Mentors Magazine: Issue 2

Magazine

By Harrison Monarth

2 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

MENTORS Magazine Edition 2

Publisher Neil Ball

Editor Sally Jones

Graphic Designer Tim Swan

Ad Designer Cover Photograph: Courtesy of Tom Hopkins You may NOT copy or use any of the articles in this magazine without permission from MENTORS Magazine. The articles in this magazine are teaching and instructing other people about how to develop personally, in business and other things the writers feel is beneficial to developing personally and in different areas of business. Other articles in our magazine are written by companies, authors, and businesses that have something of value to share and they promote their work to our readers. We also share other stories which we feel are valuable resources for people to learn from.

MENTORS Magazine is not responsible for the content or claims of any advertising or editorial in this publication. All information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted. The reader should do their own due diligence on any information provided in editorial content and for any advertising claims before taking any further action. The reader is responsible for their own actions. Some of the links in the magazine may be affiliate links and we may receive a payment if you make a purchase using them. Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use. If you would like the magazine to share a blogpost or website please contact editor@MentorsMagazine.com All Rights Reserved © 2019 MENTORS Magazine

Joseph Dawson

Writers and Contributors Tom Hopkins Josh Levine Naresh Vissa Bruce Oliver J. Kelly Hoey Stacey Brown Randall Amit Dutta Harrison Monarth Merilee Kern Sunny Bonnell And Ashleigh Hansberger Art Barter Neil Ball Dr. Ivan Misner

Contact Information E-Mail: editor@MentorsMagazine.com Website: www.mentorsmagazine.com Facebook: @MentorsMagazine

Twitter: @MentorsMagazine

English Spelling The spelling of English words will be that of the writer’s country of origin. i.e. spelling in UK English for UK writers, US English for US writers, etc MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 3

IN THIS ISSUE

By Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger

By Art Barter

By Josh Levine

By Merilee Kern

By Tom Hopkins

By J. Kelly Hoey

By Neil Ball

By Amit Dutta

By Harrison Monarth

By Bruce Oliver

By Neil Ball

By Naresh Vissa

By Stacey Brown Randall 4 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

Contributing Writers

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 5

With Sunny Bonnell And Ashleigh Hansberger We met as teens in the mid-1990s, strangers who had each spent our childhood marching to the beat of our own drum, and it was lifechanging to find someone who moved through life in the same way.

One thing we had in common: entrepreneurship. It ran in our blood. Both our fathers 6 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

and grandfathers had grown humble businesses from nothing into huge successes.

From an early age, we witnessed the extreme highs and lows of running a company.

We had ringside seats to the individual accomplishments, failures, and sacrifices they made.

Still, it made no sense for us to drop out of college in our early twenties, just shy of our degrees, to launch a branding agency with $250 and zero experience, right?

So that’s exactly what we did.

We called our agency Motto. A motto is a short statement that encapsulates the beliefs of a person or organization—it’s a war cry. The name had symbolic significance and communicated the kind of company we wanted to build.

a motto stolen from Charles Bukowski— “What matters most is how well you walk through the fire”—we set out to change the conversation.

From the beginning, we were swimming against a rip current of doubt. People said we were too young, too female, too inexperienced, and too broke to succeed in a world where sixtyish admen made the rules.

The only ones in our corner were our parents, and even they had worried eyes.

From the beginning, we were swimming against a rip current of doubt. People said we were too young, too female, too inexperienced, and too broke to succeed in a world where sixtyish admen made the rules. The only ones in our corner were our parents, and even they had worried eyes.

We started looking for role models in our industry, but the blueprint in our small, South Carolina town was old-school advertising agencies run by the old guard. We studied their work, but the more we learned, the less inspired we were. It was tired, static, homogenized, and templated. These guys were established, but slow and selfcongratulatory. They were big, impressive balloons, and we were sharp knives. So, with

Business-as-usual pushed back, hard. If you’ve ever lived in a small town, you’ll understand. Small towns are notoriously locked down by established players. We had no clue we were a threat.

After a while, we started to keep score:

Times we were sabotaged? Sixteen.

Times we got fired for the exact reason we were hired? Twenty.

Times we were told our ideas were absurd? Hundreds.

Times we were written off? Thousands.

We were learning the hard way that vision, dangerous thinking, and defiance of the status quo come with a price. It made the first several years of building Motto a roller coaster.

To broaden our appeal, mentors and family members suggested we dial back our crazy ideas. Take whatever work we could get our hands on. Don’t ruffle feathers or have such strong opinions. Be like everybody else. You have no idea how close we came.

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 7

After admitting life had kicked out every In fifteen years at Motto, we’ve helped hunounce of heart left for the business, Sunny’s dreds of leaders unlock their potential by dad, one of our greatest mentors, warned tapping in to what makes them unique. In us: “You two are a rare breed. doing so, we found many of Not everyone will love you. them to be obstinate, temperaBeing defiant, Some may hate you. But the mental, melodramatic, and ones who get you will never forruthless. For these swashbuckdangerous, get you. Now, dust yourselves ling visionaries, believing “six and different impossible things before breakoff and get back in that saddle.” fast” wasn’t just a line from is a gift.

Through the Looking-Glass, it That message changed everywas a business plan—hell, a life thing. Of course, people didn’t get us. We plan. were doing things differently—breaking rules and vandalizing traditions. This was our identity, and we needed to own it. Instantly, After a while, we realized that not only were we became more confident in tearing up the the difficult ones more interesting to work rule book, running our business on our own with, but they also tended to be fearless enterms, and being who we were—not who we trepreneurs who inspired us with the audacity of their ideas and the intensity of their were supposed to be. passions.

Instead of doing everything people told us we should be doing, we did the opposite. Instead of burying vices like our obsessive perfectionism, rebelliousness, and weirdness, we made them our selling points.

Eventually, we turned our attention not just to branding, but to leadership and identified a connection between the spirit of the person at the helm of a company and the brand experience that company created for its customers. This fascination with leadership quickly became the linchpin of our branding business. We became experts at helping leaders harness their superpowers, turning their businesses and brands into the “rare breed,” or standout, in their category.

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It hit us like a lightning bolt: Being defiant, dangerous, and different is a gift.

That epiphany was another game changer.

Success is no longer the purview of the Harvard MBA graduate. You don’t need degrees or titles or venture capital. You just decide and act, and you can change the world because of it. Whether you’re building eyepopping innovations with Kickstarter cash, filming award-winning documentaries with your iPhone, or launching social movements on Instagram, you don’t need permission to lead or succeed. You can change the conver-

sation not by suppressing your vices, but by owning them.

Being a leader no longer means getting someone’s seal of approval or following an accepted glide path. It means going all-in on who you are, grabbing the mantle of your career, and saying, “I got this.”

People like that . . . are what we call the Rare Breed.

At the heart of this definition are seven “vices”—traits that conventional wisdom regards as dangerous and counterintuitive to your success—that we’ve called Virtues.

They are the keys to being a Rare Breed:

5. WEIRD. Rare Breeds are strange. Know who else is strange? Astronauts. Poets.

Nobel laureates. Artists. Inventors. Everyone who dares to do what makes us laugh, cry, swoon, or gasp in awe.

6. HYPNOTIC. Rare Breeds are spell-binding orators and seducers, conductors capable of leading the orchestra of people around them and inspiring others to fulfill their potential.

7. EMOTIONAL. Rare Breeds feel things deeply and trust their guts. They channel their emotions and show up with empathy, kindness, and intuition.

Of course, nothing good comes without risk, and each of the Virtues also has a dangerous duality. For Rare Breeds, the impulses that uplift can also undo. Set loose without moraliObsessive 1. REBELLIOUS. Rare Breeds ty or control, hot-blooded hurl themselves against perfectionism can passion can lead to rage and the walls of business-aslead to compulsive reckless acts. Charisma can usual to see what breaks. spiral into a force that mabehaviors, endless 2. AUDACIOUS. Rare Breeds nipulates and defrauds. Obwork, burnout, and see realities other people sessive perfectionism can can’t see and have the alienation. lead to compulsive behavnerve to try to bring them iors, endless work, burnout, into being, even when and alienation. everyone else says they are impossible.

3. OBSESSED. Perfectionism isn’t a bug for Rare Breeds; it’s their operating system.

They’re all-in, always on, 24/7. Sketching at breakfast, practicing pitch lines in the shower, waking up with insane ideas at 4 a.m.

4. HOT-BLOODED. Rare Breeds come to the table with fire and fury that put others to shame.

What separates Rare Breeds from everyone else is one simple truth: while others may suppress their quirky, oddball, qualities, Rare Breeds celebrate theirs. They let them off the leash, break the windows of conventional wisdom, and run like hooligans through the corridors of entrenched power.

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 9

If you’re reading this, you may be young and eager, ready to shake things up and put the world on notice. Or you may be enjoying some success and wondering what’s next. Maybe you’re smarting from a failure and trying to figure out how to stage your comeback. Or you may be an experienced leader or executive feeling like you’ve hit a wall and asking, “What more can I do?”

Know this: you are not average. You already have what it takes to succeed and stand out. Own it. Learn to accept and love yourself for who you are: worthy and valua-

ble, “vices” (Virtues!) and all. Don’t just march to the beat of your own drum; build your own drums out of wire, garbage, and spare parts.

There are as many ways to be a Rare Breed as there are people who know they have more to give to the world.

Excerpted from RARE BREED: A Guide to Success for the Defiant, Dangerous, and Different by Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger, copyright 2019. Reprinted with permission from Harper One, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.

SUNNY BONNELL and ASHLEIGH HANSBERGER are the award-winning founders of Motto, one of the top branding and digital agencies for rule-breakers and game-changers. They’ve been featured in CBS News, Fox Business, CheddarTV, Entrepreneur, American Express, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, Inc., Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. Between the two of them, they are members of the Young Entrepreneur Council, and have graced lists such as GDUSA’s Top 25 People to Watch and Inc. 30 Under 30, America’s Coolest Young Entrepreneurs. www.wearemotto.com

Facebook: @thisisrarebreed

Twitter: @thisisrarebreed

Instagram: @thisisrarebreed

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Tom Hopkins 12 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

You would not dream of building anything of importance without some idea of what you wanted, would you? The drawing or sketch you would create is called a blueprint. No matter how rough it is, it lets your mind envision what you want. Your mind can then go to work developing the final plan while you get the project started. This is the only way the picture can become a reality.

Remember, a house is built one brick or board at a time. Your life is built the same way. If you don’t have a blueprint for building and you add a brick or board at random, your building will never become anything more than a disarray of brick and wood. This

With Tom Hopkins would be disastrous for you, don’t you agree? How many people do you know whose lives look like that?

It is a fact that only 5% of the people in the greatest country in the world wind up their working days and retire financially able to take care of themselves. 95% of the people in the United States do not plan their lives. They merely accept what is given to them.

The end result of any plan is often better than the first drawing because the MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 13

vast creative power of the mind pulls in all (and that I ever gave to someone else): You the facts and improves upon them. The part are totally responsible for yourself. In fact, of the mind that does this is called the subyou are the only person who has ever deconscious. It is, without a doubt, the greatnied you anything. It will get you nowhere to est creation on the face of the blame anyone else. earth. Not only is it the thing Success and that separates man from aniFantastic achievements mal, it is also the very foundafailure walk are within your reach if you will tion of creation itself. Its power only write them down and hand in hand, is without limit. There are many make your plan. Throw off the fantastic and informative books just inches shackles you have placed on about the power of this great yourself; tear down the bars of tool that we all possess. Since apart. self-doubt you have thrown you have this great tool at your around yourself; protect your disposal, you may as well learn ego; and lose your fear of failto use it. ure. Once you can cross the moat without fear of what lies in the murky waters below, Have you ever gotten anything that you you can start a new life. You no longer fear really wanted? Of course you have! As a failure. In order to reach for success, you child you wanted things. You dreamed of must not fear failure. Success and failure your first toy truck or doll, and lo and bewalk hand in hand, just inches apart. When hold, you got it! Then, you wanted a bike— you chart your own course, you start to lose and got it! As you grew older it became a desire for a new dress or a certain model of car. your fear. You can then take that first step across the moat unconcerned about what Up to a point, you dreamed and wanted and lies below because you have your eyes on a received a lot of things. Think about that. star!

Then, a strange thing happened. You matured and realized or were told that you could not have all the things you wanted.

Someone may have told you this because they didn’t get what they wanted and thought they couldn’t get anything. That’s why they figured you couldn’t either. They also may have told you it was because you were the wrong color or age or sex or lacked the right education or a thousand other excuses.

Here’s the best advice I ever received 14 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

You must understand, though, that many people would like to see you fail because they are afraid to step out and seek new ventures for themselves. They say, “What if you fail?” We say, “What if you don’t fail?” It takes a big person to be happy over someone else’s success. Big people are usually those who have charted a course in their lives and can relate to your excitement.

The first step to creating a blueprint for your success is to think about where you

want to go in various lengths of time...30 days, 90 days, 6 months, 1 year, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years. What do you want and where do you want to go? What dreams do you have for yourself? What turns you on? What is worth committing yourself to as a goal? We, at Tom Hopkins International, have seen many people turn from turtles into rockets almost overnight!

These are often people who thought the world was for everyone else to enjoy.

We are all alike. We can all dream and want. The difference is nothing more than having a plan to accomplish those dreams.

We know that sounds too simple, but it is true. We want to help you reach your dreams. We want you to expect more from life.

We have no greater reward than the letters we receive from happy people who say, “Thank you, it works!” “My life now has direction.” “I sleep like a rock and work without tiring because I know where I’m going!” We relish the fact that we had a part in the day that turned your life around.

If you haven’t thought about your future success, we strongly recommend that you do it now! How do you picture yourself now? How do you picture yourself in six months or six years? What will you have?

What will you be? Without a picture of what you want to be, your subconscious mind cannot lead you anywhere. You are like a ship without a rudder. You float and are

blown around by chance winds and storms.

