I’ll see you at the match…

Imagine the scene the Real Madrid team are getting off the team coach, having just beaten Barcelona 4 – 0, Cristiano Ronaldo having scored a hat-trick turns to his team mates and says, “I’ll see you at the match next week”, smiles and walks away.

 Now of course this would never happen, even for the best player in the world (some say second best), because he would report for training along with the rest of the team the next day. He may be the best, done it all before, scored more goals than any other player, won more awards, but like every other member of the team he will attend training. I’ve also read that often he is the first player to arrive and the last to leave.

So why does he put in all of this effort when he is already one of the very best? I’m sure there are many reasons but three instantly come to mind. He wants to stay one of the very best, he is part of a team and he is a leader. Thought of a fourth. He wants his name to be the first on the team sheet for every game.

Now what has Cristiano Ronaldo got to do with BNI you are probably thinking?

Well that’s easy!

Very soon the new team to run your chapter will be picked and after that team training will be held.

Over the years I’ve heard many excuses for not attending this training, with the most common reason being ‘I’ve done it before.’ Well don’t you think Cristiano Ronaldo has been to training before?

However good a member you are, however many times you have done the training before, you will always learn something. And even if you don’t you will be meeting new people (networking), but even more important than that is that you are part of a team and a team works best when they train together.

I said earlier that Cristiano Ronaldo wants to be the first name on the team sheet. Have you ever wondered what it says about you if you aren’t asked to be part of your chapter team? I know members that breathe a sigh of relief when they aren’t asked but what they don’t consider is that maybe they weren’t thought good enough to help run their chapter.

So, teams are currently being put together and I hope that your name is on the ‘Team Sheet’ and that you already have your chapter training date in your diary just in case.