Article contributed by Dr. Ivan Misner.
Hi I’m Dr Ivan Misner founder of BNI, and this is the last in the core values video series. It is about BNI’s Core Value of Recognition.
We really believe in recognition. In putting the spotlight on people who have done a good job in the organisation. Starting with chapter meetings and going all the way to international conventions.
For example, chapters may give Notable Networker Awards to those who bring in the most referrals or the most visitors. Regions honour Directors who have distinguished themselves and the entire organisation bestows awards to top performing BNI countries each year.
The BNI Foundation has many levels of donor recognition for supporters. BNI Founder awards are issued to BNI chapters that represent less than the top five percent of the organisation in terms of performance, commitment, enthusiasm and above all attitude.
Look I don’t know if people want to go to a meeting, however, I do know they want a good experience when they go to a meeting, and recognition is one of the best ways to help give people a good experience. Many years ago, I often did a presentation on managing and motivating people. In it I asked the audience: Would you like to know the secret to motivating people? Would you like to know? Well here it is: you can’t motivate people! They have to motivate themselves, you can however provide an environment that helps people to motivate themselves and research has shown that recognition is a key factor in this process.
Never underestimate the power, the sheer power, of words, both positive and negative. I believe the positive sentiments we offer in BNI illustrates one of the ways we are Changing the Way the World Does Business®. Think about the things that people have said to you during your lifetime that have changed your life in some meaningful way. These individuals recognise something special about you and they shared it with you. We all have someone in our stories but here is the really important question you should ask yourself. Whose story are you in? Who are you recognising, who are you helping, who are you supporting? Who’s telling a story about how you changed their lives’?
It’s never too late to make a difference in other people’s lives. Recognising others is a great way to start that process. An organisation’s core values are the backbone of that organisation’s culture. I believe that if we respect the past, we’ll build a stronger future.
I want to personally thank you for joining me in this core values series. I’d like to leave you with something I said in the introduction core value video:
Culture eats strategy for breakfast
If all the people in an organisation row in the same direction, that organisation can dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition at any time. BNI has dominated this industry in almost every market, against all the competition for decades. It has done so because of a shared vision and a shared implementation of that vision through our core values. The more we as members and directors of BNI respect the past through these core values, the stronger our culture will be and the more success we will all achieve.
This has been the Recognition video in the BNI Core Values series. It is currently the last of our formal core values, but it is one that has been part of our DNA, since the very first BNI meeting on January 8th 1985.
