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Hello, this is Priscilla Rice and I'm coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio. This week we're going to have a rebroadcast of one of our earlier classic podcasts. We hope you enjoy it, and thanks so much for listening. Episode number 725, Growth in Difficult Times.
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You're listening to the official BNI podcast with BNI founder and chief visionary officer, Dr. Ivan Meisner. Stay tuned for networking and referral marketing tips from the man who been called the father of modern networking, along with suggestions and insights into getting the most from your membership in the world's largest networking organization, bni.
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Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the official BNI Podcast. I'm Priscilla Rice, and I'm coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. And I'm joined on the phone today by the founder and the Chief Visionary officer of B and I, Dr. Ivan Meisner. Hello, Ivan, how are you and where are you?
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Oh, I've been all about zooming about the world. I've done some live radio interviews. Pittsburgh, St. Augustine. I'm doing a lot of global interviews. Did some stuff on Clubhouse. The app took a little time off in Galveston, and I did a live BNI China event.
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Wow.
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And that was a. That was a lot of fun. So been. Been zooming around.
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It sounds great. So what are you sharing with us today?
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You know, I was asked to talk to some B and I directors about growth because it's so interesting how some directors are just on fire and their regions are on fire and their chapters are on fire and they're really doing well, and other chap and other regions and B and I directors are like, well, how can you possibly grow during, you know, these difficult times? And I'm like, oh, wow. Why is it that some people see the opportunity where other people don't? You need BNI today more than ever. And the last 18 months have been, I think, a great example of understanding that, because it's been a challenge for most businesses. The truth is, it's your network of friends and associates that can help you get through times like this. You know, operating more than 10,400 networking groups now in over 70 countries, I've learned this firsthand. I've also learned something else. It starts with you. It starts with what you believe you can do first. You must have belief. You must believe you can pivot your business and find ways to help more people in your profession, in your industry. You must believe in what you can do for people in this new normal that we live in. There's this old story of two shoe salesmen who were sent to different parts of a developing nation to see if there was a market for their shoes. And after a week, the first salesman wrote back to the company and said, no one wears shoes here. There's no market for us. Send me a return ticket. The second shoe salesman wrote back to the company and said, no one wears shoes here. There's a huge market for our shoes. Send me a large shipment. It's all perspective. You have to believe. You have to believe in yourself. You have to believe that you can. You have to believe that you can pivot. You have to believe that your network can help you in this process. I think, you know, I recently had a B and I director who said, you don't. You don't understand, Ivan. It's. It's impossible to. To grow right now. No, that's not true. If you believe you can or believe you can't, you're going to be right. And if you think it's impossible, It'll be impossible. Nbni, we have over 280,000 people in the organization, and I see people in the exact same professions who believe it's possible to pivot and people in the exact same profession who believe that it's not possible to pivot during these challenging times. And it may come as a surprise to some, but it doesn't come as a surprise to me that many of the people who believe they can pivot are doing so successfully, and all of the people who believe they cannot pivot are not doing it successfully. If you think you can or you think you can't, you're going to be right. Pivoting during difficult times begins with the belief that you can. Next, you have to have passion, passion about what you do and how you'll achieve it in the current environment. And that includes your participation in B and I. You got to be passionate about it. But let me be clear about passion. Passion does not produce commitment. Commitment produces passion. Commitment and passion produce results. It is the CPR for any business. Commitment and passion produce results. C +P equals R. Nothing great in life has ever been done without passion and commitment. And that CPR acronym came from one of our directors, Glenn, who suggested that because I was talking to them about commitment and passion, and that's what it takes to get results. The third key is leadership. And leadership is not about managing and complying. It is about mobilizing and inspiring. I'm going to repeat that. Leadership is not about managing and complying. It's about mobilizing and inspiring. Over the years, I've learned that it is true that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. It's about the touch points that you have with the people you manage, that you work with and that you serve. In a BNI context, it's about staying connected with your fellow members, connecting with visitors in the organization. And your business is about connecting with your clienteles on a regular basis. It's all about those touch points and