Who knows where your destination will be?

You can arrive at many ports in life.

Some are bad, many are average and a very few are excellent. The odds of drifting into an excellent port are extremely unlikely.

Please don’t end your life having been a part of someone else’s goals. 95% of the world does that.

Take some time to dream of where you want to be in five years. Take a day, or longer if you like, to let your mind wander. Determine exactly what you want out of life. If you don’t know exactly, make an approximate plan so you will at least have a direction.

We caution you not to begin with goals that are too high. Make them just high enough that you have to make an extra effort to achieve them. No goal is too small to write down. The smaller goals will help you to build a picture of your larger goals. The size of a goal is not as important as the habit and self-image you develop as a good goal setter and achiever.

You have been using this system of achieving goals all your life with certain limitations you have imposed on yourself. By taking the system one more step, you can MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 15

remove those limitations. Take your wants and wishes and make plans of how you can achieve them. The formula that pulls the system together is:

WANT...PICTURE...PLAN...GET! With this formula, you can begin setting goals for yourself today.

Tom Hopkins carries the standard as a master sales trainer and is recognized as the world’s leading authority on selling techniques and salesmanship.

Over five million sales professionals & entrepreneurs on five continents have attended Tom’s high-energy live seminars. Tom personally conducts 30+ seminars each year traveling throughout the North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South Africa.

Tom Hopkins is the author of eighteen books, including “How to Master the Art of Selling™,” which has sold over 1.7 million copies worldwide. This mega-selling book is considered a must-have reference guide for top selling producers in every field of sales. He has also authored three selling-skills books in the popular “…for Dummies®” series. And, his latest, “When Buyers Say No” (2014) is receiving rave reviews.

Tom’s talent of teaching in a creative and entertaining style has brought him a tremendous following, as well as constant demand for appearances at regional and national conventions each year. His corporate clients have included AFLAC, Best Buy, State Farm, MaryKay Cosmetics, Forever Living Products, Hilliard Energy, Paramount Pools & Spas, ADT Security Systems and 24Hour Fitness.

One of America’s most successful and dynamic businessmen, Tom Hopkins did not find success easily.

He quit college after only 90 days. At 19 years of age, married and with a baby on the way, he took a job in construction. It wasn’t long before Tom decided that doing physical labor was not the way he wanted to spend the rest of his life. So he quit the construction job and took a job he thought would be easier – selling real estate.

Six months into his real estate career, Tom’s income was averaging just $42 a month. He wasn’t earning a living, but had fallen in love with the real estate business. After discovering that all the top producers had extensive sales training, Tom set out to learn everything he could about how to sell professionally.

Armed with drive, determination and knowledge, Tom Hopkins built his sales volume to over $14 million within five years including the sale of 365 homes in a single year. Word of Tom’s record-breaking sales success soon brought repeated requests to conduct sales training seminars across the country.

In 1976, he founded Tom Hopkins International, Inc., and dedicated his life and his company to teaching and inspiring others through his seminars, books, audio, video and online training programs. Today, over 35,000 corporations and millions of professional salespeople through the world utilize his professional sales training materials daily.

Tom Hopkins International, Inc. www.tomhopkins.com Twitter:: TomHopkinsSales Facebook: TomHopkinsSales LinkedIN: tomhopkinssalestrainer

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Experience can be a very harsh teacher. That’s why many of the most successful people have a strong ability to learn from the mistakes of others. But there is only so much that entrepreneurs can glean by reading advice columns or biographies of great figures in their industry. One of the best ways to bridge the often-perilous gap between book learning and lived experience is through a business mentor.

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Most super-successful business people had a strong mentor Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Sergei Brin and Mark Zuckerberg all have towering success in common. But they also have something else in common: Each one benefited immensely from having great business mentors to help them through their early years as entrepreneurs.

By some estimates, up to 80 percent of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs credit their success to having enjoyed access to great business mentors early on in their careers. Another survey found that 93 percent of executives with startup companies viewed mentorship as an absolute necessity.

There is convincing research that mentorship also has a huge effect on whether a company will make it to the five-year mark. Small Business Association research has indicated that companies that are run by executives who had early access in their startup careers to a quality mentor are 40 percent more likely to still be around five years after their founding.

Clearly, being able to tap into the deep experience of someone who has been through

the mill is an invaluable asset to a new entrepreneur, who will often be operating in a trap-strewn landscape that is littered with the carcasses of defunct startups. And often in business, the biggest mistakes are those of omission. The expert eyes of someone who has been there and done that can help new entrepreneurs spot and seize every opportunity that comes their way.

The best things in entrepreneurial life are free The great thing is that business mentors, unlike coaches and consultants, don’t cost a thing. They don’t have any ulterior motives and are not trying to sell you an expensive course or garner more publicity for their upcoming book. They are real people with a genuine interest in helping new entrepreneurs succeed.

But this raises the question? Who are these selfless teachers, and where can one be found?

While there are groups that provide personal business mentoring, such as SCORE, many entrepreneurs who have benefitted from mentoring will tell you that they never went far out of their way to find the people who would help them go on to greatness. Most of the time, these wise and experienced inMENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 19

dividuals were already right in front of their nose, hiding in plain sight.

Key benefits that accrue from being mentored While mentoring can help you avoid critical business mistakes, including missing big opportunities, it can also help in a broad range of other important areas, including:

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Expanding your network of high-level business contacts.

Having an expert directly give you advice that is tailored specifically to your business’ circumstances rather than generic advice from a book.

Increasing your company’s chance of long-term success by manoeuvring around pitfalls before they have the chance to trip you up.

Boosting your confidence. High levels of self-assuredness have been shown to be critically linked to entrepreneurial success.

Helping to encourage you when things are tough.

Giving you key management insights and the wherewithal to deal effectively with stressful management situations.

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Examples of strong mentoring benefits from the real world One way we can tell that mentoring truly is a major component of entrepreneurial success is that we don’t have to look very hard to find examples where it had a definitive effect on a major entrepreneurial figure’s career.

Take, for example, Warren Buffett. Buffett always knew that he wanted to go into business for himself, investing in his first stocks, while still a teenager, with the earnings he had saved from a paper route. But it wasn’t until he attended college under the legendary investor Benjamin Graham that he really started to develop the sophisticated investing philosophy that would propel him to historic accomplishments in the markets.

In fact, like many burgeoning entrepreneurs, Buffet deliberately sought out Graham, choosing to attend Colombia Business School specifically so that he could study under his hero. And this turned out to be what may be the most valuable mentorship in the history of U.S. business. For the first two decades of his career, he applied, nearly without variation, the lessons that he learned in Benjamin Graham’s business classes.

This served Buffet well. By the time of his 40th birthday, he was worth the equivalent of about $200 million today. But he got far more than just fantastic wealth from paying such meticulous attention to the lessons of his teacher; he was able to put together an entire philosophy of investing that would

drive all of his future results.

The critical ideas of value investing, which include the concept of viewing stocks as nothing more than claim checks on an underlying business, for which the investor should always have a significant margin of error, were almost all cribbed directly out of Graham’s classes. In fact, it can be argued that the only thing that Buffett really added to the mix was the idea that it is better to pay a reasonable price for a great business than a great price for a mediocre one.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the man who we most know as the greatest investor alive owes nearly all of his massive success to the mentoring that he received early in his career.

Other famous examples of mentorship Another one of the richest people in America is Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg started his career at Salomon Brothers, a bank that would later be bought by none other than Warren Buffett. Bloomberg credits his time under the bank’s president, William Salomon, as the most formative years of his life.

Bloomberg has stated without a hint of exaggeration that he learned more about business from Bill Salomon than he had during his entire time at Harvard Business School.

Bloomberg was eventually able to take the lessons he learned from that mentoring and branch off to form his own company.

Today, he is worth $55 billion, making him one of the richest people in the world.

Bloomberg has said that without his time under Salomon, it is unlikely that he ever would have had developed the necessary skills and confidence to form his own company.

The power of mentorship is real So far, we’ve seen two cases where two of the most successful businesspeople in the world each unambiguously owe a great deal of their success to the critical business mentorship that they received early in their careers.

But these are not cherry-picked examples.

The simple fact is that a glance down the Forbes 400 list will yield case after case of the world’s most successful business people having succeeded, in part or in whole, based on the mentoring that they received.

The question is not whether mentoring works or even whether it has been a crucial component in the success of most of the country’s top businesspeople. The answer to both those questions is resoundingly affirmative.

The real question is how each entrepreneur can find who their ideal teacher is and then take the fullest possible advantage of the knowledge that they impart. Ultimately, the answer lies in each individual.

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 21

Neil Ball has been a serial entrepreneur for over 25 years with businesses in sectors such as Printing, Consumer Electronics, Distribution, Removals, Storage, Mail Order, Property Investing, Publishing and more. He has had his share of failures and successes on his entrepreneurial journey. The most successful of his businesses sold approximately £300 million or $500 million of products via retail, mail order and ecommerce and was one of the largest independent consumer electronics companies in the UK.

In recent years Neil’s passion for entrepreneurship and helping other entrepreneurs has led him to becoming a podcaster on his daily podcast The Entrepreneur Way where he interviews entrepreneurs and business owners on their entrepreneurial journey and their secrets of success. He is also a business coach and helps a small number of one on one clients in his coaching business..

When he isn’t working on his business or helping others your will find him spending time with beautiful wife Lorna and his 4 adult kids.

To connect or learn more go to: www.neilball.com

Twitter: @NeilDBall

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Linkedin: @NeilDBall

Traveling is Good for Your Health!

With Bruce Oliver My personal experience As a youth, I listened to what my elders say, over and over, that the one thing they wish they had done more often was take longer vacations when they had their young families. Seldom did someone say I wish I had worked more. Couples who wait until retirement to travel may have lost their opportunity to travel while they were together or in good health. Now, one woman said, he’s

passed and it’s too late. Another said, “When we were young, we thought that we’d be healthy forever. But now I must go for dialysis and it’s too late! (Not really, many cruise lines can accommodate people on dialysis.)

My father relayed the same information to me as his health was failing just before his death. The prior year, for the first time in his life, he and mom went with my brother, sisMENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 23

ter, her son, my aunt and uncle and I on a thor of the book “Breaking the Mold: Redetwo-week vacation to Edinburg, Scotland signing Work for Productive and Satisfying and London, England. He said that he wished Lives. (Bailyn, 2006)” “Unhealthy overwork he had more time to go again but it was too costs company’s money for healthcare and late for him, “not for you” he said, “Now I creates stressful and unrewarding lives, both understand why you always travel.” People of which detract from the good work they nearing the end of life are supposed to be always say they wish furthering.” that they took more Everything that I’ve The more and longer time to “smell the rosread says the same es”. vacations that you take, the thing. The more and I love everything about longer vacations that more productive you will be travel. Early in life I alyou take, the more when you get back to work. ways made time to go productive you will be somewhere new. Maywhen you get back to be it was because I bework. I feel best comlonged to a Scout Troop that always took us ing back from a two-week vacation (I don’t on vacations to Washington, D.C., World’s mean visiting relatives to paint their house Fairs in Montreal and New York City or destieither.) It usually takes me 3-4 days to begin nations that the average boy would never to relax and the balance of the vacation is visit. As an Eagle Scout, I was awarded a 30full of rest and relaxation. I’ve gotten to the day bus trip across the United States to hike point that the only time I say I’m on vacation for twelve days at Philmont National Boy is when I leave the country and get away Scout Reservation in Cimarron, NM. Today, I from the phone which I answer 24/7 in my plan and use my vacations because I tend to normal regiment. be a workaholic. I plan a two-week vacation According to Ellen Galinsky, President of at least once per year and each quarter I Families and Work Institute, the longer your have weekend trips to look forward to. This vacation, the less stress you’ll feel. People’s is especially important when things get diffistress levels dropped significantly when they cult. Life is a sine wave with ups and downs. took over 6-days and more as they apWhen the down periods come, I always say, proached 13 or more consecutive days away but I’m going on a cruise in a few weeks. from work and their regular routine life.

Knowing this helps me cope with the downs Families participating in these vacations tend and I am more productive. to be less depressed and form tighter bonds As a matter of fact, productivity experts have discovered that the longer it is between vacations: “Fatigue sets in, rigidity applies, and all creativity and innovation are lost — both of which need time away for other activities to increase the probability of new ideas,” said Lotte Bailyn, an MIT researcher and au24 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

with other family members (Ellen Galinski, 2014). It’s true, my siblings and I often talk about the time we spent camping each summer at Lake Ossipee in New Hampshire or at Clinton Beach in Connecticut.

Galinski says: “Knowing that skipping vaca-

tion stifles creativity, creates health problems, leads to stress, depression, and lessthan-ideal home lives, it seems as if companies would make vacation enforcement a priority. But with a few exceptions, the experts say that is not happening. Vacation skipping is a topic that’s often swept under the keyboard.”

Both women and men alike benefit by taking vacations. After their study, Gump, PhD, MPH, and; Matthews, PhD at the American Psychosomatic Society, concluded: “The frequency of annual vacations by middle-aged men at high risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) is associated with a reduced risk of allcause mortality and, more specifically, mortality attributed to CHD. Vacationing may be good for your health.” (Gump & Matthews, 2000) This reminds me of an email I received many long years ago. It was titled: 1000 Marbles

“The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbound joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of the Saturday morning are the most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling towards the kitchen with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other.

What began as a typical Saturday morning

turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it.

I turned the volume up the on my radio to listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding chap with the golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business himself.

He was talking about "a thousand marbles" to someone named "Tom". I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say.

"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you must be away from your home and family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work 60 or 70 hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital."

He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something it has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities."

And that's when he began to explain his theory of "a thousand marbles." "You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about 75 years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about 75 years."

"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and came up with 3,900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part."

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 25

"It took me until I was 55 years old to think about all of this in any detail," he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be 75, I only had about 1,000 of them left to enjoy."

