START WITH WHY

by Vince Vigneri

Over a year ago, while heading to an event in the northern part of our region, I listed to the book, Start With Why... it changed EVERYTHING I had been doing for years... IMMEDIATELY!!!!

Right from the start, my challenge to you is to read or listen to this book, if you haven't already. If you have, maybe revisit it...

Why am I writing this... really it is simple... and Simon Sinek said it perfectly, "People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." This goes hand-in-hand, in my opinion with something Ivan Misner has said about BNI members and directors, "People don't care hoe much you know unless they know how much you care."

BNI is important to me for many reasons, and has been for over 20 years now. When I first visited BNI, The First Omaha Chapter, I went because I wanted to stop getting a phone call EVERY Friday, being invited to visit the chapter. What happened when I showed up has been part of me ever since, but it was there before that day. 

SCHEDULING IS EVERYTHING

By Brandon Souba

A good friend of mine got on a fitness kick a few years ago, and to this day he is very success full at his commitment. I have tried time and time again to be successful with a fitness program and never had such long term success. So I decided to ask what the secret was. Sadly we all know the answer, but I had to hear if from him. “I schedule it in my calendar every day. If it is not scheduled it won’t get done.”  That answer was so obvious, but it got me thinking about my early days in BNI.

Have you ever been sitting in your meeting and you realize you need to set up a one to one with a member in the room? You think about it the full meeting until the end when you end up talking to another member about a referral and next thing you know you are in your car driving away only to realize you never did set up that one to one.  Well if it has never happened to you that is awesome! Sadly it happened to me often. I had great intentions but for whatever reason another week went by and I did not have a one to one in the books. Once I realized the importance and value of those personal meetings with other members I realized I needed a system; accountability if you will.

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BECOME A PART OF BNI

by Ray Huse

We all have reasons we joined BNI. I came on board because I feel most fulfilled when I help someone else succeed. I loved the idea of an organization dedicated to the idea of helping others, which would in turn, benefit me as well.

We all have reasons we stay in BNI. For most of the members I talk to, it's the relationships we build, the contacts we make, and the knowledge we build. I've talked to people who are so passionate about what BNI has done for them and their business, they share it with every time they get the chance.

Today, we have a tool that can help us share the great things we do, these reasons why we stay, as well as help us grow our chapters. Most of us use it every day. I'm referring to social media.

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR CHAPTER

by Carrie Langston

Social media is the world we live in today. Life almost doesn’t exist unless you see it on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest or Snapchat, just to name a few. While it may seem like a ridiculous notion for some of us to post things on these social media platforms, it does serve a purpose in allowing your business to stay top of mind with those you are connected with, and it can do the same thing for your BNI chapter as well.

Every BNI Heartland chapter has a public Facebook page. If you’re not already actively involved on it, you should definitely look into this and make sure as many of your members as possible are actively participating.

LOOKING BACK WHILE MOVING FORWARD

by Vince Vigneri

I spoke in our State of The Region Video, about all the great things that occurred in the Heartland in the last year... I found myself PROUD to share that with you, and I 'hope' you are proud to be a part of BNI Heartland - Changing The Way The Heartland Does Business!!!.

What I came to realize after the video was released, was that so much occurred even before that moment in time.  You see changes happen over time, but that moment, when something is officially different, is what we tend to remember the most...

Think about it, the BNI Connect Mobile App didn't just happen overnight, right? (I know you are laughing, but I am being serious!) It took time, a significant amount of time, but it has been well worth it! Why do I bring this up?  Many of you asked for the app, and many of you are using it. It is a tool to increase your efficiency in your business, and in BNI.  For those of you that had been around, you were asking for it and patiently waiting. NOW it is here...