From the Founder
Simple but Not Easy
By Dr. Ivan Misner, BNI Founder and Chairman

Networking is simple; it's just not easy.

If it were easy, everyone would do it and do it well … and they don't! In this article I'm not going to give you a step-by-step process you need to employ to network effectively. No, this article is to get you to stop and think about all the networking advice found in articles, books, blogs, podcasts, and audios you aren't following. I want you to stop and think about the things you should be doing—and implement them.

In my presentations around the world I talk about how to apply networking to your everyday life. Sometimes someone comes up and says, "I've heard my director or education coordinator talk about some of those things before." But they've never successfully applied them.

Hearing it for a year versus doing it for a year are completely different things. Success is about the "doing," not just the "knowing." In fact, I believe that ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice! The only thing more powerful is knowledge on fire.

There are so many things in life that look simple but, in fact, are not easy. Cooking is one of those for me. It always looks so simple. My wife can go into the kitchen and within 30-40 minutes put together a gourmet meal. Then, I get into the kitchen and burn water.

Small repairs around the house look so simple. Then I pick up a hammer and, well, it's just not pretty. I remember when I was 17 my dad brought me into the garage and solemnly said, "Son, you'd better go to college, because you're never going to make a living with your hands!" Good advice, Dad. Thanks.

Golf. Looks simple, right? I'm not talking about the professional competition; I mean just going out and smacking the ball around some grass. It looks simple. I've learned, however, that it's not easy.

There are so many things in our lives that look simple but are not easy. Networking is one of them. It is a skill. A skill that takes commitment and effort to learn as well as consistently apply.

So, I'm giving you an assignment (sorry, my inner professor is coming out): Think of one idea in a book, article, recording, blog—anything—that you've read or heard over the last year that you wanted to apply to your life but never did. Your assignment is to pinpoint that "something" and do it within the next seven days. If it is something you do on an ongoing basis, then find a way to incorporate it into your life and/or your business. All excuses are equal—just do it.

Success is the uncommon application of common knowledge. You have the knowledge. Now apply it with uncommon commitment. It won't be easy. But I assure you it is simple.

Called the father of modern networking by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the founder and chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. His latest New York Times best selling book, Masters of Sales, can be viewed at www.MastersBooks.com. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company. He can be reached at misner@bni.com.