"So, I went into a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I end up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large clear plastic container right here on my workshop table next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I've taken one marble out and threw it away."

"I found that watching the marbles diminish caused me to focus more on the really important things in life. There's nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out, to help get your priorities straight."

"Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I can make until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones..."

"It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!"

You could have heard a pin drop when he hung up the phone. Even the shows moderator didn't have a thing to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about.

I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke up my wife with a kiss.

"C'mon Honey, I'm taking you and the kids to 26 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

breakfast."

"What brought this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special," I said. "It has just been a long time since we'd spent Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at the toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."

Have a great weekend and may all Saturdays be special and may your happy years continue long after you lose all your marbles.� (Oliver, 2019)

Works Cited Bailyn, L. (2006). Breaking the Mold: Redesigning Work for Productive and Satisfying Lives. Ithaca: ILr Press - Cornell University Press.

Ellen Galinski, P. (2014, February 1). Overwork in America: When the Way We Work Becomes Too Much. Retrieved from Families and Work Institute: http:// www.familiesandwork.org/overwork-inamerica-when-the-way-we-work-becomestoo-much/ Gump, B. B., & Matthews, K. A. (2000). In B. B. Gump, & K. A. Matthews, Are Vacations Good for Your Health? The 9-Year Mortality Experience After the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (pp. September/October 2000 - Volume 62 - Issue 5 - pp 608-612).

American Psychosomatic Society.

Oliver, B. (2019). Traveling Is Good For Your Health! In B. Oliver, Secrets of Cooking (Scratch and Sniff Edition) Using Spices, Herbs & Salts (pp. 10-14). Las Vegas, NV: Vegas New Wave Media.

Bruce Oliver has traveled to over 49 states, 56 countries and 6 continents. For nine years he has worked in the travel industry as a luxury travel advisor, travel author, as host of the OTT Smart TV Channel http://BruceOliverTV.com (available over the internet and via devices like Roku, computers and smart phones) and the podcast http:// LuxuryTravelAdviserPodcast.com. Bruce has a passion for global travel and photography.

He's the recipient of the Travel Weekly Silver Magellan Award for individuals in the travel industry and was awarded the 2014 Best of Enfield Cruise Agents.

He’s a member of OASIS Agent and the Signature Travel Network.

Bruce has certification with the Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA) and has credentials from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). He is a Luxury Travel Specialist and has “destination specialist” certifications from all over the world as well as a close working relationship with most the cruise lines and travel operators. He is a Level 2 Member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (AKA - UNESCO): World Heritage Convention.

He also has travel photographer press credentials from the National Press Association and the ITWPA. He is a Professional Photographer registered with the International VR Photography Association (IVRPA) specializing in 360º Virtual Tours. He’s listed as a Charter Member of the Library of Congress and the Microsoft Alumni Association. He’s the recipient of many honors and awards in his community and higher education. In 1989, he graduated with a MBA from the University of Hartford. Bruce is listed in MARQUIS: Who's Who in America, Who’s Who in the World and Who's Who in American Education. In 2019, Bruce was recognized by Albert Nelson Marquis with the Lifetime Achievement Award after being listed as a biographical reference in 68 diverse publications. Bruce has been a member of the National Eagle Scouts Association since 1967 and is a Vigil Honor Member in BSA’s: Order of the Arrow. While attending high school, he was awarded the DeKalb Agricultural Accomplishment Award and the Connecticut State Farmer Degree from the Future Farmers of America. www.BruceLOliver.com Twitter: @BruceOliverCT

LinkedIn: @bruceloliver

Facebook Page: @cruisewithbruce Pinterest: @cruisewithbruce YouTube: @cruisewithbruce Instagram: @cruisewithbruce

Facebook Page: @VirtualluxuryNetwork MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 27

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With Stacey Brown Randall It is every sales professional’s dream to wake up in the morning and there in their inbox is a new prospective client just waiting on them. But not the kind that is just a lead from the “contact” page of the company website. Nor the kind of prospect that they then have to start chasing. The dream is for a prospect who is serious about purchasing and already trust the sales professional to help them make the right choice.

That type of prospect only shows up in one

of two ways. Either the prospect has spent months or longer researching the options, watching the demo videos, checking out the case studies and testimonials and has ruled out that their needs will be better served by one of your competitors.

Or the prospect has been referred to you by someone they trust.

The second option is faster. And a referred prospect is typically less price sensitive beMENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 29

cause the trust they place in you – put there by the person who referred them – adds value to you.

But most sales teams are not receiving as many – or any – referrals. Here are four common reasons why your sales team may be struggling to bring in referrals.

1. You are telling them to ask

What your team needs is to be able to stop asking for referral and start cultivating relationship with If we are fixated on a referral sources or potential short-term, then we referral sources. miss out on doing what we need to do 2. The only tool you provide now to have a is an incentivized referral prodifferent future when gram it comes to referrals.

I get it, it is the majority of the advice out there. There are articles, books, training programs and more teaching people how to ask for referrals… who to ask, when to ask, what different scripts to use when asking and more.

It is what we have heard for so long we have started to believe “asking for referrals” is the only way.

But when you understand the human dynamic and psychology of a referral, you recognize that asking for a referral dilutes the power of a referral. A referral happens because your referral source (the person who sends you referrals) knows someone who has a problem or issue and they know you can solve the problem. They refer to help someone out – the person who has the problem – not to send you a new client.

30 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

If I am willing to help someone with a problem, the help I want to provide is that of a trusted resource. Which means the relationships you or your sales team has with your referral sources matter most.

It seems when asking doesn’t work, many companies will turn to incentivized referral programs for their sales team to promote to referral sources. The program typically involves paying a referral source for a referral. But what is missed with this attempt at a solution, is that only a small minority of people are willing to “refer” for a commission.

Most people refer because it is how they help someone with their problem. They would feel uncomfortable if that friend, colleague or peer found out that they received a commission for referring them.

It doesn’t matter if the company is B2B or B2C. Providing commission for “referrals” (which are really just leads you are willing to pay for) not disclosed up front

will most likely backfire by damaging the relationship for all involved.

What your team needs are better tools in their referral toolbox.

3. You focus on the short-term fix

If we are fixated on a short-term, then we miss out on doing what we need to do now to have a different future when it comes to referrals.

What your team needs is to know how to balance short-term and long-term activity.

Many businesses are so fixated on the now – 4. You haven’t trained them to have different this month’s or quarter’s closing conversations with numbers – that they develreferred prospects The sale process is op tunnel vision on growth. different when your It is true that receiving reThe worst thing that can prospect has been ferrals takes longer than happen to a sales profesreferred to you. The some prospecting tactics. sional or anyone involved in questions you ask, and But the better quality of bringing in new clients is to the conversation flow prospects more than makes receive a referral and then follows a different path. up for the additional time not close them. A referred or delay. prospect is always yours to lose.

But to have a fully functioning referral strategy in your business, you have to be willing to invest some time and resources. Most importantly you have to be willing to balance the activity needed right now to generate a new lead with the activity needed over time to sow future referrals. Most referral explosions start off as a trickle but then snowball when the relationship with the referral sources are handled correctly.

In my experience with the financial services industry – the now always mattered more than the future. It is true in many industries.

The sale process is different when your prospect has been referred to you. The questions you ask, and the conversation flow follows a different path. It is not about trying to find the pain or agitate the pain in your prospect. It is not about the sale pitch of your service from A to Z or how you stack up against competitors.

It is about knowing how to connect the prospect to the trust they have in you and working together to see if you are a fit.

What your team needs is to understand how MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 31

to “sell” to a referred prospect, so they don’t miss out on an ‘easy-to-close’ prospect. *** Ultimately what your sales professionals need is help thinking about referrals differently than they think about other types of leads.

They need permission to take the time to de-

velop relationships with their current or ‘soon-to-be’ referral sources. They need to understand the difference between just keeping-in-touch and what is means to be top-of-mind in a memorable and meaningful way. And they need to know how to use the right referral seed language, how it works and when to plant it, so they never have to ask for a referral or pay for a referral again.

Stacey Brown Randall is a three-time entrepreneur, award-winning author of Generating Business Referrals Without Asking, host of the Roadmap to Grow Your Business podcast and national speaker.

Her programs help small business owners and solopreneurs take control of their referrals, their client experience and their business.

She has had the privilege of helping well-known corporations and franchises such as Bank of America, Mass Mutual, and International Minute Press but her focus is on small business owners and solopreneurs from companies including HM Properties, Financial Symmetry, O’Connor Insurance Associates, Tyra Law Firm, Farris Cooke CPA, Slater Interiors, Rae Images, CAJA Bookkeeping, and hundreds more.

Stacey has been featured in national publications like Entrepreneur magazine, Investor Business Daily, Forbes, CEO World, Fox News, Cheddar TV Network.

She received her Master’s in Organizational Communication and is married with three kids.

You can connect with her online at www.StaceyBrownRandall.com.

Facebook Page: @staceybrownrandall Facebook Group: @referralswithoutasking

LinkedIn Profile: @staceybrandall Instagram Profile: @staceybrownrandall Twitter Profile ID: @staceybrandall 32 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

It’s likely you've already noticed the pace of change accelerating. We all have. But if we look ahead, maybe it won’t feel so unexpected. Here are 10 workplace trends that are sure to affect every worker over the next decade. Work may be unrelenting, but at least now you won’t have to ask, “is it just me or does it seem like something is always changing around here”.

1. CHANGE BECOMES A CONSTANT

Once upon a time, major changes to corporate structures were infrequent events. A reorg would be inspired by a board mandate to cut costs, or a management shake-up occurred when leadership wanted to enter a new market. Other than these infrequent realignments, it was steady on. Not anymore. In a world where start-ups steal market share in the middle of the night, or a well -timed acquisition can unseat a perennial leader, it feels like nothing short of an allhands-on-deck reaction can keep the comMENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 33

pany from crumbling. All this volatility and speed means companies must be able to quickly make major shifts—like culture changes—frequently.

2. HIRE FOR DIVERSITY (OF PERSPECTIVES) Now that diversity, equity, and inclusion, DEI for short, has begun to take its rightful place at the top of corporate priority lists, let’s remember why. Yes, it’s illegal to discriminate, but study after study has shown that it is the range of approaches, insights, and views that benefit the business. In practice, that means finding people who have vastly different life experiences, not more brogrammers who happen to have different colored skin. It’s time to recruit more different kinds of different: genders, sexuality, ages, abilities, beliefs, histories, geographies, and political leanings to name a few.

3. COMPANY VALUES BECOME COMPANY DIFFERENTIATORS Many leaders understand that company values are a critical culture tool. The problem is that most values are uninspired platitudes.

To be useful in the design and management of culture, values need to radically different.

Why? Values guide employee decision making. That’s their job. The more unique the more meaningful, helping employees become better stewards of the culture. Run of the mill values are everywhere, but it is possible to go beyond “innovative” and “trustworthy” to something that will make your company stand out to candidates and customers alike.

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4. WORKERS RE-ESTABLISH WORK-LIFE BOUNDARIES Emails, texts, and slack messages don't care if it's 10:00am or 10:00pm. Those little red dots almost seem designed to keep your mind at work. To stop the ever-expanding workday from seeping into every nook of life, it is only a matter of time before employees erect self-imposed dividers, so when and where can become choices again. Forward-looking managers will not only accept this as the new reality but do whatever they can to enable this new evolution of boundary setting.

5. MICRO MULTI-NATIONALS Despite trends toward political isolationism, businesses continue to untether from geographic confines. Its only time before even small companies go international. Inexpensive but fabulous talent will be too big of a draw to ignore for companies comfortable with remote workers. This shift could have a massive impact on working hours as fulltime becomes fluid-time. Whether this new world-wide web of employees becomes a business advantage or a challenge too large to surmount depends on the company and how they manage the shift from 9-to-5 to anytime.

6. F2F ON THE RISE Speaking of remote, by the year 2020 working from somewhere that is not a company office will shift from exception to acceptance to predominance. But, as remote work becomes more prevalent, so will the importance of in-person connections. Just look at the investment hyper-remote companies

like Buffer put into bringing together nearly 100 employees from around the world. Their annual Buffer Team Retreats, which happen every 5 to 7 months, last about a week and all travel, food, and lodging is paid for by the company. It’s not hard to imagine more companies realizing the power of in-person meetings and investing in them promptly.

7. FROM DEPARTMENTS TO TEAMS Soon, departments will be an outdated way to talk about how people work together. In the next year or so most companies will at least have some groups talking about working “in teams” and “on projects”. They might still technically be in one department or another, but that isn’t very useful given how quickly people are moving from project to project, and more agile companies are pulling people onto projects even if it isn’t in their department.

8. GOODBYE CULTURE FIT; HELLO VALUES FIT Busy recruiters and managers use the term “culture fit" as a shortcut to describe the kind of person they are looking to hire.

The problem is that while it’s easy to refer to the term, it’s never well-defined, but most often it’s code for hiring people just like the rest of the employees. Too many like-minded individuals can lead to groupthink, and narrow conclusions, not to mention undiversity. Instead, look for values-fit—people who have complimentary working styles, motivations, and beliefs.

9.SELF-DRIVING ISN’T JUST FOR CARS

In this brave new world of shortening tenure (just 18 months around Silicon Valley), workers can no longer rely on one or two organizations to define their career. It will be the responsibility of the individual to create their own infrastructure of mentors, coaches, skills training, and networking to support themselves across the years. In today’s work world, curating a career is critical. Anyone who wants to climb higher will need to build their own corporate ladder.

10.COMMUNITIES, NOT CUSTOMERS Businesses don’t have employees and customers any longer; they have communities where value can be created in new ways and come from unexpected places. A single influencer can create interest in a product, service, or brand way beyond what a single customer ever could. Roles are changing on the inside as well. It’s not difficult to imagine a corporation expanding the responsibilities of employees and investing in training to help individuals become more effective brand advocates in person and online.

