BNI Founder Dr. Ivan Misner - How He Built The World's Largest Business Networking Organization
Updated: Sep 2, 2021
Brainz Magazine Exclusive Interview
Dr. Misner’s Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California. He is a New York Times Bestselling author who has written 26 books including one of his latest books – Who’s in Your Room? He is also a columnist for Entrepreneur.com and has been a university professor as well as a member of the Board of Trustees for the University of La Verne.
Called the “Father of Modern Networking” by both Forbes and CNN, Dr. Misner is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on business networking and has been a keynote speaker for major corporations and associations throughout the world. He has been featured in the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times, as well as numerous TV and radio shows including CNN, the BBC, and The Today Show on NBC.
Among his many awards, he has been named “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Red Cross and has been the recipient of the John C. Maxwell Leadership Award. He is proud that he and his late wife, Elisabeth, are the Co-Founders of the BNI Charitable Foundation. They also reached “empty nester” status after happily raising their three children. Oh, and in his spare time, he is also an amateur magician and has a black belt in karate.
I recently sat down with Doctor Ivan Misner and wanted to pick his brain and find out what clues he may be able to leave behind so we can all be better at building relationships and networking more effectively.
What makes a great networker?
The foundation of everything I teach is a process called the VCP Process, which stands for Visibility, Credibility, and Profitability. Many people make the mistake of using networking as a cold calling experience. I once held a keynote in Europe and asked the question “how many of you have come to sell something?”, all 900 hands went up. When I asked the question “How many of you have come to buy?“, not a single hand was raised.
This is what I call the networking disconnect. It’s the wrong way to go about networking. First, you have to keep showing up, that's what I call Visibility, then over time you prove your credibility by doing a great job, the final step is profitability but too many people are bypassing the first two processes. Networking has to be about relationships.
At what point did you decide to play a less active role in BNI?
People say to me “it must be incredible to be semi-retired“. I am down to 40 hours a week. I sit down before every new year and consider my life vision. I am not involved in the day-to-day aspects of BNI. I am still highly involved in the company, I am completely in my element. It’s ok to reinvent yourself, after 30 years of leading I was becoming tired of it, I needed to focus on something different within BNI, I am focused on the relationship development.
Did you ever think BNI would reach the levels it has?
Ever? yes. But in the first 11 months no I didn’t. I set up the first chapter for the sake of my own business and those that I cared about. A lady came along and realized that someone in her field was already a part of the group and was unable to join, she asked me if she could create a second chapter. Initially, I said no, but changed my mind and within a year we had 20 chapters. I wasn’t even trying. I had my “Brody Moment“ (From the movie jaws “We are going to need a bigger boat“). This was my lightbulb moment and I believed I could create 10,000 chapters, and In December 2020 that came to fruition.
What’s the thought behind having one expert in one specific field in the structure of BNI?
Honestly, I did it because I didn’t want my competition to be in the room. I didn’t like a lot of other networking events I was attending and I wanted to be able to speak freely without competitors taking my ideas. So that’s where that thought process generated from. We are all about building relationships and the mantra “Give is Gain“ is about an attitude and not an expectation.
What makes it easier for someone to refer another professional?
The key is educating people on how to refer to you, your weekly presentations become critical. I try to teach people the language of referrals. I can’t, I need, I want and I don’t know. Fill in the blanks.
"You have to teach people the language of referral."
Take one of those each week and be laser specific on how you can educate people to refer you. If you’re a coach you may present and say something like I am looking for people who are saying “I want to have more confidence“. You have to teach people the language of referral.
You’ve achieved much in your life. What keeps you hungry for more?
It’s about making a difference in other people's lives. Making an impact on one person at a time, then one chapter at a time, and then one country at a time. Success is about a layer cake, it’s layer after layer. I love making a difference in people's lives. I love speaking and seeing the light go on in people’s eyes. There is nothing more gratifying to me than people being inspired by something I say.
I know you love Leadership, what is your greatest quality where you believe this has given you the greatest results?.
I think my ability to focus on solutions and not the problems has helped me create the right results. Too often people are obsessed with problems, but a great leader is all about solutions, the other would be to set the right culture within an organization and to really care for people.
If you could meet someone living or dead for a hot beverage who would it be and why?
Nelson Mandela or Gandhi. Two men I truly admired, who changed the world through non-violence, they were truly focused on the solutions of the world. They were able to recognize the problems of the world and focused solely on the solutions they could bring.
Listen to the full interview on Spotify!
