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Synopsis -
In this episode, Dr. Misner discusses the origins of his book “Givers Gain” and describes Chapter One in detail, including:

“Givers Gain” Is Given Only to BNI Members

The Book Is Not Available For Sale to the General Public

Written to Perpetuate BNI’s Traditions As The Organization Grew Worldwide

Over Three Dozen Localized Versions Are In Print

Where The Givers Gain Philosophy Came From

Encouraging Members and Directors to Openly Share Ideas With Each Other

If You Don’t Have A Copy, Go to MSP Training and Ask Your Director For One

Complete Transcription of BNI Podcast Episode 013 -

Frank Felker:
Hello everybody, and welcome back to the official BNI podcast brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, the leading site on the Net for networking downloadables.

I’m Frank Felker in Washington D.C. joined on the phone again today by founder and chairman of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner, calling in from BNI HQ in Southern California.

How are you today, Ivan?

Dr. Ivan Misner:
Doing great, Frank. Thank you very much.

Frank:
I understand you’re going to share with us today from your book, Giver’s Gain.

Ivan:
Yup, I surely am. It is a book given only to BNI members. I don’t know if you knew this, but it’s not available for sale in bookstores.

Frank:
I didn’t know that.

Ivan:
We never made available to sell to the public. It’s only available to BNI members, and it’s given to any BNI member who goes through MSP training for free. It’s one of the benefits of membership.

Frank:
Okay. I did not know that book was not for sale to the public.

Ivan:
Yeah, it’s not for sale to the public, and we really wrote it for BNI members specifically. And the reason that I wrote it a couple years ago was we were becoming larger and larger in terms of the number of chapters and the number of countries we were going to. And one of the concerns I’ve always had with growth is that you lose — it’s very easy for an organization to lose the very things that made it strong. When you become bigger, you lose touch with the things that helped get you there to begin with, and the traditions of the organization and the history of the organization gets lost with growth.

And so I was hoping that by putting together a book that really quite candidly talks about our screw-ups, what we did wrong, as well as what we did right, that it would help put everything in perspective for the average member to understand why BNI has become the world’s largest business networking organization.

And it’s not only my story about how we started BNI, but it’s a story of many, many other directors, including each country. And many of your listeners don’t know this. This is something that only a handful of directors know. There are actually, at this point, more than three dozen versions of Giver’s Gain.

Frank:
You mean in different languages?

Ivan:
Well, yes, you’re right. There are different languages, as well, but there’s also different forwards, because one of the things that we wanted to do was to make this very localized. So in each country, the national director for that country writes the forward for the country. So they talk about, in the United Kingdom, how they heard about BNI, how the Lawsons heard about BNI, and how they got the program started right there in the United Kingdom. And then it launches into the BNI story.

In Canada, the same with Don and Nancy Morgan, how they first heard about BNI and how they brought it to Canada. And the same in Australia and every single country, we start the book with the story of that country, and then we launch into the primary book, which I think is a great way to help keep this localized as well as focused on the traditions of the organization.

Frank:
I agree. That’s brilliant. It’s a great idea.

Ivan:
So it’s really awesome if anybody ever has a chance to see any of the books from the other countries. It’s great to see the different languages and, of course, the different forwards.

If we can, I’d like to just touch upon, for a couple of minutes, the first chapter of Giver’s Gain and some of the real important points that are in there so that when you get a copy of the book, look for these things because they are very important.

In the first chapter, we talk about two or three things that I think are critical, one of which is the philosophy of the organization, Giver’s Gain, and how that became so important in the beginning of BNI. You know, when I started the organization, it took a year or so to start using that phrase. We used to say that we had an unwritten loyalty of, you know, if you didn’t have a referral for — let me say that again. We had an unwritten loyalty. As much as possible, we tried to use one another in business, but that was too long and complex, and we found that the phrase, Giver’s Gain, really said it all as to what this organization is all about.

Another one of the central philosophies for the organization that really started early on was the idea of encouraging sharing of good ideas and having members share ideas with one another so that they can improve their involvement in the organization. We have certainly done that with directors, and we have conferences now all around world where directors get together and share all of the great ideas that they hear.

And the last thing that’s in that chapter that I think is really critical is that we talk about BNI’s traditions and how important it is to understand the traditions of an organization and how traditions really make or break the success of the company. And we actually spend a whole chapter — and later, what I’d like to do with these podcasts is that over the next six months, at least once a month or so, I’d like to hit upon one chapter of Giver’s Gain and talk a little bit about some of the key points that are in that chapter, because I think you’ll get a bird’s eye view, a perspective of how BNI got to where it is today through both trial and error.

So for the listeners out there, you know, pull up a rocking chair, get comfortable, and we’ll do the BNI story in one or two of these podcasts every month over the next six months.

Frank:
I think that’s a great idea. But we’re just about out of time for this week’s podcast. Do you have a last pearl of wisdom about Giver’s Gain?

Ivan:
Well, I think you don’t live long enough to make all the mistakes that you can, so learn from other people’s mistakes, and Giver’s Gain is really all about learning from the now 100,000 members. And this would be a good time to make the announcement, actually. We just hit the 100,000 member mark this week in BNI.

Frank:
Unbelievable. Congratulations.

Ivan:
So learn from the other hundred thousand members that have made every mistake you can think of. I mean, if you ever look at the BNI program and you say, “Wow, this is really good,” it’s because we screwed up so much, we’ve gotten it right. So follow what’s worked over the last 22 years, and Giver’s Gain really does that. It shows, step by step, the things we’ve done right, the things we’ve done wrong. It’s really good reading for somebody who wants to be successful in this program.

Frank:
Ivan, I don’t know if you have ever heard this expression, but I often like to say, “We learn best by our mistakes, and that’s what makes me an expert.”

Ivan:
That’s for sure, and I’m an expert with all the mistakes we’ve made.

One parting comment, Frank. If you do not have a copy of Giver’s Gain, go to MSP training or the equivalent in your country and make sure your director gives you a free copy of Giver’s Gain.

Frank:
Well, that’s it for this week’s podcast for Dr. Ivan Misner. I’m Frank Felker saying we’ll see you next week on the official BNI podcast.