As new players emerge, and old positions fade, it’s hard to say how these extreme hybrid roles (if you can even call them that) evolve. What is evident is that business leaders must change how they see the world; they need to zoom out, so they can see more of who is connected to what. In the future, we won’t be talking about companies trying to attract employees and sell to customers. The conversation will be about one community, inside and out, working together to achieve a single purpose. And when a business’s control over these sometimespaid roles is tentative at best, culture will be the best tool we have to run our companies.

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 35

JOSH LEVINE is a best-selling author, brand strategist, and highly sought-after speaker on a mission to help organizations design a culture advantage. For more than 15 years, Levine has helped build culture-driven brands for a wide range of organizations—including Silicon Valley heavy hitters, prominent nonprofits, and well-respected blue-chip corporations. He is best known as the co-founder of the nonprofit CULTURE LABx, and as Executive Director helped it flourish into an international community. His new book, Great Mondays, which was recently listed on BookAuthority’s list of the best culture books of all time, teaches organizations how to design a company culture employees love. www.akajoshlevine.com

Twitter: @akajoshlevine

www.greatmondays.com

LinkedIn Page: @greatmondays

Instagram: @greatmondays_culturedesign

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LinkedIn: @akajoshlevine

Twitter: @greatmondays_

Having a mentor tops the list of wants for many entrepreneurs (as well as employees and intrapreneurs who are actively seeking new ways to contribute to their work environment and advance their careers). But when the “ideal” candidate with the experience and know-how to provide guidance as a mentor is too busy or too remote, what’s a mentee with a question to be answered to do?

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 37

1:1 mentoring relationships are ideal - idealInvestor Joanne Wilson (aka The Gotham ized and likely an outdated notion in an alGal) became my mentor around the summer ways on 24/7 world. But mentoring, that is, of 2011. We both had been invited to particthe need for guidance and feedback from ipate as advisors at a roundtable pitch event someone with more exfor female founders. perience, is still essenThree women were tial for our capitching that night 1:1 mentoring in the digital / reers. So how do (a tech founder, we balance the handbag designer mobile age can mean need for mentorand custom carpet subscribing to a blog or YouTube ship and the abildesigner). It was channel or newsletter or ity to access menthe first time I had podcast or online course. toring guidance? actively participated in such an event, Entrepreneur Misti Cain so I was observing my challenged me on this very question, asking peers around the table as much as I was lisme to rethink what 1:1 mentoring can be. tening to the pitches. As each founder pre1:1 mentoring in the digital / mobile age can sented, Joanne was direct in her questionmean subscribing to a blog or YouTube chaning, forthright with her opinions and honest nel or newsletter or podcast or online (some would say rather blunt) with her reaccourse. It can be as easy as following sometions to the product or business model (or one on Twitter. It’s more engagement than both). the random “like” and less commitment than a lifetime of scheduling coffee dates.

In Joanne, I immediately found my guide and role model on how to be helpful to entrepreMisti’s “rethink” 1:1 mentoring is the right neurs. approach. In the digital age of personal brands, mentoring doesn’t have to be the Since that evening, I’ve avidly read Joanne’s pursuit of a lifetime commitment to meet blog, followed her on Twitter, attended WE IRL. Rather, it’s the quest for answers — Festival, become a member of the WE Festiwherever you may find them. val community and been fortunate to interview her on more than one occasion (36/86, And Misti’s approach to mentoring got me Apple Store, BroadMic). No, I’ve never asked thinking about my own “mentors”.

Joanne for a coffee date or to be my mentor, nonetheless, she’s played that significant 38 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

role in my growth as an investor in earlystage companies and participant in the New York City tech ecosystem.

As my own ability to provide 1:1 mentoring has decreased in direct proportion to the focus I’ve needed to put towards the publication of my first book, I regret I can no longer take mentoring coffee dates or participate regularly as a startup accelerator mentor, however, I see that I continue to mentor in the way envisioned by Misti — and in the way I’ve been mentored by Joanne:

advice of others as my career moves into its next phase. Beyond Joanne, where else am I regularly seeking mentorship? As my focus turns to community, the future of work and networking in the digital age, I frequently turn to: - Creative Mornings monthly breakfasts (IRL when I can or more often than not, downloading the podcast of missed breakfasts).

- Tom Peters’ tweets, videos, and posts.

- TED talks.

Plus I keep a keen eye on my friends who are authors (Aidan Donnelly-Rowley, Gretchen Rubin, Danielle Laporte, Jonathan Fields, Tiffany Dufu and more) as they have navigated the unchartered path I am just writing.

- I’m active on Twitter as well as Instagram, Tumblr, LinkedIn and Facebook.

- I post daily to LinkedIn. - I have a Facebook page.

- I blog frequently on my website.

And then there are - I have contributed select, close memIn Joanne, I immediately to Forbes.com and bers of my own netfound my guide and role Inc.com. work, the mentors model on how to be helpful - I send out a newswho I tap into reguto entrepreneurs. letter every week. larly when I’m puz- I host the Build Your zling on a “how do you Dream Network podcast. deal with” or “have you ever experienced” - I guest host the Business Builders Show or “what do you think about” question. You podcast. know who you are… you just didn’t know I - I moderated the Meet The Innovators seconsidered you mentors. ries at Apple.

- I keynote, interview and speak on panels.

How are the ways you can rethink gathering the mentors and mentorship you need?

I recognize I still need the sage, experienced

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 39

J. Kelly Hoey is a networking expert, who has been lauded from Forbes (“1 of 5 Women Changing the World of VC/ Entrepreneurship”) to Fast Company (“1 of the 25 Smartest Women On Twitter”) to Business Insider (“1 of the 100 Most Influential Tech Women On Twitter”) and Inc. (“1 of the 10 Most Well-Connected People in New York City's Startup Scene”). A frequent speaker at leadership conferences, Hoey helps businesses and professionals leverage their formal and informal social networks. Her book "Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships In A Hyper-Connected World" was published

by Tarcher Perigee / Penguin Random House. www.jkellyhoey.co Twitter: @jkhoey

LinkedIn: @kellyhoey

Instagram: jkellyhoey

Facebook Page: @BuildYourDreamNetwork Pinterest: @buildyourdreamnetwork Twitter Profile ID: @BYDNetwork LinkedIn Page: @build-your-dream-network YouTube Channel: @womeninnovatemobile

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Three Types of Stories Every Leader Should Master With Harrison Monarth

The fact that people are wired to react so strongly to stories should motivate business leaders to develop their storytelling skills.

But what business situations call for a story?

You might have guessed the answer—it depends. It depends on both the situation and what you’d like to accomplish in the situation. The situation might be a staff meeting where you’re introduced to the people on your new team, for example. As their new boss, your objective might be to get them to

like and respect you and to start dismantling the barriers of mistrust and uncertainty. Another situation might be that members of your team have lost enthusiasm for their work, and your objective is to restore their engagement and give them purpose, so they understand the “why” of what they’re spending most of their waking hours doing. Or maybe valuable members of your team feel unappreciated or don’t get the credit they deserve. In that situation, your objective may MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 41

be to reinforce or highlight certain norms and behaviors with your stories and to draw positive attention to them.

Below are three types of stories that every leader should master. My hope is that they inspire readers to dig deeper into this topic and to identify and cultivate potential stories that can help you accomplish important objectives.

1. Stories We Tell Ourselves

force this self-assessment, prominently featuring my mistakes, my failures, and others’ expressions of disappointment in me. And so, a vicious loop is created where negative per“It’s clear that the stories ceptions—including of we tell ourselves have an the self—determine the stories we tell ourselves, impact not just on our own which in turn play out in behavior, but also on our full color to reinforce these perceptions.

engagement with others and in turn on their perceptions of us as leaders, colleagues, and partners.”

We constantly assemble bits and pieces of information of what we observe around us and automatically turn them into stories that tend to reinforce our long-developed beliefs.

If those stories are positive ones—you admire a colleague and tend particularly to notice the admirable things she does, you pride yourself on your own punctuality and pat yourself on the back whenever you find yourself (again!) to be the first person to show up at a meeting—these perspectives are often uplifting and empowering.

The problem comes when we tell ourselves negative stories. For instance, if I feel that the people around me are lazy and incompetent, the stories I create will be based on morsels of data that “conform” that belief.

Or if I feel that I don’t measure up to others’ expectations, the stories I create will rein42 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

Clearly these aren’t productive narratives, nor do they serve the people and organizations we lead. And while I’m aware that years of cognitive behavioral therapy may sometimes be the most effective solution to modify such beliefs-and-values–powered narratives, I’d like to suggest that we have the option to intervene any time we recognize (selfawareness!) the unproductive nature of the stories we tell ourselves.

It’s clear that the stories we tell ourselves have an impact not just on our own behavior, but also on our engagement with others and in turn on their perceptions of us as leaders, colleagues, and partners. By carefully examining our dominant narratives and making sure they contribute positive value to our and others’ lives, we’re one step closer to wielding real influence with the power of storytelling.

2. Stories We Tell Others About Ourselves

sure to highlight any mistakes from which you’ve grown. Share examples of how you’ve navigated new cultures in the past— organizational or regional—and what you’re hoping to learn in this next stage with their help. This shows humility, humanizes you, and reduces the power distance that can hamper the open and honest dialogue that builds trust.

Whether you are a leader joining a new team, or a job candidate in the first round of interviews, or someone meeting a potential new client for the first time, the stories you If your audience—whether a group or an intell about yourself often set the tone for dividual—is looking to engage you for your how the relationship will unfold, if it does, expertise, share stories that illustrate how that is. Which are the right stories in such you’ve delivered results or solved similar scenarios? It’s hard to go wrong with stories problems for others. Mention the challenges that illustrate your humility, good judgment, you encountered along the way and how integrity, and expertise and experience. As you met them successfully—even if it took a for what to emphasize, putting yourself firmfew attempts to get it right. This is also an ly into the shoes of your elegant way to share your audience should provide “And judgment is key strengths without bragging clues. The needs and exabout your accomplishpectations of the people in whenever we share ments. your audience will, of course, vary, depending on personal information.

When others want to get to the context of the meeting Faulty judgment can know us, they aren’t just and their future goals as looking for the content on they involve you. result in some awk- our LinkedIn profile. They want to know the real us to For instance, if you are the ward moments if not determine whether we’re new boss meeting the and whether members of your team for lasting reputational trustworthy associating with us will be the first time, you know of positive or negative valharm.” they’ll wonder about your ue to them. That’s why releadership style and how cruiters and hiring managers no longer have you’ll treat them. Acknowledge this and qualms about digging into our social media share a personal story or two that show you pro les and online musings to evaluate our empathize—maybe from when you met your reputation and our judgment. boss for the first time. Mention the lessons you’ve learned in managing others and make MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 43

And judgment is key whenever we share personal information. Faulty judgment can result in some awkward moments if not lasting reputational harm.

Faulty judgment in personal stories isn’t always this glaring. But if you are unsure of how your stories might land, run them first by people you trust. In the end, with personal stories less is more and humility is better.

glamorous but nonetheless essential work.

To accomplish this, he would take every opportunity—in one-on-ones, in meetings, and in group e-mails—to share stories of important fixes that these day-to-day engineers made and to publicly praise them.

The type of storytelling that is intrinsic to successful leadership is the ability to tell compelling stories of the future, to articulate a vision, to both internal and external audiences. Leaders need to master another kind of story too—this kind is about organizational values.

Similarly, if you want people to speak up more in meetings and challenge each other, share a story of how a lone dissenting voice was able to change your mind about a decision you’d made, and how this wouldn’t have happened if the person hadn’t felt comfortable in challenging you. Or if you want to increase collaboration among teams, share a story about two teams who decided to join forces and whose combined creativity and brainpower led to important breakthroughs for the organization. And if it’s courage and risk taking you want to promote, highlight stories of risk-taking colleagues—and include their failures, to make the point that learning from mistakes is just another way forward.

Whatever the management goal, there are storytelling strategies that can help further it. A former Facebook director of engineering, Bobby Johnson, once saw the need for a cultural shift in the company’s infrastructure team. Although many of his engineers were drawn to exciting new projects and innovations, Johnson knew that other Facebook engineers, the ones who worked behind the scenes to ensure that the existing systems ran faster and better than before, also did critical work. He wanted to highlight these “unsung heroes,” both to honor them and to get more engineers interested in their less

As you can see in the three types of stories above, the formula for telling a story is simple. Decide which values you want to promote and which behaviors you want to encourage, and then make those traits the themes of your stories, and include characters who demonstrate the desired traits. Do these stories have to be true? It helps if they are, and it’s even better if your audience knows the protagonists. However, hypothetical scenarios can pack just as big a punch, as we’ve learned from neuroscience research and our own experiences from the myriad of stories that surround us.

3. Stories We Tell Our Teams or Organizations

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HARRISON MONARTH is the CEO and Founder of Gurumaker and author of Executive Presence: The Art of Commanding Respect Like a CEO. An Executive Coach and New York Times bestselling author, he coaches C-suite leaders, senior executives, high potential managers and other top professionals on effective leadership and positive behavior change for professional and organizational success. He helps leaders at all levels develop a powerful personal brand and authentic executive presence. With Harrison’s coaching, leaders from various sectors develop increased self-awareness, overcome “derailer” behaviors, enhance personal effectiveness, develop new leadership skills and competencies, and communicate with confidence and competence. His approach incorporates the latest research in effective leadership, interpersonal communication, and behavioral sciences. Harrison’s client list covers organizations such as General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, MetLife, AT&T, Northrop Grumman, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Deloitte Consulting, Cisco Systems, GE and Standard & Poor’s among others, as well as startup entrepreneurs, political candidates and Members of Congress. He has contributed to Harvard Business Review, Fortune and is a regular columnist for Entrepreneur.com.

www.gurumaker.com

Twitter: @harrisonmonarth LinkedIn: @harrisonmonarth MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 45

I know of countless people who give up

tal workflows are slashing in-person contact.

their lives to start anew... not because they want to, but because they think they have to. Here’s what I mean…

This is all for the better... and here's how you can benefit...

