Hello! I had a thought cross my mind today: do BNI groups violate privacy? I learned about them from an acquaintance in the insurance industry who is in one and was suggesting that I join one. I decided not to for other reasons, but have the privacy concerns anyway.

For those who haven't heard of them, they're a group where you pay ~$500/year to meet with a group of people that basically just gives each other referrals. Sounds like they work really well for plumbers, accountants, construction, etc. The way it was explained to me is that you're expected to come to each meeting with a list of people who have said they need a certain service, then pass their name along for the people who do that service to call them. Completely possible I misunderstood though, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, would you guys have privacy concerns, too?

Well, for a bank employee it might be a challenge. You ever mention a specific referral and that can be related back to the fact that they are a customer of the bank, you have a problem.

That was my thought exactly!