Synopsis
January 8th marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of BNI, and today Dr. Misner introduces the new CEO and an upcoming video series, “BNI Then and Now.”
Graham Weihmiller recently served as the CEO of a 32-year-old nationwide franchisor of homecare services. While there, he was a founding director of a foundation that provides homecare to those who cannot afford it. Mr. Weihmiller received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his BBA from the College of William & Mary.
There are five things Graham wants to focus on today:
Broadcasting BNI’s culture of Givers Gain
Codifying members’ expectations
Using technology
Leveraging internal and external content
The BNI Foundation
Brought to you by Networking Now.
Complete Transcript of BNI Podcast Episode 388 -
Priscilla:
Hello everyone and welcome back to The Official BNI Podcast brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. I am Priscilla Rice, and I am coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, CA. I am joined on the phone today by the Founder of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello Ivan. I hear that you have somebody very special on our podcast today.
Ivan:
I do indeed, Priscilla. This is kind of a great week for me and for BNI. Tomorrow, January 8, marks our 30th anniversary as an organization. 3o years ago tomorrow, BNI started in southern California. So I think it is really fitting to have this opportunity to not only celebrate our 30th year anniversary but also mark the coming of, I think, a new era for the organization.
I am going to introduce to everyone the new CEO of BNI. Before I do, I want to let everyone know that we are going to be doing a new video series this year called BNI Then and Now, 30 Years of Changing the Way the World Does Business. Look for that. We will put a link up here on one of these podcasts. We will also be putting a link up on social media. We literally have dozens and dozens of videos from me and from many members and directors talking about our 30 years in the organization.
Today, on the podcast, I want to introduce the new CEO for BNI. His name is Graham Weihmiller. He recently served as the CEO of a 32-year old nationwide franchise, Aura Homecare Services. While he was there, he was also the founding director of a foundation that provides homecare for those who cannot afford it. He has previously worked with Pioneer Equity Partners, American Franchise Company, Blues Allen, JP Morgan. He has a Six Sigma certification, which for those of you who don’t know, it is a continuous improvement or quality management processes program. Graham received his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Graham, I am so honored to have you as part of the BNI organization, and I would like to welcome you.
Graham:
Thank you very much, Dr. Misner. I appreciate it. It is an honor to be here and especially at a point where the organization is turning 30. It is a very exciting time, so I appreciate it.
Ivan:
Yeah, it is an exciting time and I think with you at the helm as a CEO, I think it is really going to take an organization that has grown dramatically and grow even at a greater pace and create an even better program for our members worldwide.
There were five things that you wanted to talk about today. What I would like to do is just kind of touch upon those five things and then have you hit them one at a time. One is broadcasting BNI’s culture of givers gain. The second was a better understanding of members’ expectations and codifying those expectations. Using technology was the third one. The fourth one was using internal and external content. Last, the BNI Foundation. I think these are great topics and I am really curious to see if we can get through them in 10 minutes, so let’s see what we can do.
What would you like to talk about with codifying, emphasizing and broadcasting BNI’s culture of givers gain?
Graham:
Well, the culture of BNI is entirely unique and it is built on givers gain. That is such a strong foundation upon which to build a very positive and lasting culture. Continuing to build that culture, internally continuing to broadcast that as the basis for the organization, I think, is very important.
You know a lot of organizations have different cultures and different mottos. I think what makes BNI unique is the extent to which the organization embodies givers gain, and everyone associated with the organization incorporates that into their daily activities. Ultimately, I think it benefits the members and certainly the communities in which BNI operates. So it is a very unique, lasting and durable creed, and I think it is something that we should continue to expand and build on.
Ivan:
And to, in some way, broadcast that even more effectively publicly. Is that what you have in mind?
Graham:
Oh absolutely. Absolutely. You know, in that way, I think we can continue to raise the profile of the organization and I believe we can continue to change the way the world does business. I think making that more publicly known and just raising that profile publicly is certainly one of the things that we will be focusing on in 2015 and the years to come.
Ivan:
We have certainly implicated that throughout the organization, but I think using it as a springboard for getting a higher profile as an organization is a great idea.
The second one was codifying and emphasizing member expectations. Talk to me about that.
Graham:
Sure. I think it is really two things. One, codifying the expectations that the organization has for existing and for new members in terms of participation and what they are bringing each week to their chapters around the world. But I also think it works the other way, you know understanding the expectation that members have of the organization and making sure that the organization is consistently meeting or exceeding the expectations that the members have for the organization overall.