A friend of mine moved to LA so he could network with entertainment agents.

Another friend moved to the Valley to find a job at a start-up.

And someone else moved out of the United States to live alone for a year to write a book.

The greatness of the new, digital age is remoteness. Physical presence and labor is a dying breed. Cheaper, more productive digi46 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

If you want to become a comedian or singer or dancer or any other type of performer, then create a YouTube channel so the world can tune in. That's what Justin Bieber did when he was a sane little boy. After his first hit release, “Baby,” he became the most viewed male artist on YouTube, which then propelled him to the mainstream.

If you want to make movies, then use your iPhone to shoot video. The iPhone 6s has a better camera than 90% of the cameras priced below $3,000. My old iPhone 4s had a

better camera than the cameras Syracuse out on my own. I've started at least five busiUniversity provided me in journalism school. nesses since then.

You can then upload your masterpiece that If you're looking for a job, then create your was taken on your phone to YouTube and digital resume on LinkedIn. That's how I got submit it to Amazon Studios so the world my first full-time job after school. Someone can view it. My friend Aneesh Chaganty shot found me on LinkedIn and a short on Google Glass. then hired me a few hours His two-minute film “The world as we know it is later. It was that quick. ("Seeds") is on YouTube. improving day-by-day. ProIt has more than three cesses are becoming more Network online with commillion views. panies in the closest big

efficient, and the cream is finding quicker, newer ways to rise to the top of the crop.”

If you want to become a screenwriter, then upload your screenplays to Amazon Studios, Scribd, and Black List. Hollywood producers are always checking these sites for ideas.

If you want to become an author, then selfpublish your books on Amazon. That's what Fifty Shades of Grey author E.L. James did.

She's sold more than 150 million copies of her books, which are also being adapted into movies.

If you want to become a broadcaster or commentator, then start a podcast and distribute it through iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, and SoundCloud. That's what John Lee Dumas did. He has tens of millions of listeners worldwide and makes millions of dollars every year through his podcasting products.

If you want to start a business, then set up a "home office" with your cell phone, laptop, and Skype. You have everything you need to get started. That's what I did when I went

city to you. Many companies – large and small – have presences in underthe-radar cities like Tampa, Memphis, Wilmington (Delaware), Jacksonville, and Salt Lake City. Hiring managers in these cities are tired of recruiting from the local state school and are screaming for more talent. Location isn't an issue anymore.

Gone are the days of moving to LA to make it in Hollywood...

Or moving to the Valley to start a business...

Or to New York City to find a job...

The only day is now. There are no more excuses.

The world as we know it is improving day-byday. Processes are becoming more efficient, and the cream is finding quicker, newer ways to rise to the top of the crop.

Don't be left behind.

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 47

Naresh Vissa is the Founder & CEO of Krish Media & Marketing – a full service ecommerce, technology, development, online, and digital media and marketing agency and solutions provider.. He has worked with CNN Radio, Clear Channel Communications, J.P. Morgan Chase, EverBank, The Institute for Energy Research, Houston Rockets, Houston Astros, the American Junior Golf Association, Agora Financial, Agora Publishing, Stansberry Research, and TradeStops.

He is the #1 bestselling author of FIFTY SHADES OF MARKETING: Whip Your Business into Shape & Dominate Your Competition, PODCASTNOMICS: The Book of Podcasting... To Make You Millions, THE NEW PR: 21st Century Public Relations Strategies & Resources... To Reach Millions, TRUMPBOOK: How Digital Liberals Silenced a Nation into Making America Hate Again, and the new book FROM NOBODY TO BESTSELLING AUTHOR! How To Write, Publish & Market Your Book.

He has a Master's Degree from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and has been featured on USA Today, Yahoo!, Bloomberg, MSNBC, Huffington Post, Businessweek, MSN Money, Business Insider, India Today, Hindustan Times, and other domestic and international media outlets.

www.KrishMediaMarketing.com www.NareshVissa.com Twitter: @xnareshx Instagram: @rnaresh15

48 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

In business, accountability is often viewed as meeting quarterly goals, and other activities designed to maximize returns for stakeholders and shareholders. But there is another, deeper view of business accountability. It’s when you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning and, as uncomfortable as it may

be, you’re accountable for your behavior and how your actions impact others.

As servant leaders, we are held accountable for our behavior. When I am among CEOs who are showing interest in servant leadership, I am amazed that most feel their behavior reflects that of a leader who thinks of MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 49

50 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

others first. When I ask them what it means to them, I usually get responses such as, “we don’t have any reserve parking spaces at our company,” “we have monthly or quarterly employee gatherings to celebrate our success” or “we have training programs in a wide spectrum of subjects.”

I rarely hear how the company is investing in the lives of its employees. I rarely hear lead-

ers talk about helping their employees through the unfolding of life (personal) events that impact their performance at work.

One of my favorite keynote talks is one I give where I share why servant leadership is so important in today’s world. I talk about the “bookends” of life, young adults at one end and those in the latter stages of life at the other. Several years ago, hospice nurses were asked what the topic of discussion is with patients who are in the last season of their life. What do they talk about the most?

By far the most frequent topic of discussion is their regret that they didn’t live their lives as the people they wanted to be. They lived their lives to be the person who would be accepted by others. In our world today, we put value in being accepted by others, on how we look or dress, and how we talk or

behave. In some cases, we spend time trying to impress people we may never meet again.

At the other end of the spectrum are our young adults. Sometimes, we call them emerging leaders, Generation X or Y, etc.

There is convincing evidence today that many of those who have graduated from college and are now in the workplace aren’t happy with their lives — with the profession

they’ve chosen or the company they work for. When asked why, they shared that they incur debt to go to college, where they’re taught how to take tests, how to dress, what to say, and how to prepare resumes — but no one asks them what they want to do, what they’re passionate about or what their gifts are.

We as leaders are responsible for these results; we need to accept accountability for the lives we influence, especially younger lives. We are a society that is focused more on the image than we are the person. Organizations, and as a result, the world, today reflects its leaders. And we are not helping our employees live better lives. But, we can change this through new leadership behaviors — to which we hold ourselves accountable. These behaviors are rooted in servant leadership and include Serve First, Build Trust, Live Your Values, Listen to Understand, MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 51

Think About Your Thinking, Add Value to Others, Demonstrate Courage, Increase Your Influence, Live Your Transformation.

Here are some actions you can take to practice real accountability as a servant leader:

We’ve all heard the phrase “walk your talk.”

We believe this phrase should change to “behave your talk” to reflect the new mind-

Accept accountability for the lives we influence.

Commit to changing your behavior by

set that is necessary to change the status quo.

practicing servant leader behaviors such as Serve First, Build Trust, Live Your Values, Listen to Understand, Think About Your Thinking, Add Value to Others, Demonstrate Courage, Increase Your Influence, and Live Your Transformation.

Find an accountability partner or form a small group to hold you accountable for your new behaviors. This person or group can help you navigate your new approach to leadership.

New behaviors put the leader in a new light, with a new level of accountability — one that requires we spend more time thinking about our thinking and how we want to lead. We need help to make this change in our behaviors. We need help from those closest to us, those who know us best. Do you have an accountability partner or group? Do you ask them to hold you accountable for your behaviors? In our organization, leaders are required to participate in a small group. These groups meet monthly to share leadership challenges, get advice, and build relationships with one another.

They are completely confidential and offer a perfect group to be accountable to for your behaviors. We challenge you to reflect on what type of leader you are. If you’re truly a servant leader, you’ll be accountable to someone in your life specifically for your behaviors.

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When you view your role in your job and in business as being accountable to and responsible for others, you’ll have a whole new perspective, finding meaning and purpose in what you do. You’ll also find your leadership motives are aligned to serve others, which ultimately serves the entire organization.

It’s a journey you’ll be glad you took when you look in the mirror every day.

Art is an active speaker, passionate about spreading the message of how to implement servant leadership. He is CEO and founder of the Servant Leadership Institute (SLI). SLI helps people and organizations put servant leadership into practice through workshops, coaching, events, publications, and other programs.

Art is the author of Farmer Able and The Servant Leadership Journal. His latest book is a howto for implementing servant leadership in any organization: The Art of Servant Leadership II: How You Get Results Is More Important Than the Results Themselves. www.servantleadershipinstitute.com

Facebook Page: @ServantLeaders

YouTube: @ServantLeadershipInstitute Instagram: @servantleadershipinstitute Twitter: @SLILead

Facebook: @Art Barter Twitter: @Art_Barter

LinkedIn: @Art Barter

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 53

3 Communications Basics that Build Confidence Easy tips to feel more resilient and controlled—or, at least, exude the image that you are By Merilee Kern, MBA Communication is ingrained in every facet of life, yet many struggle with fear, insecurity and general ineffectiveness when they find themselves eye to eye with someone to present ideas, address complicated situations, express feelings, negotiate or just “sell them self”—all whether in a personal or professional context.

According to Megan Rokosh, a global 54 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

business communications expert with over 12 years’ of agency public relations, media and creative strategy experience, “Some people are paralyzed with fear at the very thought of taking an idea and communicating it, both in the workplace and in their everyday life. However, confidence can be significantly bolstered by heeding even a few simple strategies— some basic fundamentals and essentials—that can improve one’s poise and self-assurance...and results of the en-

deavor at hand.”

Here are three of Rokosh’s confidencebuilding communications requisites: 1. Craft situation diffusion dialogue.

Create an assortment of “go-to” statements you can have at-the-ready to handle awkward or hard situations and moments. These are assertions and declarations that you know work well and that you can whip out quickly when needed.

For example, if you are late to a social outing, rehearse saying “I’m so sorry I kept you waiting, my rule is when I’m late, all the drinks are on me.” Or, when you’re at a loss for words, you can assert, “I could have sworn that I packed my tongue today” and lighten the moment. Having such short statements up your proverbial sleeve helps to avoid stumbling your way through awkward moments.

2. Give in to vulnerability. Vulnerability often equals likability and they are indelibly connected—so use that truth to your benefit! There’s not much more offputting than arrogance, and seeming vulnerable can make you more relatable. If you’re nervous and kicking off a meeting, tell your audience to “be gentle with you” and have a quick laugh to loosen everyone—and yourself--up. Self-effacing humor can be a powerful tool. Or, if you’re having a difficult time understanding something, you can say, “I’m so sorry if I’m holding us up here, but would you mind explaining one more time?” Your

contrition will surely endear.

3. Address adversities head on. You will undoubtedly face times at work and at home that require you to address something difficult. Although challenging and scary, the situation usually must to be addressed to be effectively resolved.

Great leaders always speak up and you should, too! Make clear from the beginning that you intend to hear and consider the other person’s side, stating something like, “Your perspective is valid and really want to hear what you have to say, but first, please allow me to share my thoughts....” followed by the suitable words. This will give you the floor, hopefully uninterrupted, since the other party has been given the assurance they’ll have a chance to present their side as well. As goes without saying, this discourse should be in person versus via text or email whenever that’s a possibility. There are times when a call or in-person meeting is just the right thing to do and where words, inflections and expressions if face-to-face will be far more impactful and meaningful.

Rokosh also reminds us that the world’s best communicators are trained. “It’s very incredible that a communicator hasn’t put in extensive work toward their oration skills so they can speak eloquently, pause in powerful silence when appropriate, address very difficult media questions, etc.,” she notes. “It’s important to remember that, while some people are inherently talented communicators, for MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 55

many (if not most) becoming a confident communicator requires learned skills. It’s one simple strategy like those above built upon each other, and proactively putting them to use, that will get you where you want and need to be.”

As an advice-doling expert, Rokosh doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk. Having worked with many highprofile global organizations and consulted with C-suite executives from nearly every industry, she’s created hugely successful platforms founded on effective communications. This includes working

directly with top-tier media like Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Ad Age, Adweek and scores more. Rokosh was even invited to partake in the elite "Business of Media, Entertainment and Sports" program at Harvard.

So, if effectively communicating is an area of insecurity for you, if you find yourself being held back by the fear, or if you just want to amp up your existing communications prowess, try Rokosh’s three easy tips above to feel more resilient and controlled—or, at least, exude the image that you are.

As the Executive Editor and Producer of “The Luxe List,” Merilee Kern, MBA is an internationallyregarded brand analyst, strategist and futurist. As a prolific branding and marketplace trends pundit, Merilee spotlights noteworthy industry innovators, change makers, movers and shakers. This includes field experts and thought leaders, brands, products, services, destinations and events across all categories. Connect with her at www.TheLuxeList.com Instagram: @LuxeListReviews Twitter: @LuxeListEditor

Facebook: @TheLuxeList LinkedIN: @MerileeKern 56 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 57

By Amit Dutta, CEO of IT People Network Success is a marathon, not a sprint. As a senior leader who has built a reputation of being a successful transformational change agent with unflagging enthusiasm and tireless dedication to innovation, I know that very well. That’s why I have come up with a system that helped me live up to the high standards I preach.

Throughout my career, I asked myself many times what were the key factors to implement in order to do great work. More than 58 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

that, I wanted to find a system that other people on my team could learn and implement to achieve successful outcomes—for themselves and our clients. That’s how I came up with the “Five Es” as my guiding principles to drive high productivity, boost employee morale, improve team performance and deliver positive outcomes that are realistic, achievable and measurable.

The Five Es are: Effectiveness, Efficiency, Exe-

cute on plan, Employee satisfaction and Exceed expectations, and they can help any organization holistically excel across every pillar of performance and achieve excellence.

Below is a detailed explanation of each of them. I welcome you to leverage them in your day to day work to maximize your success.

gently evaluating opportunity cost and ROI to decide on “pursuing the opportunity” vs. “build in-house” or “outsource to third party supplier” through established process framework.

