The Confreres Process & Rules The Confreres Facilitator Each Confreres Group (7 to 14 people) has a Facilitator. The Facilitator's primary function is to make everything work... for both helpers and those in being helped. The Confreres Process Meetings. Each Confreres Group meets face to face. These meetings are scheduled by the group's Facilitator. If you want a meeting, but none is scheduled, ask your Facilitator if you can host one. Inquire About Your Fellow Confreres' Activities and Interests. When you attend a meeting introduce yourself and ask your fellow confreres what they are doing... and in particular any specific projects they are working on. Those projects are activities in which you may be able to help them. Ask them if they have any headaches or problems. Confreres Between Ventures. You should expect a few people who aren't actively engaged in a current venture. That means they are likely looking for something new, either as a helper, investor or as a principal. Inquire about their past lives, their skill sets, and types of ventures and industries that most interest them. Referring Business to Fellow Confreres. Some Confreres may have an interest in selling their products or services. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Ask them about the nature of their business and who they sell to. This will enable you to refer business to them and also identify if they have anyone in their customer/client network who could help you or a fellow Confrere. When You're Helping Others When You Join Group. When you join a Confreres group let the Facilitator know about who your are, your experiences, your interests and your skill sets. Keep Your Facilitator Informed About Yourself. If there is anything in particular you want to do, or want not to do, tell the Facilitator. It's their job to help you obtain your goals while you help others obtain theirs. When You Need Help Let Your Facilitator Know. If there is anything for which you need help, inform the Facilitator prior to a meeting. Let the Help Come to You... Don't Chase it. When you participate in a meeting, it is best for you to focus your efforts on asking others about their needs and how you may help them... If everyone is in that mode, rest assured, your issues will get addressed along with everyone else's. At the same time, don't forget to keep the Facilitor aware of how Conferers may be able to help you, it's their job to keep an eye open for your needs. Ground Rules Make Your Personal Network Available to Others Sometimes you will have the skills or knowledge to help a person directly. More often you will know someone in your personal network of acquaintances who can help a fellow Confrere. Giving and receiving referrals is an important part of the Confreres process. If you are reluctant to share your personal network of acquaintances with others, Confreres probably isn't the organization for you. Tell Your Facilitator About the Help You Get When you have been helped, an important way to reward your helper is to publicly thank him or her. For those Confreres who make their services available for hire, public notice of the help they have provided a fellow Confrere is a great thank you. . All you need do is send a short e-mail to your Facilitator about how you were helped. Explain the nature of the help, who provided it, and what results came out of it. It will be included in our next newsletter. Don't Overstay Your Welcome Be careful not to impose yourself on a helper, more than is welcome by that helper. The person helping you should be permitted to gracefully set the limits of the help. As a general rule when a helper starts to go beyond giving advice or make a few calls, be sensitive to not imposing yourself more than is welcome. Beyond that point, take special care to make sure that it is them giving as opposed to you taking. If your helper is a service provider, you shouldn't expect them to commit a substantial amount of time or engage in a major project without compensation. On the other hand, if you are a service provider, try to help as best you can without turning the help into a major effort... try to provide the 80% results with the 20% effort.