting time.
• Quote:
  “Most of the people who are online are not as engaged...because they're doing other things.”
  — Tim Roberts [03:14]

4. Blended Meetings Lead to "Ultimate Death Nail" for Chapters

• Smaller, struggling chapters that make participation easier further risk losing active engagement.
• Easing requirements is not a path to growth or effectiveness.
• Attempts to track and limit virtual attendance (e.g., one Zoom per month) add bureaucracy and exceptions that are hard to manage and foster inconsistency.
• Quote:
  “Disaster, absolute disaster waiting to happen.”
  — Tim Roberts [08:23]

5. Alternative Solution: Go Fully Live or Fully Online

• If convenience, cost, or geography are issues, move to a fully online model or a true hybrid (e.g., live once a month, virtual otherwise), never mixed attendance in a single meeting.
• If members resist in-person meetings, it’s a sign they may not be a good fit for the chapter.

6. Success Requires Commitment & Discipline

• Success in networking, business, or sports rarely comes from taking the easiest route.
• BNI’s strength is its structure and the discipline required; trying to make it too easy undermines the core value.
• Quote:
  "Nothing worth it tends to be ... the easier path."
  — Tim Roberts [11:33]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [01:46] “Absolutely not. Don’t do it.”
• [03:14] “Most of the people who are online are not as engaged...because they're doing other things.”
• [08:23] “Disaster, absolute disaster waiting to happen.”
• [11:33] "Nothing worth it tends to be ... the easier path."
• [13:00] "BNI, by definition of everything we do, is not the easiest form of networking, but it's the most effective."

Key Timestamps

• [00:00–01:46] – Introduction, reading of the listener's question
• [01:46–03:30] – Tim’s strong stance against blended meetings; reasoning about disengagement
• [03:31–07:00] – Example from nonprofit board meeting, comparison to BNI context
• [07:01–10:00] – Practical difficulties with blended attendance rules, why “making it easier” is not a solution
• [10:01–13:00] – Alternatives suggested (fully online/hybrid live-once-a-month); commitment and best practices
• [13:01–End] – Recap, encouragement, and closing remarks

Conclusion & Challenge

Tim’s unequivocal recommendation:

“No blended chapter meetings. You’re either all online or all live. That’s it.”
— Tim Roberts [13:20]

He urges chapter leaders and members not to compromise BNI’s foundational structure with blended models and instead focus on approaches that maintain or even increase the discipline and active engagement that makes BNI successful.

For further information or to submit questions: BNIpowerofone.com

Related Episode for Inviting: [Episode 566]

Recommendation: Share this episode with fellow BNI members considering meeting format changes to ensure alignment with proven BNI practices and a focus on engagement and chapter health.