Minimize or eliminate redundancy by consolidating organizations, tools, frameworks and teams.

Continuously improve service quality by applying corrective measures from lessons Effectiveness learned through closed-loop delivery mechanism.

Have a clear vision, mission statement and Establish tight integration and collaboration time bound roadmap to achieve specific with interdependent organization and sergoals. vice recipients.

Build the right organizational construct, serIntroduce innovation, automation, process vice delivery model, governance and quality rigor and quality assurance controls to effectively dein service delivery modliver and support your el to dramatically reservices across all cusCreate stars (employees duce productivity leaktomer constituencies. who “walk the talk”) age due to poor quality Eliminate misalignand rework. instead of divas (“talk and ment between service Reduce complexity in delivery organization don’t deliver.”) all stages and phases of and its recipients that project life cycle. then leads to various deOptimize employee related grees of ineffectiveness. expenses by having the right skills, experiEstablish the right service level agreements ence and sourcing mix. properly aligned to your organization’s busiHarness globally distributed delivery capabilness objectives and associated operational ities (GDDC) wherever appropriate. goals.

Have the right mix of suppliers (small to Define the right success criteria and neceslarge) in your vendor portfolio. sary performance metrics to measure Seek contingent labor or services from straagainst them. tegic suppliers to supplement or compleExtend high degree of transparency and prement your capabilities or capacity condictability to the customer, wherever applistraints to address sudden surge of demand. cable.

Focus on quality – No exceptions!

Efficiency Make rational investment choices by dili-

Execute Any strategy will not yield true results unless they are meticulously managed and executMENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 59

ed hence select the “right” team to execute Offer challenging assignments to employees the job. in addition to their routine work to improve Drive a sense of urgency employee engagement. to achieve goals in a Introduce talent time bound mantransformation proUnderstand employee ner. Determine the grams to offer emgoal you want to ployees desired skill aspirations and explore the achieve, and then gap trainings. right avenues to map it to work your plan and Institutionalize intimeline backwards novation and conyour organization’s goals. from your goal. tinuous improveExtend autonomy ment programs that to your leaders to incan positively contribfuse passion, accountabilute to improved quality ity and ownership yet maintain close overand financial performance. sight at a macro program level to avoid sudReward excellence. den surprises.

While implementing your plan don't let your Exceed Expectations desire for perfection stand in the way of achieving solid performance metrics. SucDrive high level of customer engagement cessful results on a right plan are always and intimacy. quick, more efficient and effective than perSet the right expectations and manage it fection. well.

Timely apply course corrections, when reUnder promise and consistently over-deliver. quired, to prevent any major slippages Secure customer satisfaction survey at a regOffer frequent status updates to customers ular frequency. and other stakeholders to highlight the purAct timely on customer feedback through an pose and benefits of the strategy (or plan or action register and action plan. program or project.)

Educate the customer on the progress of the action plan and benefits.

Employee Satisfaction

Understand employee aspirations and explore the right avenues to map it to your organization’s goals.

Establish the support structure to assist employees in their career progression path Create stars (employees who “walk the talk”) instead of divas (“talk and don’t deliver.”)

Manage employee utilization and work load properly.

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I have been consistently blessed with the privilege to secure mentoring from senior leaders of highest pedigree present in the industry. Coaching from these mentors played a critical role in shaping my work philosophies and I dedicate my success to them who have guided me through various phases of my professional career!

Amit Dutta is the president and CEO of IT People Network. A seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in providing innovative and leading-edge IT solutions, Dutta joined IT People Network as chief executive officer in September 2014.

Prior to IT People Network, Amit Dutta built his reputation as a transformational change leader by working for companies such as Allstate, Integration International, CSC and HCL Technologies among others. Dutta holds a bachelor’s degree in electronics and computer engineering from Mumbai University in India and a master’s in Business Administration from Bellevue University. A strong believer in continuous education and self-improvement, he also holds numerous certificates and technical and management certifications. www.itpeoplenetwork.com

Facebook: @ITPeopleNetwork

Twitter: @itpeoplenetwork

LinkedIn: @it-people-network-llc

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 61

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Founder of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization Interview by Neil Ball Neil: Ivan, thank you for providing this interview. Are you ready to tell us more about you?

Ivan Misner: I am excited to do that.

Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chief Visionary Officer for BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. He has been called the "father of modern networking" by CNN and one of the "Top Networking Experts to Watch" by Forbes. He is a New York Times Bestselling author who has written 21 books. In addition, he is the CoFounder of the BNI Foundation.

Ivan, can you provide us with some more insight into your business and personal life to allow us to get to know more about what you do, and who you are?

Ivan Misner: Well I grew up in Southern California, I live in Texas these days, grew up in Southern California, started my business in California. I was looking for a way of generating referrals. for the business I was in. I was a Management Consultant. And I put together a group of people who I trusted and they trusted me, and we got together

and started passing referrals, someone came who could not join because from the very beginning, the organisation that I started, BNI, we allowed only one person per profession. And someone came who could not join, and she said, 'wow this is great, would you help me open up my own group.' So, you could do two of these. And I actually told her, 'no this is not what I do, I am a business consultant. I don't do networks.' And she talked me in to it, she said, 'hey it is helping me with my business.'

So, I opened a second group and we had about 25 people come. Two could not join because of a conflict in profession with others. And both of them said, 'wow this is great, I could get a ton of business could you help me open up my own groups?' and I said, 'no this is not what I do, I am a business consultant.' And we opened those up and we were off to the races.

We now have seven thousand, four hundred groups in more than 65 countries around the world. So, I would like to tell you, I had this vision of an international organisation when I started BNI but I was looking for referrals...

MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 63

It’s a great example I think of necessity being the mother of invention. There was a need out there for business people, to get referrals and to network effectively. And I help provide the mechanism to accomplish that.

to us and we had somebody in Missouri who had some close friends in Canada and they introduced us in the mid-nineties to some people in Canada. We opened in Canada, and someone from Canada had a brother in the UK, who said, 'hey you know brother, I In terms of my personal life, married almost think you would love this', and he explained 27 years. We it to them and I think an entrepreneur is either have three so we opened great kids, we working in their flame, or working in up the United are empty nesttheir wax. When they are working in Kingdom from ers now, woo their flame, they are on fire, they are excited. They someone in hoo hoo, it’s love what they do, they are just passionate about Canada. The just us and we United Kingdom have got three it, and when they are working in their wax, it just grown kids who sucks them dry, it just takes all their energy away. opened up, there was are great kids. someone from the UK who moved to New Neil: So, Ivan, you have created something Zealand, and guess what we worked it just that’s global. Which is just awesome. And like word-of-mouth. It was not done as neatfrom my knowledge of your business, you ly and cleanly as one might expect, but you certainly started it pre-internet days. Which know, we just followed the referrals and the is even more awesome for people who are people. using the internet... even to work out the I mean I will give you an example what I am concept of making something global without talking about. The third state for BNI in the the internet, is like 'how do you do that?' I US was California, Arizona, Montana. Now mean how did that happen? there are more mountain goats than people Ivan Misner: Well you know, it’s really about in Montana. A beautiful, beautiful state but relationships and connections and referrals. just not a lot of people so why in the world We were international before the internet would Montana be the third state for BNI? It really became what it is today and by the was the third state because a father came to mid-nineties, we were starting to open up see his daughter in Arizona and she said, 'I globally and we did it through referrals. As I cannot have breakfast with you this morning talk to people, I ask them, you know if you Dad, I have got a networking meeting to go know somebody from another area, I was to' And he said, 'hey let me go along.' And thinking the US. You know, please refer them 64 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

so, he went, he was like, 'wow we need this in Montana, in Kalispell Montana.' And so, he opened up a BNI in Kalispell, so it happened globally by thinking locally.

Neil: Ivan, for the people that are not aware of what BNI is, can you just give us a very quick overview of what it is?

Ivan Misner: BNI allows one person per profession to join a group. So, there is one lawyer, one accountant, one banker, one financial planner. They get together every week and the sole purpose of the organisation is to pass each other referrals. Last year we passed each other 7.7 million referrals. We generated 9.3 billion, that’s billion, $9.3 billion dollars, US dollars’ worth of business, for our members all around the world. So, Neil just so you know $9.3 billion dollars is the same as the gross domestic product for the country of Lichtenstein. OK it’s a small country I know, but I think it’s pretty cool that we could generate that much business.

As much business as a small nation in the world, I am looking for a bigger nation next year, but I am still pretty impressed with that.

Neil: I am impressed as well. People talk about having an impact on the world, and that truly is global impact, isn't it? It’s just amazing.

Neil: So, what do you enjoy most about what you do?

Ivan Misner: Well I have been doing this now

31 years, and so I have re-invented myself a few times in the journey, my story is really a garage to global journey, I literally worked out of my home, we did shipping and packets out of my garage. We now have a global headquarters in Charlotte with offices all around the world. And so, I have re-invented myself and in the early days it was about building a business, and starting something new and then we started franchising, BNI is a franchise. It was about learning how to franchise.

Today, my role with the company is to be the spokesperson for the organisation. And you know what I was passionate about, 20 years ago... I may not be quite as passionate about now. But one thing I have always been passionate about, is the business and helping people succeed. I think an entrepreneur is either working in their flame, or working in their wax. When they are working in their flame, they are on fire, they are excited.

They love what they do, they are just passionate about it, and when they are working in their wax, it just sucks them dry, it just takes all their energy away.

I decided a few years ago, I really want to spend all my time in my flame, doing interviews and teaching and training and writing and so I am there today. You know, I tell people I am a 20-year overnight success. It took me 20 years to achieve a global organisation, I mean really a global multi-national company. But if you stick to it long enough and you MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 65

have systems in place, you can achieve a level of success and do the things you love and that’s kind of where I am at in the world right now.

Ivan Misner: Forget about balance, you will never achieve it. Whenever I say that to an audience, I always get the kind of response that you just gave me there. Or I will see some people up front that they will physicalNeil: What is it that drives you? ly kind of slump and they will go 'oh gosh' I Ivan Misner: You know I think that drive is an thought he was going to give me something internal mechanism for me, it's just who I really meaningful. So alright, it gets better. It am. You know there are certainly things that does get better. I think we look at balance, have happened to people that motivate especially as entrepreneurs, as business peothem or drive them. For me it’s always been ple, we look at balance as sort of lady justice an internal drive to with the scales of jusmake a difference. I Forget about balance, tice and everything has have always felt that got to be in balance, you will never achieve it you may not be able to and we kind of look at make a world of differbalance as my life, my personal life has to be ence, but you can make a difference in the in balance with my business life and that has world. And so, my goal with BNI was to really to be in balance with my spiritual life and my make a difference and make a difference for health. a person, for a few people, for a chapter of If you are an entrepreneur, your life is like BNI, a group of BNI, and that just grew and way out of balance. That’s what being an engrew and grew and grew. And now I feel like trepreneur is like, but there is good news. I I am making a difference for a fair number of truly believe that you may not live a life of people globally. balance but you can live a life of harmony.

Neil: How do relax when you are not workAnd this is more than semantics, it’s really ing in your business? more than semantics. It’s about creating a Ivan Misner: Yeh so you know, I think this is a harmony in your life, even look at the logo great question, and it gives me an opporfor harmony, the ying and the yang. You tunity to talk about something I don't talk know, the circle, it’s out of balance. Its lopabout a lot and that’s the whole idea of balsided. And that’s really what I think harmony ance. So, would you like to know Neil, what I is all about, it’s that your life is going to be think the secret to balance is? out of balance sometimes. I travel a crazy amount. But yet when I am home, I am Neil: I would absolutely love to know, yes home. please.

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And so, there are a few secrets to creating harmony in life, and I am going to give you the first one. The first one is three simple words, really simple words. Be here now. Be here now. Wherever you are, be there. So, if you are at work, don't be thinking about the fact that you did not spend time with the kids last night. And when you are at home, and you are with the kids, don't be thinking about that project that is sitting on your desk that needs to be done. Wherever you are, be fully present to that moment and engaged to that moment, and don't have your head someplace else. It’s the first rule of creating harmony.

any of us are going to say 'gee I wish I spent more time at the office' We are going to beat ourselves up for not having done some of the things we really wanted to do in our lives. And so, your life is going to be out of balance, you can create harmony with it though. And there is a lot of other things that I recommend. But I think that is a really important concept to understand, for business people today is that they have to relax.

Don't be proud of the fact that you are not relaxing, that’s not a good thing.

Neil: And do you have any Entrepreneurial Role Models?

Ivan Misner: Sure, there are a number of The second thing is, to make sure to set people that I really respect in business, I aside time to do all the things that are really have gotton to spend a fair amount of time important in your life and it may not be exwith Sir Richard Branson and very impressed actly the same number of hours that you are with him. He has, his people skills are just going to be doing your business, at least not amazing. He is able to network effectively now. But make with people at all there are a few secrets to sure to schedule levels of an orthose times, for creating harmony in life, and ganisation, and I example, for me it could tell you sevI am going to give you the first one. eral stories, of was really important to for me watching him into have dinner with the family every night. teract with people. And how impressed I was Every night. And so as long as I was not travwith how he dealt with people, particularly elling, I made sure I blocked it, it was on my people who were blue collar workers, and calendar. I got a ding from my Outlook sayhow he treated them. ing 'go home, it’s time to have dinner with Another one that I really respect, another the family.' And then I would go home and I gentleman that I really respect is Jack Canevery night had dinner with the kids. field, 'Chicken Soup for the Soul', and his reSo look, when you are 70 years old, I doubt cent success book. There’s a guy who has MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 67

sold three-quarters of a billion books. In my dreams would I have sold three-quarters of a billion books. And his ego does not enter the room before him. He is a very down-to-earth guy, I really respect people who are very successful, but also down-to-earth.

Neil: Thank you for that Ivan. Ivan what I would like to do now is talk to you about the time before you were an entrepreneur. What difficulties did you have to overcome when you started your business?

