AS business people we are called upon to make choices almost every day of our lives in which different considerations need to be balanced.

Much has been made of the current high level of national debt. It is not desirable for individuals, business or countries to be saddled with excessive levels of debt.

On the other hand it is important to keep the issue in context. The level of national debt half a century ago when Harold McMillan as Prime Minister was telling us that we had “never had it so good” was 150% of GDP – considerably higher as a proportion of national income than it is now.

We are not out of the woods yet but if the fragile signs of a recovery are sustained then a sigh of relief will be called for because had it not been for large scale government interventions not only in the UK but all around the world then a very serious recession would have turned into a deep global depression.

The implications of this would be huge for all of us and future generations – put in this context high levels public borrowing provided there is a credible plan to deal with it may well prove the lesser of two evils.

Looked at this way a cost can easily and with justification in certain circumstances be seen as an investment.

BNI membership should be seen in the same way - as an investment rather than a cost and it is an investment that has helped many businesses to survive the downturn of the past two years.

The most obvious and tangible return on investment is the contracts and orders that we win as a consequence of our membership. But the benefits go beyond that and if we put a price on the training then the business case becomes even stronger.

Perhaps just as important are the intangible benefits that come from the support and advice that we get from fellow members. It is hard to put a price on being around supportive and like-minded people.

Working well BNI members are more than an extended sales force – they really can be the Board that we otherwise cannot afford.