Recently an impressive article appeared in The National Business Review by celebrated New Zealand IT entrepreneur Derek Handley that discussed what he has learnt from his time working with Richard Branson. Derek, over a game of pool with Branson, volunteered his time to be involved with Branson’s B Team – a not-for-profit initiative formed by a global group of leaders. They have an ambitious goal – to create a future where the purpose of business is to be a driving force for social, environmental and economic benefit.
In the article, Derek shares the following easy to get, five key lessons that he has picked up, that have interesting implications for us at BNI.
1. Speak plain English.
Strip all jargon from your life – if a school kid can’t understand it, then you’re just saying it wrong. And that goes for all the acronyms we drown in to the overused phrases from “lean start-up” to “lean-in”, and words that just shouldn’t be used in the first place – like “resources” when we mean people. Try to eliminate all language from your mind that can’t be relayed to the common person.
This is an important point for your 60 seconds – be straight up with your communication as it’s key to getting your message across.
2. Have conversations not presentations.
No matter what the idea or proposal that you are trying to get across, eliminate as much supporting paraphernalia as humanly possible – minimise the ‘decks’, the Powerpoints, handouts and yes, even the Keynotes (just because it looks better doesn’t mean it works better).
Again for us at BNI this is a very salient point – particularly if you are a new member. Try to stay away from unnecessary documentation and diagrams in your 60 seconds – just focus on beginning a dialogue and showcase only what’s necessary.
3. Always be positive.
Being negative or ‘challenging’ may be a way to get attention on an issue, or to ‘raise a flag’ – but really it’s just your own inability to see the positive, and the solutions, and it’s always a less desirable tone-setter. That’s not to say that if there is something negative going on that you shouldn’t attack it in some way – but there always needs to be a solution to what you’re reacting to.
For some BNI members early morning starts, we know, are very difficult and it is easy to fall into work mode, a less positive mind-set and to just come across as tired. Avoid this – always keep your frame of mind positive.
4. Don’t show anger and never be rude.
Anger is a wasted emotion and impoliteness is never acceptable. Try to embody this and train yourself to tread more gently among your fellow man and woman; to constantly be mindful of turning anger into answers, and responding to rudeness with empathy. As with being positive, people will respond to you far more if you eliminate rudeness and anger from your demeanour.
5. Care about everything that matters.
Despite what we may think and how busy we believe we are, we as human beings actually do have the capacity to care about many different things, even if we initially don’t. Make it a priority to care and think about how you can help on issues ranging from endangered wildlife to helping others in a less fortunate position than you.
This lesson fits perfectly with BNI’s focus on giver’s gain – by going beyond thinking about our own concerns, we are able to better contribute to our community and create a better society for all.
Take some time to think about Derek’s five lessons this week and how you can go about incorporating some of his ideas into your own activities at BNI.
