Would you join a business community?

Well for the fact you are reading this in Linkedin says you have already joined one!

Also, as you are a fully paid-up member of the human race, this means that you were personally the result of generations of communities working together for the common good through sharing resources and bearing risks collectively.

The word "community" comes from the Old French ‘comuneté’, which in turn originates from the Latin ‘communitas’ meaning ‘public spirit’ or ‘shared in common’.

In 12th Century Medieval Europe after the collapse of the feudal system, people once again grouped together for collective benefit forming the trade Guilds. In 15th Century Switzerland, individuals practising the same trade joined together to form “Verein” a business structure still commonly found in professional services businesses today such as law firms.

Some of the most well known organisations in the world are still structured in this way today, for example FIFA and the World Wildlife Fund.

Business Communities provide a unique opportunity for personal growth. They concentrate knowledge, motivation and inspiration – and thereby spark positive change.

We all engage with content on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn and we mostly miss that these are in fact still basic communities.

Even though the members of a community generally have similar interests and a similar mindset, they can have completely different backgrounds.

Different backgrounds bring different perspectives and from this topics discussed in these types of forum are then naturally informed more broadly – which in turn leads to a wider understanding of the topic.

Input with differing perspectives also speeds up the learning-process.

When you’re part of a community, you usually attend fixed meetings or workshops with clear agendas and goals. There’s no distracting environment, no social media, just you and other people trying to achieve the same thing. Which in turn is inherently motivating.

Communities not only exchange lots of useful information but also enable the building of professional and personal relationship even bringing together mentors and mentees and potential new business partners.

In most cases communities are also different to your day job so they bring variety into your working life.

Joining together as a group also brings collective power to make decisions or in seeking information, communities can access things that you simply wouldn’t normally be able to do as an individual.

The same applies to also resolving issues, a group is far better placed to solve problems through collective intelligence and the direct involvement of decision makers helps expedite processes normally punctuated with gaps of time created by seeking needed approvals.

Overall, joining a business community can be a powerful way for customers to stay informed, connected and supported in their professional endeavor's while while contributing to the growth and success of the broader business ecosystem.