Summary: Synopsis Sometimes we make networking harder than it really is, and then weâre not as successful. To become a great networker, it helps to learn from other peopleâs successes and mistakes. After an encounter with a Portuguese Man oâ War jellyfish, Dr. Misner was advised to apply vinegar and meat tenderizer to the spots. This solution seemed both too simple and too improbable, but everyone else he asked offered the same solution. By the time he was willing to apply it, he was having heart symptoms. When the EMTs came, what did they do? Applied meat tenderizer and vinegar. So how does this apply to networking? If you assume you know better than the people who have the experience, youâre going to make a lot of mistakes, and some of them will be painful. Donât dismiss ideas just because they seem too simple. Learn from the people who have the experience. Brought to you by Networking Now. Complete Transcript of BNI Podcast Episode 259 - Priscilla: Hello everyone and welcome back to The Official BNI Podcast brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is 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 and Chairman of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello Ivan. How are you and where are you? Ivan: Hi Priscilla. Doing great. I am still in Australia visiting BNI chapters. I love to visit BNI chapters and meet members. That's where I am last week and this week. Priscilla: Great. What do you have to share with us? Ivan: I have a different podcast. Normally, my podcasts are very specific with how-tos and maybe interviews with somebody about how to do something. But today, I have a story. The story really applies to why make all the mistakes? To become a great networker, you learn from other people's mistakes and successes. There really are tried and true networking techniques that are so simple that seem like they would just be ineffective. Many times, we try to evaluate them and improve upon them, complicate them- that's often called feature creep, where we add stuff to an idea that is already pretty good working. So there was an experience I had on this once while on vacation really kind of reminds me of how we try to make some things harder than they really are and we aren't as successful as we want to be in the process. I'll tell you the story and I'll give you the moral to the story as I wrap up. Quite a few years ago I was in Hawaii and was enjoying the ocean. Unbeknownst to me, the water was actually pretty thick with Portuguese man o war, which are highly poisonous. I felt this stinging sensation across my chest. I wiped my chest with my right wrist- that's important- my right wrist and arm. I lifted my arm up out of the water and I look at these tentacles that were dripping off of my arm. I followed them with my eyes and about 8 feet away from my body was this Portuguese man o war jellyfish that was huge. I was kind of alarmed. I shooed the tentacles off my wrist and I swam to shore as quickly as I could. I ran up to the first hotel employee that I could. It was some cabana boy who was serving drinks to people by the pool. I said, âHey, I think I have been hit in the chest by a Portuguese man o war. What should I do?â He said, âWell, are you feeling any pressure in your chest?â I said, âNo, no.â He saind, âOkay, here is what you need to do. Go to the market that is just off the lobby. Ask for some vinegar and meat tenderizer. You are going to want to spray the vinegar on your chest and then shake the meat tenderizer onto the same spot and rub it all around. And you'll be just fine.â I thought that was really bizarre advice. He was way too calm. I had just been hit by a Portuguese man o war. He was way too calm and it seemed way too easy of a solution- and kind of goofy to be honest with you.
