How a global networking organization is spinning its flywheel in Mexico 

By Verne Harnish

The Mexico franchise of Corporate Connections—a global networking company—is using the Scaling Up platform to pursue an ambitious goal: tripling its size by 2028. Corporate Connections is a sister company to BNI, a global networking organization. While BNI serves SMBs, Corporate Connections caters to firms with annual revenue of $5 million or more. 

Acquired in 2019, the master franchise has brought in 200 business leaders, who belong to chapters in four main cities in Mexico. It has done so under the leadership of National Director Alejandro Obregon and his partners, father-and-daughter team Carlos and Lorena Medina, who invited Obregon to join this project in 2018. Obregon’s partners have also owned the BNI México franchise since 2006.

The leadership team is growing the organization under the guidance of Scaling Up Certified Coach Nicolas Hauff. They are about one-third of the way toward the franchisee’s Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG): representing 1% of Mexico’s GDP collectively in the chapter. Mexico is the world’s 13th largest economy, representing about $1.7 trillion a year, with 1% equaling $17 billion.

“Our BHAG is something I connected with personally, and the moment we started communicating it, it had a tremendous effect on our members, because they were as excited as we were, or even more excited, because this is a way to move our country forward through our organization,” says Obregon. 

Obregon’s vision is to expand to 10 major cities in Mexico by 2028. “But it’s not only to get members,” he says. “It’s that all members have a consistently excellent experience.” 

Building a powerful flywheel

Powering the company’s expansion goal is a Jim Collins-like “flywheel,” based on the number of engaged members making referrals to the by-invitation-only network.

“If you think about the flywheel, we have to have a very, very high level of satisfied customers,” says Obregon. “If we have that, the consequence will be growth.”

Embracing a critical number

One key focus of Obregon’s work with his coach has been strategic planning. As he and his leadership team completed the One-Page Strategic Plan (OPSP), they embraced quarterly and annual planning, adopting annual and quarterly themes.

To ensure strong execution of its growth goals, the company set a critical number: memberships outside of Mexico City. To encourage members to invite more colleagues and schedule more interviews, it created a compensation plan tied to its critical number. 

Executing on a Brand Promise

Another key focus is the execution of the organization’s Brand Promise of “Where Leaders Connect.” Obregon’s team carefully screens prospective members based on both their professional qualifications and alignment with Corporate Connections’ values and philosophy. The organization has developed a thorough selection process with multiple filters, based on Collins’ Good to Great and Adam Grant’s Give and Take, as well as its Core Values: Meaningful Relationships, Extraordinary Experiences, Culture of Excellence, Seamless and Simple, and Catalyst for Change.

In vetting members, Corporate Connections also seeks input from its National Members’ Council, a decentralized group represented by one member from each chapter. The filtering ensures a robust, engaged member base. 

“Our values are our single most important North Star,” says Obregon. “We need to have people who believe the same things we believe.” 

Making growth fun

Gamification helps the team stay focused, daily, on growth. In the master franchisee’s video-gaming-themed “Mario Party,” each employee selects a character to represent them, whether Mario, Luigi or someone else. The gamified system awards them stars and bonuses when they support specific company goals—like meeting members in person or joining its networking meetings to keep them engaging.

Mastering cash flow

Corporation Connections has a membership-based business model, in which the annual $10,000 membership fee is paid up front. To optimize cash flow, the company shifted its fiscal year to begin in September, timed to the period when most renewals take place. That allows the organization to collect a significant amount of cash in a 30-day period. It deploys this cash to pay suppliers and negotiate better terms with them. These efforts have strengthened the company’s cash position and enabled it to become profitable. 

Meanwhile, they’ve also improved relationships with suppliers. “Especially for our chapter meetings, we need to have a 100% guarantee that we’ll have preference to do our events on the dates we want to do them,” says Obregon. 

For Hauff, working with Obregon and his partners provides a powerful example of how the Scaling Up framework can set leaders free to focus on what they do best: Grow their companies.

“For the past 12 years, Scaling Up has given me a powerful yet practical framework and the tools to help business owners and their leadership teams focus, align, and execute with discipline,” he says. As Corporate Connections scales up, having the right systems in place will provide a valuable advantage.