Dr. Ivan Misner has helped thousands of businessmen and women develop a strong bond of mutual assistance through effective networking to grow their businesses.
Dr. Ivan Misner founded BNI (Business Network International) in 1985 and the huge networking organization now encompasses over 10,000 chapters worldwide.
After Misner received his PhD in organizational behavior from the University of Southern California, he started a consulting practice and began attending networking meetings to expand his sphere of influence but found them to be woefully lacking structure. Some would involve social functions with cocktails and hors d’ oeuvres, but little true business networking was accomplished. At other meetings, it seemed everyone simply tried to sell their products and services with no real ongoing relationship building.
“I wanted to put together a network that focused on business and relationships but wasn’t totally social. The glue that would hold it all together was the core value of “Givers Gain.” I will help you, you will help me, and we will all do better as a result of it.”
Misner has been called the “Father of Modern Networking” by Forbes and CNN. He is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on business networking and has been featured in the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times, as well as numerous television and radio shows.
His desire was to create a network that was business centric and also developed strong business relationships for the mutual benefit of the entire group.
“I just wanted to start one group to build relationships for my consulting practice. Other people began coming to me and asking me to help open similar groups. At the end of the first year, we had created 20 groups and I quickly realized this was something that was needed in the business community.”
He completed the initial business plan to serve a larger segment of the business community and today BNI includes over 280,000 members in more than 70 countries around the world.
Business networking is still not taught in colleges and universities, but in a survey, over 91% of business owners responded that networking had played a role in their success.
Impact of COVID on BNI
With so many businesses dependent on their weekly BNI networking meetings, COVID forced them to adapt and use current technology to keep referrals flowing.
As early as 2018, Misner had seen the growth of technology and the ability to conduct meetings online rather than face-to-face. He posted an article to entrepreneur.com entitled, “The Future of Face-To-Face Is Online.”
“I’m sure some of my staff believed I was beginning to lose it, but I was trying to get them to accept the new technology and devise a method for us to use it and help BNI members.”
COVID was the catalyst. In January 2020 within a matter of weeks, BNI was able to convert the chapters in China to virtual meetings. By March, all 10,000 global chapters had been converted to virtual.
Even though restrictions surrounding the pandemic are easing, Misner sees a continuation of the use of virtual meetings. When asked if current BNI members wanted to return to in-person meetings, 51% responded that they would prefer a blend of online and in-person meetings. Another 16% wanted online only with the remaining third desiring face-to-face.
“The technology was in place and BNI was able to rapidly adjust to continue to serve the membership and allow business to continue.”
The final decision has yet to be made concerning the future direction of BNI interactions, but it appears a blend of in-person and virtual will be the end result.
Misner has authored 26 books with his latest “Who’s In Your Room? The Secret to Creating Your Best Life” available on Amazon.
How to Scale a Business
He is currently working on his next book that will focus on growing a business from a start-up to a global concern. During our conversation, he shared some of the concepts that will be in that book.
First, to successfully grow a business to a global scale, written, repeatable systems must be in place and employees must be thoroughly trained in those systems.
“If a business doesn’t have concise written systems in place, the next person being trained will only get a portion of the information necessary. New employees will begin adding their own processes into the procedure and the system will break down.”
A second important factor to successfully grow a business is to keep relevant, current data on growth and progress. Goal setting is important, but it is more important to hit those goals, not just make an attempt.
“I like to ‘reverse engineer’ my goals by breaking a goal into smaller relatable bites. Don’t just set a goal for this year. Set a goal for this week, this month, this quarter and base it from sound data from your business. I receive a daily report on the number of BNI Chapters in operation and set that into where I want to be each week.”
Another idea for scaling a business is to set three targets. The first is that you hit your goal and you are dancing on the roof. Second level is a target that is a stretch but is possible to reach. The third target is the ‘Floor,’ if you can’t reach this target, you may want to consider a different endeavor.
“If you really want to be successful, do six things a thousand times, rather than a thousand things six times. Don’t chase the next shiny thing, or look for the magic pill, be consistent in your approach to your business.”
One of Misner’s beliefs is that to be successful in any endeavor, you need to work inside the flame and not in the wax.
“When people work inside their flame you can see it in their actions, as well as, in their voice. They put all their energy into that particular project, or goal. It is also important that they find people that will support them and be the wax to their flame.”
In 2020 BNI experienced its 36th year of consecutive growth. There are very few companies in the world that can compete with that record.
“I honestly think that one of the reasons we were able to grow during the craziest year I have ever experienced, was because we have such an amazing culture. Our members were able to make the transition and embrace our philosophy of “Givers Gain,” which means much more to me than just a phrase. It’s a way of living one’s life, a perspective to view and interact with the world, an attitude, not an expectation. When applied properly, it changes lives and the world. That’s the culture that we’ve tried to create at BNI.”
Ivan Misner continues to lead one of the most dynamic networking and referral generating organizations in the world. Based on the simple principle of “Givers Gain,” businesspeople around the world build relationships and work together to succeed.
Misner and his late wife, Elisabeth, raised three children and co-founded the BNI Foundation. Their foundation collaborates with Boys and Girls Clubs, as well as Junior Achievement chapters and has raised over $3 million for charities globally.
If you would like to learn more about Ivan Misner, his latest book “Who’s in Your Room?” is available at Amazon. BNI.com has information about the BNI mission and chapters, plus he has been adding content to his blog, Ivanmisner.com, since 2007.
We enjoyed our interview with Dr. Misner. You can listen to it on iTunes or watch on YouTube.