Ivan Misner: You know I think there were a few things when I started BNI imparticular. It was a fairly unknown concept - there was a lack of concept recognition. You see that, if you think about it, you see it in a number of roles. The first time I saw it was on a telephone answering machine back in the 70's where I remember calling someone with a buddy, and we called our friend and there was a telephone answering machine. Our friend had a telephone answering machine and my buddy said 'oh god who would ever leave their message on one of these things?'

It is weird. And he hung up.

A year, two years later calling another friend, a different situation and the phone rang and rang and rang and my buddy said the guy doesn't have a tape machine, everybody has a tape machine, why doesn't he have a tape machine. So, what happened in that twoyear period where someone said oh, I would never leave my voice on a tape machine and then someone saying oh he doesn't have a 68 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

tape machine.

I saw that happen with fax machines, I saw that happen with email, it happened with networking. People didn't understand what a group like BNI was at all, nobody. And so, we had to really create an industry with this concept of business networking. And we don't teach it in colleges and universities, anywhere in the world, we don't teach networking or word of mouth marketing or referral marketing. And so, the biggest thing that I had to overcome was teaching people what it was and what it was when it was done right and that took some time. That is part of the reason I say I am a 20-year overnight success because we really had to create that industry as we went.

Neil: Did you have any doubts that delayed you starting your business?

Ivan Misner: It delayed me starting it. I you know, I stumbled in to it, as I said in the first part of the interview, I did not intend to run a network, I was a management consultant, my doctoral work is in organisational behaviour. So, I would not say there were doubts, I just did not see it until it had hit me over the head. You know, so when you are marketing something, you can push and push and push. Or sometimes, you see some element of what you are doing where you just get pulled right in. You get pulled through rather than have to push through.

It was at that point that I recognised, when

these groups started opening, when people Ivan Misner: Oh, you know, I could write an were coming to me, saying 'I want that, I entire book on the number of mistakes. You need that. Can you do that for me?' I realknow if people look at someone who is sucised I was being pulled through the process. cessful and who creates a multi-national And so whatever doubts I had, in terms of 'is company, and they say, 'oh he was so lucky, this really a business?' were completely or you know he must not have made very eliminated many misThe question is not whether you takes.' Are you when the demand was so are going to make a mistake or kidding me? high. So again, You know, I I would like to not, the question is how do you respond made so many tell you I had a mistakes along when you realise its a mistake. vision of an inthe way, it’s ternational organisation in the beginning, not funny. I remember the early days, talking but I will tell you what I did do right, was I to a friend of mine who is also a consultant recognised it when it happened. It took a and I said to him, 'I am really worried befew months, but I recognised it when it hapcause if I make a mistake now, it impacts pened. people's lives, I mean if I make a really bonehead mistake, within the company, people Neil: A few months to recognise that it could could lose their jobs. They could go out of go international? business, I am really concerned about this, I Ivan Misner: Well I would say no, I would be am losing sleep over some of these things.' boasting to say that because that would not And he said to me, 'Ivan look, if you are worbe true. I thought, in that first year I thought ried whether you are going to make a mis'wow, this could be national, this could be all take or not, don't be, you will.' It’s going to over the country.' And it took a little longer happen; you are going to make lots of misto realise that it could be international. takes.

Neil: It must be an amazing feeling when you The question is not whether you are going to figure that out, and you were right. make a mistake or not, the question is how Ivan Misner: It was even more amazing, to do you respond when you realise it’s a mishave it come to fruition. take. Do you die on the hill fighting for that mistake? You know, to keep trying to make it Neil: Yeh I could imagine. work, or do you recognise it, adjust and Neil: So, what mistakes did you make that move on? And by recognising it and maybe slowed your journey?

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saying 'hey you know what? We were going teachable, they want to learn and they are that direction, I am wrong, here is what I passionate. Compared to somebody who on think needs to happen now. And let’s go this paper, is excellent. They look really good, but direction.' And you are going to get a lot they are not really excited. They are just, more respect from people. As 'yeh I am here, I will do the job. I am good, I long as you are not doam qualified.' But Ignorance on fire, is ing it constantly you they are just not pasare going to get a lot better than knowledge on ice sionate about it. Ignomore respect from rance on fire, is better people. I thought that was great advice, and than knowledge on ice, and it’s really all I have tried to live by it. I make mistakes all about selecting people who are passionate. the time, what I try to do is adjust when I reAnd here is the thing that I was probably not alise that it’s a mistake and adjust it and as good at as I should have been. Firing move forward. those people who were not passionate. I hung on to people. Harvey Mackay, I really Neil: What are some of the things that you started to.. Do you know who Harvey Macdid before you started your business? That kay is, he has written a lot of books, Swim would be helpful tips to some of the reader with the Sharks. who have not yet taken the first step of becoming an entrepreneur?

Neil: Yes

Ivan Misner: So, there are a number of things that I think are really important that I started thinking about after, after I started my business. And they were never taught to me in business school. It was not taught in class. And here is a handful of them.

'Ignorance on fire, is better than knowledge on ice' I love this concept. 'Ignorance on fire, is better than knowledge on ice.'

Ivan Misner: And he said something to me once, that has stuck with me, he said, 'I have lost more sleep over the people I have not fired, than the ones I did fire.' And if I had to do it all over again, I think one of the things that I would do is I would let people go sooner, when I realised they were not passionate for the business. You are not doing them a favour by keeping them and you are not doing yourself a favour by keeping them.

Let me explain it. I would rather have an employee who is on fire, they are excited, they are passionate about what you are doing as a business, as an entrepreneur. And they may not on paper, on their resume, they may not be the most qualified, but they are 70 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

Neil: Absolutely.

Ivan Misner: I will give you one more, and this one I learned and re-learned throughout my life. But I got this in high school from my

mother and its sitting here right on my desk, next to me, it’s a paperweight and it says "Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your way" love that. And you have to understand that this concept is not about manipulation, it’s about collaboration. That if you really want to move people in a direction that the best way to make that happen is to collaborate, to work with them. Don't hit them over the head and say 'do it my way' but collaborate with them and work through the ideas. These were some of the things that I think have been powerful, there are two concepts that have been powerful for me in running a business over the years.

ness. But a company with an awesome culture, and a strong strategy will be the industry leader every single time. So, strategy is important, but culture is critical for the success of a business.

strategy for breakfast" Let me repeat that.

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast" Culture is the single most important aspect of a successful business. If you have not started to create a cultural identity for your business, start now. Create core values, and a philosophy that is part of the culture of your company.

Neil: So, Ivan, how do you take, I mean you started a business from nothing to something that’s got now over seven thousand outlets around the world. How do you maintain that culture because having culture in a small business or even a regional business, maybe I could sort of see how you do that, but as you start getting bigger and bigger and you start going to different countries, how do you maintain those cultural values in that business?

So, sit down and start understanding what are the things you are doing right as a business? And why? Why are you doing those right? And maybe there are some things that you really, you are aspirational, you aspire for your business to be able to do these things but maybe you are not quite there.

Aspirational values are good for creating a culture as well. And then keep stories. Stories are what create culture. So, as you creNeil: Ivan, can we just talk about the entreate these values, and you have experiences, preneurial Journey a little bit more now, do write those stories down. Share those stoyou think culture is important from the beries with others and it’s that story telling on ginning in a busithe core values, Diplomacy is the art of ness? that create the orIvan Misner: letting someone else have your way ganisational culture.

"Culture eats

A company with a fantastic culture, and a marginal strategy can succeed in business. A company with a fantastic strategy, and a marginal culture will probably fail in busi-

Ivan Misner: Well let’s start with your last MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 71

comment, different countries. You know I really believe different countries, different cultures, different races, different religions, different people, different places. We all speak the language of referrals. We all want to do business with people we know and trust. So, we have to take a look at what we all have in common. And what we all have in common is entrepreneurial nations want to do business. People from entrepreneurial nations want to do business with people that they know and trust. So, we all have a similar starting point.

Now, how do you then transcend that culture from one country to another country?

You start with that core philosophy. At BNI that core philosophy is givers gain. That’s one of our absolute core values, that’s givers gain. If you want to get business from people, you have to be willing to give business to people. You have to take off your apron, you have to take off your bib and put on an apron. It’s not just what you can get, it’s what you can give to help other people. And that’s a starting point that resonates with people worldwide. And so, you tell stories to illustrate that philosophy, to illustrate that core value.

One of the things that I did when we became international, was I wrote a book and the book is only available, I am sure you can get it on Amazon, secondary market but we do not sell it, it’s not sold to the public. It’s given to every new BNI member. And it’s 72 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

called "Givers gain" the BNI story. And they get it... and the reason I wrote it, was to make sure to carry on, the core traditions of the organisation. That as we went global, that every single new member could get the whole story, the good, the bad, the ugly.

In the book, I talk about mistakes we made so that they can see it did not come out fully formed, that we made a lot of mistakes as we went. But here is where I think it really works well, in doing something like a book. I start... there are actually 60 different versions of the book, I start with first the local story. So, before I tell the BNI story, I have the local national director say, 'here is how I started in France, here is how I started in the United Kingdom, in Malaysia, in Hong Kong.'

So, every book has a different forward or opening. So, it tells the local story. And then it launches into the international or the organisational story, my story. And it is that story telling that has helped keep the culture cover the globe.

Neil: Yeh I was just curious because obviously keeping the book obviously tells people your values and everything, presumably that’s what it’s doing because you just could not do it without somehow writing it down.

It would be virtually impossible, wouldn't it?

Ivan Misner: It would be virtually impossible, you certainly do it through training, you know training and education is a leaky bucket process.

Neil: Yeh

ber one, phone bill was number two. Today I don't even know where the phone bill is in Ivan Misner: So, when I teach someone how my budget, its buried under something. So, to do something, some of the information its minimal. So, there are a lot of things that leaks out, and if they then teach someone we can do to pass else even more inon the culture of an My failures are what formation leaks out, organisation. And and when they helped teach me how to succeed. it’s really one way teach another peror another whether son, you know you it’s a podcast or a book or online, it’s about end up with half a bucket of information. story telling.

And when someone gets half a bucket of information, the first thing they do is go 'ahh something is missing here' so what do they start doing? They start putting in their own stuff, and their own stuff and their own stuff may or may not work. And so, the more you can plug those holes, the better. So, something like a book, podcasts, I do weekly podcasts. And a lot of it is stuff from various books that I wrote. And I talk about core values and podcasts are aimed at BNI members, and so I talk about our core values regularly, our traditions.

So, books, the internet is great because it flattens the communication hierarchy. People can connect with each other... I mean look how we are doing this interview. This was unheard of 15/20 years ago, you know.

Sitting in different countries with microphones online doing a recorded interview, it’s just it was unheard of when I started BNI. So, the second largest line of my budget in 1985 was the telephone bill. The phone bill, staff were number one, salaries were num-

Neil: Knowing what you know now, is there anything that if you had known it when you started out, that would have helped you to short cut the learning curve?

Ivan Misner: Well yes of course, so there are many things, that I would do differently, in concept. I mean I am hesitating because I think it’s an interesting question but not a question that works well, I think in the sense that.. look, it’s that learning process that gives us the experience to know better the next time. So, I can give you some thoughts and I will give you something here in a minute, that if you have not experienced it and you pay attention, maybe you won't make the same mistake. But I never go back, I never regret. So, the issue with this question is that it almost feels like, do I have a sense of regret with something I did wrong. You know what? My failures are what helped teach me how to succeed. So, failures do not particularly bother me. But there is a lot of failures that taught me a lot of things.

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One is I think… one of the biggest short cuts let’s verify that. Let’s confirm with some to the learning curve would be the technolofacts how we should respond to it. gy. It took me too long, to integrate all of our And by the way, I think sometimes my gut online technologies in to one platform in feeling has gotton me in trouble, and not beBNI. And it was very painful by the time we cause I was wrong, but because I communidid it, we did it about five years ago. And it cated too quickly to someone what I was gowas just really painful getting every country ing to do. In other words, someone would on to the same platform, because what hapcome up with an idea, and my gut feeling on pened was many countries had their own something was, 'that’s a really, really bad platforms, so we had to pull them away and idea.' Even if I say it tactfully, it deflates get away and come to one single platform. them. And so, I have found that sometimes So, I do not know how much that would help it is just better to hang on to your gut feelother entrepreneurs, but I think as soon as ing, for a little while rather than tell someyou realise that there is a techbody 'no that is not a nology out there that good idea, here is This is what I call the you all need to be on, why.' Its sometimes networking disconnect, better to say, 'let me you need to get everybody on it sooner give some thought to people show up at networking rather than later. Bethat. Let me think cause it does not events, everybody wants to sell, about it and let’s talk make it easier a year again.' And then you but nobody is there to buy. from now to try it. come back with a Neil: How much does gut feeling influence your decisions in your business?

more rational response rather than that’s a bad idea. So, does that make sense?

Ivan Misner: I think it influences it a great deal. I think gut feeling really is the sum total of your personal experiences at light speed.

You know so you have a lot of personal experiences and gut feeling is really your ability to process all of those experiences, and get an immediate reaction. So, it influences my decisions a lot, however I almost always double check before I just go with that gut feeling. That is here is my gut feeling but

Neil: Yeh absolutely. Ivan, can you just, networking is what BNI is about, isn't it? But can you just talk a little bit more about networking? And how it should be done?

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Ivan Misner: Well I did a presentation in London a few years back and there were about a 1000 people in the audience, and I asked the entire audience, I said, 'how many of you are here today?' hoping to you know, just maybe possibly sell something? Raise your hands.

Neil, a 1000 people raised their hands. Everybody in the audience said, 'yeh that’s why I am here, it’s a networking event. That’s why I am here, I want to sell.' I said, 'great thanks.

