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'Father of Modern Networking' Dr. Ivan Misner - Pic by Lasantha Kumara
By Charumini de Silva
World famous networking guru Dr. Ivan Misner yesterday urged local businesses and entrepreneurs to have the right mindset to successfully navigate economically tough times.
In Colombo for the first time, the founder and visionary of 38 years old Business Network International (BNI), the world’s largest business networking organisation, Dr. Misner in an exclusive interview with the Daily FT shared his proven mantra for business success.
Describing the energy of the business leaders in Sri Lanka, he said they are like sponges for learning.
“Sri Lankans are embracing new ideas so fast. It’s encouraging to see such enthusiasm when there are complacent countries. If you want the business community to thrive, they need to learn what has worked and hasn’t worked,” said Dr. Misner, a New York Times Bestselling author who has written 28 books including his second edition of Who’s in Your Room? He is a columnist for Entrepreneur.com and teaches Leadership in the MBA program at Concordia University.
Having experienced global recessions many times, Dr. Misner's advice for Sri Lankan entrepreneurs was that attitude has a lot to do with how one can navigate a tough economy successfully.
“The truth is that if we wait till tough times are over, your business will be over – this is why you need your network today more than ever. During trying times, there are almost always opportunities that exist and if you want to succeed, you will have to focus on those opportunities. It is the mindset and the difference between being frozen by fear or being focused by fear,” he emphasised.
Dr. Miasner described networking as one of the key tools in a person’s toolbox to build a successful business.
“Networking is more farming than it is hunting. It is about cultivating business relationships,” said Dr. Misner who was named as “Father of Modern Networking” by both Forbes and CNN.
Dr. Misner said there is still a lot of misunderstanding with networking. “Businessmen use networking as a face-to-face calling opportunity introducing one to another and go right into selling, then building a relationship,” he added.
“I believe in advertising and PR to build the business, but networking is critical. It is not about direct selling. What I have tried to do with BNI is teach people why networking is needed and to help them understand to go into the process that it is all about building relationships. When somebody starts a business you have no idea what networking is, but the little they know is usually wrong, he explained.
Noting that his teaching is based on a concept called the VCP process – visibility, credibility and profitability (VCP), Dr. Misner explained how it practically implies networking events.
“If you are not going to a networking event to sell, then why do you go in the first place? You go because you need to work your way through the VCP process. When you go to a networking event, you are visible – people you have never met before, you want to meet them and make connections. Then in the next step when people know you, it is important to establish credibility. Eventually after knowing and having built credibility; people will then prefer offering business because you have a good reputation. That is why you go to networking events. People who don’t get this VCP process well, don’t do well,” he pointed out.
Despite the global challenges faced in recent years, he said the 300,000-member strong BNI present in 70 countries has continued to achieve remarkable business growth, and the organisation’s success is reflected in the numbers. “In the past year alone, BNI Global has facilitated over $ 21.7 billion in referral business, creating countless opportunities for entrepreneurs and enterprises to flourish,” he added.
He also highlighted that in the business world, it is not about who or what you know, but about how well you know each other.
“We may have so many important contacts saved on our phone, but if we make a call, will they answer? That is what I am talking about. It is important that we have built deep relationships with people to get to the point where they’d be willing to help or refer you in the future,” he added.
Dr. Misner’s visit to Sri Lanka is being organised by BNI Sri Lanka and in collaboration with the Ceylon Chamber it hosted a CEO Forum last night at the Cinnamon Grand, in which he gave specific suggestions on how small businesses can scale to become large businesses aptly titled ‘Building a Global Sri Lanka – Networking the way Forward’.
“I want the Sri Lankan business leaders to feel that it is an ‘actionable plan’ to boost their enterprises similar to my story of how I built BNI from my ‘Garage to Global’. During that process there are good and bad learning processes that will make you and your business stronger,” he recalled.
Dr. Misner described the networking during the COVID pandemic as a game changer. “The world changes pretty fast and businesses have to keep up with it, particularly technology. If a company does not want to get disrupted, they have a choice. They can either leave the disruption or be disrupted. The disruption is inevitable with technology,” he said.
Highlighting AI (artificial intelligence) is the big trend, Dr. Misner said irrespective of its existence, how businesses will utilise the technology will always differentiate them depending on the type of industry they operate in.
Today evening Dr. Misner will address the BNI Sri Lanka national conference at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo.
