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Episode 154: “25 Years of BNI”

May 12th, 2010

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Synopsis

This year BNI celebrates its 25th anniversary. In 25 years, the organization has gone from a spare room in Ivan’s house to a multi-national with more than 1000 employees worldwide. Last year BNI members passed 6.2 million referrals and generated $2.6 billion in business.

BNI’s first employee and four of the original founding members are still with the organization.

BNI is now working on the single largest project in its history: BNI Connect, which not only integrates an online social network with the in-person networking, but connects chapters around the world to each other. Watch for the catchphrase “Local Business, Global Network,” which BNI has trademarked.

We believe BNI is the world’s largest business networking organization because we spend so much time on education and training. Take advantage of it.

Exercises:

  • Check in with your chapter and see who’s been there longest. Find out about the history of your group.
  • Keep an eye on SuccessNet for further developments with BNI Connect.
  • Read Givers Gain if you haven’t already.

Brought to you by Ask Ivan Misner.

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Published In: Givers Gain | History of BNI
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Video: “How BNI Works”

February 17th, 2010

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Published In: General | Getting The Most From BNI | Givers Gain | Video
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Episode 116: “Full Participation in BNI”

August 5th, 2009

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Synopsis

In week two of BNI Fundamentals, Dr. Misner addresses “Full Participation in BNI.” (Remember, Education Coordinators can download all this material in advance from BNI.com.)

  1. Be there every week. Out of sight, out of mind. And if you show up late for BNI, we assume you’ll show up late with clients.
  2. Participate in the networking time that starts each meeting. Don’t sit down until the president calls the meeting to order. Pay special attention to visit.
  3. Participate 100% in the meeting. Treat whoever is speaking as if they were the biggest client you could possibly land.
  4. Attend the BNI trainings and embrace a culture of learning.

All four of these practices demonstrate the Givers Gain mentality. The more you put into BNI, the more you’ll get out of it.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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Published In: BNI Fundamentals | Getting The Most From BNI | Givers Gain
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Episode 62: “Givers Gain, Chapter 11—20/20 Vision”

July 9th, 2008

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Synopsis

Dr. Misner reaches the final chapter of Givers Gain in this episode. Over time, Dr. Misner developed a clearer and clearer vision of what BNI would be, a vision that continues to grow and expand.

The theme of this chapter is summed up in this phrase: You may not be able to make a world of difference, but you can make a difference in the world. BNI is about cooperating for mutual success.

Givers Gain concludes with the following quote: “I believe that if all the people in an organization row in the same direction, that organization can dominate in any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.”

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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Published In: Givers Gain
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Episode 59: “Givers Gain, Chapter 10—Part 2”

June 18th, 2008

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Synopsis

Dr. Misner continues his discussion of BNI traditions this week.

Testimonials

This is one of the earliest traditions of BNI. It came about when a member wasn’t getting a business, tried offering an initial consultation, and received a spontaneous testimonial from another member who took him up on it. The more you have third-party endorsements, the easier it is to give referrals to people. It mitigates the risk of referral marketing.

Caring About People

BNI is all about people, from the top down. Remember, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. The best way you can show you care is to be there and help. One of the reasons Dr. Misner does these podcasts is to show that he cares about BNI members.

Walking the Talk

What you do thunders so loudly above your head I cannot hear you speak. There are many ways to contribute to BNI. Bring visitors. Welcome visitors. Don’t let a week go by where there’s not a tidbit of information you offer to your fellow members.

Investment to Join

Getting business out of BNI is not a guarantee, it’s an opportunity. You can turn a $10 bar of iron into $250,000 worth of springs for watches. Turning your BNI membership into value involves understanding the traditions of the organization.

The Secret to Success

The secret to success without hard work is still a secret. The things Dr. Misner talks about in Givers Gain are simple, but not easy. You have to work to succeed in BNI.

If you’re interested in traditions within organizations, read Inside the Magic Kingdom.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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Published In: Givers Gain
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Episode 58: “Givers Gain, Chapter 10—Part 1”

June 11th, 2008

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Synopsis

Dr. Misner has just returned from BNI’s global conference in Malaysia to tell us about BNI’s traditions. In this episode, we hear about the first half of the chapter; the second have comes in Episode 59.

The Mission of BNI

Any discussion of BNI’s traditions has to begin with the mission: to help members increase their business through a structured, positive, and professional word-of-mouth program that enables them to develop long-term, meaningful relationships with quality business professionals. It’s important to remember that because people often suggest that BNI should be doing other things, which are good things, but not part of the mission.