Second question, raise your hand. If you are here hoping to, you know maybe just possibly buy something', no one raised their hand. Not one single person. This is what I call the networking disconnect, people show up at networking events, everybody wants to sell, but nobody is there to buy. And that’s why people go to networking events, and they walk out wanting to get a shower. Because they just feel so shmarmy, slimy. It’s like 'oh god, all the people did was like try to sell to me.' So that to me is a great example of networking gone wrong.

Networking is more about farming, than it is about hunting. It is about cultivating relationships with other business professionals.

It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme, it’s a way to build a solid foundation for a long-term successful business. So, let me give you one technique that I think is critical, it’s the foundation of everything I teach, if you don't get this right, nothing else matters with your networking efforts. I call it the VCP Process.

Visibility, Credibility, Profitability.

You have to first be visible in the community, people have to know who you are, and what you do. Then and only then can you move to credibility, where people know who you are, what you do, and they know you are good at

it. And that’s the one that takes a long time.

It takes time to get to get to credibility. Only when you are at credibility, can you get to the point to profitability where people know who you are, they know what you do, they know you are good at it and they are willing to pass business to you on long-term reciprocal basis. That’s where you get the profitability.

What people try to do, is they try to jump over visibility, jump over credibility, get right to profitability. 'Hi Neil, my name's Ivan, let’s do business.' Or maybe, 'here's three copies of my card, maybe if you meet somebody who could use my services, you will refer me.' And if you don't even know me, you are trying to jump over visibility, you are trying to jump over credibility and get right to profitability.

I wrote a book called 'Business, networking and sex. Not what you think.' That’s the subtitle, not what you think is about the difference between men and women and how they network. And we call that process, jumping over visibility and credibility and getting right to profitability, we call that premature solicitation. Which you don't want to say fast three times, it will get you in trouble. But that’s where it’s done wrong, so if you want to network effectively, it’s all about relationships, everyone. It’s all about building relationships.

Neil: Life is made of constant change whether you like it or not- The Only Constant is MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 75

Change. Ivan How do you try to keep up with change?

piness within that change.' And I think business is very much the same, businesses are going to change, times change. So, stay on top of the game. You know be a life-long learner, and learn to go with the change.

Ivan Misner: Well I think it’s important to read, I think it’s important to study, to go to conferences, to learn. There have been very, very few conferences in life that I have gone Neil: What is your favourite book on entreto that I did not walk away with at least one preneurialism, business, personal developnugget. Sometimes many, many, many more ment, leadership or motivation? Can you tell nuggets, including my own BNI conferences, us why you have chosen it?

I mean I have been to 40 or Ivan Misner: 50 of my own 'You have got to learn how to Well let’s say conferences do you want over the last deal with change, and then one on a couseveral decple of those deal with it again, and again and again. ades, probably areas or? more than that and I always learn something Neil: If you want to give more than one, from one of my directors. Always some nugthat’s fine. Yeh. get that I can use.

Ivan Misner: Yeh so from a business perspecAnd so be a sponge, and you want to be able tive, it would have to be The E-Myth and to deal with change, be a sponge. You know I that was written by Michael E. Gerber... if tell you; it was actually my mom probably your listeners if you have not heard of The Etaught me a lot about change. My mom was Myth, go pick up a copy of it, it’s a great the happiest person I knew in life and she book, I have gotton to know Michael, you had more health issues than anybody I knew know I read this book in 1986, maybe 87, in life; I mean serious health issues. but I got to meet Michael a few years ago, But she was always happy and I remember amazing guy, fantastic book. And it talks asking her once, 'what's the secret to happiabout the myth of being an entrepreneur, ness? Because you are always happy?' And not that you cannot be an entrepreneur, but she said, 'You have got to learn how to deal being an entrepreneur is different than bewith change, and then deal with it again, and ing a manager. That you have to really have again and again.' Because life is learning how to learn to work on your business, not just in to accept and live with change, because your your business. life is going to constantly change and you If you are an expert at making widgets. Your can either fight it or go with it, and find hap76 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

business is not just about making widgets, it’s about running the business of making widgets, the hiring, the HR, the strategic planning, it’s the operations of the business.

It’s an interesting book and I based much of what I did with BNI on that book. For example, one of the things that he says in there is write everything down.

In your early days, write everything down about your business. What you are doing, how you handle customer complaints, you know how you do your training. He said, 'write everything down as though you are going to franchise your business. Even if you have no intention of ever franchising your business.' And I remember thinking, 'I am never going to franchise this business. I don't think this is franchisable but its good advice. So, I will write everything down.' I wrote everything down Neil. And then guess what, a few years later, I had a manual, and I am looking at this and I am going, 'you know, I thought I could franchise this business.'

And by golly I did. And did so very successfully, love that book, The E-Myth.

The other book I would recommend, is by Jack Canfield, and that’s his The Success Principles book. Outstanding book. Personal development... and of course I know Jack really well, he is a good friend and he lives what he talks about in the book and its one of the reasons why he is so successful, so those are two books I would recommend.

Neil: Thank you Ivan.

Neil: What I would like to do with you now is speculate about the future a little bit. What one thing would you do with your business if you knew that you could not fail?

Ivan Misner: You know, my answer to that question may surprise you, I would do nothing different. Because I never really, really particularly worried about failure. I knew that things that I would do would fail, and so that I just had to adjust, to failures along the way. And so, when I was really convinced that something would benefit the business. I did not really care about failure. I got my ducks in a row, I went in to it with as much understanding of the problem and what could go wrong, but I could honestly tell you, Neil there is nothing I would do if knew that I could not fail. That I have not already tried, and I am interested in doing. Does that make sense?

Neil: Absolutely yeh thanks for that.

Ivan Misner: So, for people who are listening to this, don't be afraid of failure. It’s going to happen. Just go in with as much knowledge as you possibly can, to what you are going to do. You know Murphy's Law; you have heard of Murphy's Law Neil?

Neil: Yeh of course.

Ivan Misner: What can go wrong, will go wrong. So, would you like to hear Misner's Corollary?

Neil: I would love to.

Ivan Misner: Murphy was an optimist, beMENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 77

cause what cannot go wrong, will go wrong.

Things go wrong. And so, I am the kind of guy, where I look at 'what’s going to go wrong here?' Not only what can't go wrong, but what if this thing that I think can't go wrong, goes wrong? What would I do then?

So, when I go in to a situation, the more I understand those aspects, the less I am worried about failure because I have a back-up plan. If some piece of it fails.

Neil: Yes. I have yeh.

Ivan Misner: Ok, so there is a phrase in there, I don't know if its Jamie or the other guy that says, here's the phrase. "I reject your reality and substitute my own" Adam Savage of MythBusters. I love that phrase, so with your question, 'I reject your reality and I substitute my own.' And here is why. I don't think there is any skill, that I need, to take on that would double my business and here is you listening why. I don't need to have every skill; I can't possibly have every I am not my failures in life. skill.

And so, for those of to this. Don't be afraid of failure.

You need a lot of I am the sum total of my So, what I need, is grey hair to underto find somebody successes.

And those failures help stand this, and I who is excellent have a lot of grey me achieve those successes. and has that skill. hair. Failure is not a And so, we are bad thing, if you treat it right. Failure is truly talking entrepreneurs, and so entrepreneurs about learning experiences, and using those you don't need to be everything to everylearning experiences to succeed. I am not one. But you need to surround yourself, with my failures in life. I am the sum total of my a team of people who have skills that are in successes. And those failures help me your weaknesses. That your strengths maybe achieve those successes. their weakness. But their strength is your

Neil: It’s a great philosophy. What skill if you were excellent at it would help you the most to double your business?

Ivan Misner: I am not usually stumped on questions Neil, that’s a great question. So, I will tell you why, there is a television series, that I really like, I don't know if you have it.

Myth-busters, have you ever heard of Mythbusters?

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weakness.

And if you surround yourself with people like that, that’s the way you start to leverage your business and leverage your time. Run with those skills, sure work on your weaknesses. But don't worry about having every skill possible. You are just never going to do it, nobody can. Surround yourself with people with skill and you can double your business.

Neil: In 5 years from now if a well-known business publication was publishing an article on your business after talking to your customers and suppliers, what would you like it to say?

A lot of what I have done has been fun and really hard, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. But it takes work. look, there are people out there, who become highly successful, overnight, it happens, you can win the lottery too. Isn't it interesting, a lot of people win the lottery? end up broke a few years later. Why? Because they do not know how to sustain that success. So, to me, sustained success takes a lot of work and effort.

That’s my favourite quote.

Ivan Misner: That BNI has made a huge difference in people's lives. Worldwide. That we continue to help people, build their business and stay in business. I mean that’s the reason I am in business is to help people succeed, it’s part of my personal, emotionally charged connection, there is always someNeil: Do you have any favourite online rething in life that’s happened to you, that is sources you can share with us? the reason you do the things you do and a Ivan Misner: Yeh there is a website, I think lot of us are not in touch with what that stoit’s SmallBusinessAdvocate. com. A good ry is. I know my story; I know why I do the friend of mine, Jim Blasingame, he is a radio things I do and it has everything to do with talk show host and he does online... his wanting to help other people be their best. show plays on air but it also plays online And so, I would love globally, live and an answer someThe secret to success you can go back thing along that and listen to segwithout hard work is still a secret. line, in a story ments. I have been about the company. a regular guest on Jim's show for I think 14 Neil: Ivan what is your favourite quote and how have you applied it?

Ivan Misner: I think one of my favourite quote is "the secret to success without hard work is still a secret." There is no way to be successful without hard work. These people who tell you, three easy lessons and you too will be successful, they are lying to you. Its hard work. It does not also mean it is not also fun. You know it can be fun and hard

years. So, there are a lot of segments that I have done with him. He is the small business advocate; I mean he really is. He loves small businesses. Everything is small businesses and supporting small businesses, I highly recommend that online resource.

Neil: What is your best advice to other entrepreneurs?

Ivan Misner: I wrote a book a few years back called 'Masters of Success' and I would add MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 79

something to my favourite quote of "the secret to success without hard work is still a secret"... my best advice to entrepreneurs is that success is the uncommon application of common knowledge. Now let me explain that.

university in California and I started...I asked them, these college kids, undergraduates what do you think the secret to success is, what are the skills needed? And do you know what they said Neil? Systems processes, leverage, people skills. I mean they gave me the exact same list. The exact same list When I wrote the book, I interviewed a lot as everyone else and I remember thinking of people and I talked to business people wait a minute. If we all know what it takes to the average business person - the people be successful, then why is it that we are all that you will find... entrepreneurs and business people that you would find in BNI. And I not as successful as we want to be? I mean think about it... I have never asked anyone asked them ever what is what are If we all know what it takes to be the secret some of the successful, then why is it that we to success. secrets to success and are all not as successful as we want to be? And then they gave Neil they me something where I go 'oh my god that's would tell me things like creating a strategy, the secret. I had no idea that was the secret, systems, processes, leverage, people skills, nobody ever told me that was the secret.' you know... They gave me a whole list of No, what do they tell you? They tell you the things. same thing over and over again.

I then asked really successful business peoSo, if we all know what it takes to be sucple, people that are in my book, big names, cessful, why aren't we all successful as we well known people Buzz Aldrin the astrowant to be? I think the secret to success is naut, Erin Brockovich (the movie was made the uncommon application of common about him), people like Jack Canfield...you knowledge. That we all know what it takes, know, what are the secrets to success? And It's the way we apply that concept. Do we do they gave me the same list - systems, proit with a different spin, a different flavour, cesses, dealing with conflict, leverage, peowith more effective systems with more pasple skills. They gave me the exact same list. I sion? You know there has to be a combinathough this is really interesting that the avertion that is sort of the secret sauce to make age business person said the same things as that work. But it is the application of the idethe really successful person. as not necessarily the ideas. You have got So then at the time I was teaching at a state 80 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2

people listening to your podcast - you are going to get tons of ideas from Neil's magazine. Go apply them. Do them.

I didn't create networking. Networking was around a long time before me I just did it with a different spin, with a lot of organisation, with a lot of systems, a lot of passion, a lot of education, a lot of pieces that are common place when you ask people what it takes to be successful but I did it in an uncommon way. And I think that’s the best advice that I can give to entrepreneurs today.

Neil: Ivan is there anything that you would like to add about your business?

Ivan Misner: Well I will say I appreciate you asking, I welcome people to come to my blog, I have a blog IvanMisner.com all free content up there, Ivan Misner.com - and visit a chapter of BNI. If you have never gone to BNI or it’s been a long time, if you are an alumna, if you used to be a member, come on back, we would love to see you come on back. It’s a great organisation and we are helping many people, around the world.

I will leave you with one thought, if I can about networking in general, I really believe... you know the old expression, "it not what you know it’s who you know" I don't

think it’s either, I don't think it’s what you know or who you know. I think it’s how well you know each other that really counts. You know there is a big difference between a contact and a connection. A contact you know, I have got some contacts in my database that are amazing, they are just amazing. But the question is if I pick up the phone and call them, would they take my call? And if I ask them for a favour, would they say yes? That’s the difference between a contact and a connection. It’s not what you know or who you know, it’s how well you know them that really makes a difference in building a powerful personal network.

Neil: Wow thanks for that Ivan. It has been an honour chatting with you. You have given us so much, you have talked about the life balance, and whether there is or is not one, you have given us tips, quotes, philosophies, advice, the list just goes on, it’s been awesome, you have inspired us all. And you have given us a huge amount to think about, so thank you so much for coming on the show.

Ivan Misner: My pleasure Neil, any time.

Neil: You are welcome, thank you.

Dr. Ivan Misner the Founder & Chief Visionary Officer for BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. He has been called the "father of modern networking" by CNN and one of the “Top Networking Experts to Watch” by Forbes. He is a New York Times Bestselling author who has written 21 books. In addition, he is the Co-Founder of the BNI Foundation. www.bni.com www.ivanmisner.com LinkedIN: @IvanMisner Facebook: @Ivan.Misner MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2 | 81

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