connecting with people. It's about giving members and clients and customers. It's about giving them love, care and attention. It's about doing six things a thousand times. Not a thousand things six times. A good friend of mine, the late Chick Gallagher, liked to say he was a BNI director and he liked to say it's not about doing something so many times that you finally get it right. It's about doing it so many times that you can't get it wrong. But you have to be doing the right things. And the right things involve inspiring people to take action. It's about those touch points and BNI that involves learning how to coach people effectively. And the leadership teams are so incredibly important. And of course the directors and director consultants are important, but even, you know, members, the, the visitor host, the, the education coordinator can help guide people and help people day in and day out. It's about showing up to help people be a better version of themselves. That is what we can be doing right now and that is how we can grow a business during difficult times. Don't over complicate things. I don't know why people make things so complicated. And I'm not just talking about bni, I'm talking about people in general. We as a human race just tend to make things complicated or, or we tend to reinvent the wheel, which also drives me nuts. But B and I doesn't have to be complicated. You know, When I started BNI back in 1985, I had one sheet of paper. That's all I had. I think I've talked about this in a podcast before. It's all I had, one sheet of paper. It was the agenda typed up by me on an IBM Selectric typewriter. And if you're a millennial, you millennial, you have no idea what I'm talking about today. It's just basically an anchor, big heavy typewriter. And back then I typed Columbus style, you know, seek out and discover. And, and I typed up the agenda and people would ask me, do you have any material? When I was trying to start a chapter. They'd ask, do you have any material? I said, no. You don't have any marketing material? No. Well, surely you have a brochure? No. What do you have? Well, I've got the agenda. And they'd look at the agenda and they'd say, well, this doesn't really tell me a lot. And I'd say, no, you got to come to a meeting. You have to come to a meeting and experience it. And Priscilla, I opened 20 chapters.
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Amazing.
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In one year. In one year. And all I had was one sheet of paper. And so when people say to me, oh, you can't do it, that's like, really, seriously, look at all the stuff we've done got. Look how easy we make it for people. It's about the belief that you have. It's about the passion that you have. The commitment is what creates that passion. And it's about your leadership. In my career, I have seen ordinary people do extraordinary things. I believe in you, I believe in the members. I believe that you can do extraordinary things. Our vision controls our perception and our perception becomes our reality. Set a vision that makes a difference to the people around you. Why accept mediocrity when excellence is an option? Even in difficult times, excellence is an option. I see it all around the world. And that's my message this week, Priscilla,
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that's a great message. I just want to add one thing to it, which is that when, you know, when we're operating in our chapters and we're inviting guests, not only the guests, but sometimes the members don't even realize what a part they are of a huge network. You know that you've created this incredible business building network all over the world. And when you're in your little chapter, you kind of forget all that. But it's really an incredible giant clock of working parts that's worldwide. It's really amazing, Ivan, what you've created from one piece of paper.
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Well, thank you. And obviously it was many of us that did it. There are literally, I think now four or five thousand people who work for the company worldwide. And we have well over 280,000 members worldwide. And so many, many people have contributed to this worldwide phenomenon that BNI has become. But I appreciate your kind words and I can't wait to see what BNI continues to become because we're going to get out of these difficult times. And BNI has grown. We've added six to 700 chapters during all of this chaotic last year and a half, and we've added six to 700 chapters. We've had 36 years of consecutive growth. Very few companies in the world have ever done that. It looks like we'll have a 37th year of consecutive growth. And I think the reason for that is today, more than ever, you need your network. And BNI is a great way to do it. And you're right, it's global. And those people who listen to the podcast, I think, have a better idea of that. Anything else, Priscilla?
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That is it, Ivan.
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Well, then let me hand it over to you. Thank you so much.
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Okay, perfect. That's great information. Well, I'd just like to share that this podcast is sponsored by MeisnerAudioProGrams.com and that these audio programs will provide you with the tools and the inspiration to powerfully enhance your BNI experience and help you boost your business. So check out the great material available to you@meisneraudioprograms.com and use the promo code IVAN5O for 50% off all audio programs. All of the proceeds are going to the B and I Foundation. Thank you so much for listening. This is Priscilla Rice, and we look forward to having you join us again next week for another exciting episode of the official B and I Podcast.