The Philosophy

BNI accomplishes its mission through the philosophy of “Givers Gain:” when you contribute to the success of others, that will contribute to you. That’s why every new member gets a copy of the book. Dr. Misner illustrates this with a story of a prize-winning Nebraska farmer who won the State Fair four years in a row by giving away his specially developed seed to his neighbor.

Training and Education

This is one of the most important traditions of BNI. BNI spends hundreds of thousands of person-hours a year training members, and that’s one of the main reasons BNI is the world’s most successful networking association. Participate in as many trainings as possible.

Keeping the Fun in the Fundamentals

Never forget about having fun. Chapters that have fun are always the strongest. Meeting stimulants can really help with this. Try the NAT Radio exercise, or the candy bar exercise. Talk to your leadership team if you’re not familiar with these.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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Published In: Givers Gain | Meeting Stimulants | Networking Exercise
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Episode 55: “Givers Gain Chapter 9—A New Millennium”

May 21st, 2008

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Synopsis

This week Dr. Misner is in Orlando at the BNI National Conference and calls in to praise BNI’s long-term employees, some of whom have been with BNI for all its 23 years. These are the people who’ve taken BNI from a home-based business in Dr. Misner’s tiny Claremont house to the international organization it is today.

Employee loyalty shows that a company has stability, commitment, and a good working environment. It’s important for members to know that BNI’s success is based on having good people.

The other thing Dr. Misner talks about in this chapter of Givers Gain is the communication revolution. This podcast is just one example of the things technology lets us do that we couldn’t do before. Thousands of members listen every week, thanks to the e-mail announcement list and the fact that education coordinators are sharing this information with their chapters.

One reason for writing the book was to keep BNI chapters from repeating mistakes that have already been made. BNI keeps experimenting with new possibilities, testing them out before disseminating them to the BNI chapters. The Referral Institute was born from some of these experiments.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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Published In: Givers Gain
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Episode 51: “Givers Gain, Chapter 8—A New Audience”

April 23rd, 2008

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Synopsis

Chapter 8 of Givers Gain covers the years 1998-2000. It was during this period that Dr. Misner realized he needed to write a book about networking to educate BNI members, and wrote The World’s Best Known Marketing Secret.
The surprise discovery was the media benefits of publishing a book. Thanks to his 10 books, Dr. Misner has been interviewed well over 1000 times. His first live TV appearance was right after the Village People and his book nearly set the host on fire.

Since that time, Dr. Misner’s books have become a vital part of the BNI culture.

Four main factors determined BNI’s phenomenal growth during this period:

  1. Had already built a solid foundation for BNI.
  2. BNI is locally owned an operated.
  3. Jumped the borders and started spreading into new countries.
  4. Gained greater exposure through publishing books.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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Published In: Givers Gain
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Episode 45: “Givers Gain Chapter 7: Going International”

March 12th, 2008

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Synopsis

Every BNI member gets a free copy of Givers Gain at the New Members’ Orientation/Member Success Program.

Going through the history of BNI gives members a sense of organizational culture. In this episode, Dr. Misner talks about how BNI became an international organization.

  • Canada was the first country outside the US to have BNI; Don and Nancy Morgan, the founders of BNI Canada, are still the national directors.
  • Canadian BNI directors are responsible for the expansion of BNI to the United Kingdom and Australia.
  • BNI has been translated into more than a dozen languages, starting with Canadian French.
  • Because BNI is about members doing business locally, it adapts itself to cultural differences.
  • It was also during this period that the BNI Foundation was created.
  • You can find the Hidden Elements to Running a Successful BNI meeting at the end of this chapter.

Sponsored by Networking Now.

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Published In: Givers Gain | International Chapters
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Episode 35: “Givers Gain, Chapter 6”

December 19th, 2007

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Synopsis

Dr. Ivan Misner shares tips from Chapter 6 of his book Givers Gain, which covers the years 1990-1994. The one-to-one dance cards started at a conference during this time period. This was also when Dr. Misner developed his vision of an international organization and began working on the business instead of in it.

Some important points about how the BNI franchise works:

  • 95% of all the revenue of every group stays within the country of that franchise.
  • Franchise owners are all BNI members who work their way up.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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Published In: BNI Meeting | Givers Gain
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