Ivan:
The third point was using technology to enhance member connectivity. Talk to me about that because most members worldwide are now on the BNI Connect system. That has been a massive undertaking for us organizationally. So this is an important one for members, directors, headquarters.
Graham:
Certainly. The organization, as you well know, has made a significant investment of time and resources to upgrade its systems and certainly will continue to do so. I am interested in seeing how we can make the use of those systems more consistent and more pervasive. I am also interested in collecting ideas from around the organization on other applications that could increase the connectivity across geographies. I think in doing that, we can continue to enhance the experience that our members have and really harness the connections and to harness the skills and passions that our members have.
Ivan:
I think we are really moving into some uncharted territory in the organization, this idea of being a local business but having a global network because for the first 28 of the 30 years of the organization, it was almost the tip of the iceberg. Chapters really only saw people within their own chapters or maybe within a regional event.
For the first time, we can actually connect the majority of our members worldwide, not only to communicate and connect with each other to talk but also to pass referrals. It’s very exciting to me and using this technology, I think, in that way will take the organization to a whole new level.
Your fourth point, leveraging internal and external content in ways that develop ourselves collectively. Tell us about that.
Graham:
Sure. As you well know and have milled into the processes by which the organization runs, certainly professional development, ongoing learning, ongoing recruitment have been core to BNI for 30 years. So we certainly want to leverage all of the content and find ways to make it more accessible to new and existing members. We also at the same time want to identify if there are other bodies of content that are directly applicable to our members and to find ways that that content can help them to be even more successful in their respective endeavors.
So it is leveraging what we have today and continuing to build that, and at the same time, it is looking outside of the organization and saying, are there ideas and bodies of knowledge and thinking that we can bring back to the organization, you know, for the benefit of our members around the world?
Ivan:
Interesting. I am really excited to hear more about that one. We haven’t talked about that, so I would love to hear more.
The last thing that you wanted to talk about was the BNI Foundation. One of the things that I like about your background is that you like to work with organizations that have not only a value proposition but also a positive social impact. Some of the conscious capitalism concept that has been written about by a number of people. Talk to BNI members and directors who are listening to this about the BNI Foundation and how it can relate to what we do in BNI.
Graham:
Absolutely. First off, we are all very lucky to be associated with this great organization. So it is sort of incumbent on us to find ways to give back to the communities that support the organization. I think equally important is that by finding a way to bring givers gain to life in our communities to people who may not have had an experience with BNI is a real opportunity for all of us. It seeks to reinforce givers gain and it can also be just a lot of fun.
So you know, at one level, I think it is a responsibility that we all have. On another level, I think it helps to continue building the culture that is in place now even as the organization continues to grow into new geographies. This is a way that we can collectively give back to targeted causes and make a real difference in the lives of those that we touch. So I am very excited about the BNI Foundation and I look forward to finding ways to continually grow the organization in the days to come.
Ivan:
I do, too, and I know my wife, who runs the BNI Foundation, certainly is excited to see your interest in helping to promote the foundation. I really believe that we as individuals sometimes look at what is going on in the world and we go, how can we make a difference? I think that and I have said this before in the podcast, but we may not be able to make a world of difference, but we can make a difference in the world. The BNI Foundation is definitely making a difference in the world, in particularly as it relates to children and education. We are really pleased that this is something that you are excited about as well.
I am going to ask you a question above and beyond the five points here, Graham. Here is the question: What drew you the most to BNI? I know why we, from my perspective, wanted you for BNI. What drew you to the organization? Because it is a two way street. When someone comes in in the role that you have, you have to want to be here.
Graham:
Yeah. It’s very simple. It’s the energy. I saw that in multiple settings, but what was clear was that everyone involved in the organization had tremendous energy, tremendous passion about the culture. They understand that what they are doing day in and day out really impacts people a lot. And it also, you know, is a solution to a very vital need.
So if I had to boil it down, it’s the energy that the organization has, and I continue to be humbled, as I get to know the organization more and more, to get the opportunity to play a leadership role in this organization. It is a very exciting opportunity. So if I had to boil it down to one word, I would say energy.
Ivan:
Thanks, Graham. Listen, thank you so much for coming on board with BNI. I am really looking forward to working with you over the years, and it’s great having you on our podcast today. Thank you very much. Priscilla, back to you.
Priscilla:
Okay, great. Well, thank you both, Ivan, and thank you, Graham. It sounds interesting. I look forward to it also. I would just like to remind the listeners that this podcast has been brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. Thank you so much for listening. This is Priscilla Rice, and we hope you will join us next week for another exciting episode of The Official BNI Podcast.