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“Sorry, I don’t understand you.” “We’re a not-for-profit business, run for the members and by the members. We’re here to help our members achieve their goals and grow.”
I’ll be honest, I’ve struggled to explain the NG business model to family and friends, but it’s a business model that I’m proud to be a part of and one I am thoroughly enjoying.
Being part of Network Group
My new role as GM at Network Group is very different from my previous roles, where I’ve worked in internal IT teams, some of which were co-managed environments. I’m familiar with some of the services provided by our members and some of the platforms and tools they use. There’s also a fair amount that I haven’t been exposed to, and it’s certainly been an eye-opener to hear about the challenges faced by our members.
Additionally, not being from a Member Services or Events background, it’s been a steep learning curve at times over the last couple of months. Fortunately, the team at NG and TTG is great and very supportive.
What do I love about the group? I have been genuinely surprised by how much advice, help, and time members freely offer to each other – collaboration, not competition. It therefore feels good to be part of a community with this ethos at heart, and I believe the NG and TTG teams share this ethos, along with a shared sense of commitment to our members.
Working fully remotely, I have also been very fortunate that we have had several in-person meetings during my initial couple of months (including an event) and had the opportunity to get to know the team better. Three of these meetings have been facilitated EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) training sessions.
Entrepreneurial Operating Systems
Speaking of EOS, I know that a number of our members are using EOS in their businesses and will have much more experience and knowledge of the concepts and practicalities of running EOS, but here are my thoughts and reflections on our (Team NG/TTG) journey into EOS so far:
Americanisms – This can put people off from the start, including myself. Once you get past this, the concepts and principles of EOS make a lot of sense, and I think they’re easy to buy into.
Familiar concepts - Some elements of EOS will be familiar concepts, especially for those of you running growth-minded businesses. You will recognise some of your own practices and frameworks within EOS, such as putting first things first and holding weekly meetings. So, not everything in there will be completely alien to you.
What have been the challenges of implementing EOS?
One of the core concepts of EOS is making sure you define the right seats and have the right people in those seats. Trying not to think about the people already in those seats—what does the seat require, and do we have the right people in those seats already—can be a challenge to get right.
What has been the biggest benefit so far with EOS?
Although, at the time of writing this summary, we have not fully implemented EOS, we have started our Level 10 meetings – a weekly 90-minute meeting with a very rigid structure. I have been surprised by how effective these have been at answering whether we are working on the most important tasks, projects, or issues in the business, keeping the cadence with these, and holding each other accountable.
We have our final EOS session in the third week of December, and hopefully, our members will start to see a difference in how we run the group.
As I reflect on my NG journey, I’ve truly enjoyed my time so far. It feels like we’re entering the next phase of the group’s evolution, and I’m excited to be part of that with the NG and TTG teams in 2025
