Sunday 6 July 2008

Testimonial for BNI World Conference - May 2008

Testimonial for BNI World Conference - May 2008

As a successful architect and a long-time BNI member, I was delighted to be asked to represent the Maidstone Pioneer chapter at the BNI world conference in Kuala Lumpur.

I was very impressed by the world class venue, and the world class speakers that Robert French, Avryl Au and their team had put together.

The theme of the conference, the two challenges facing business today – globalisation and the internet – was set out in clear terms. The way in which networking is the best way to meet these challenges was powerfully delivered, as were the subtle ways that the traditional face-to-face networking of BNI and the modern keyboard-to-keyboard networking of the internet can be combined. Again and again, the phrase ‘Visibility + Credibility = Profitability’ was demonstrated in action. Practical steps were shared.

I was heartened to hear of the focus within BNI at the top level; about using the new technologies to connect the members and to empower them in an even greater way through initiatives such as BNI Connect.

So far, as a direct result of the contacts I made at the conference, with Thomas and Penny Power the founders of ecademy.com, and the internet-based networking methods I learned, I have been commissioned to design a major new Health Centre in Kazakhstan. With the strategic partnerships I have made I shall be taking my skills worldwide, offering a 24-hour office and a world class service to my clients.

On a personal level, I found the conference motivating and invigorating and as a result I am now actively writing a book to explore my philosophical ideas and to help explain these to others. In the three weeks since I returned I have lost half a stone and have been working much more effectively. I have been seeking out further information from the speakers, as well as finding out more about the speakers of sessions I missed. I have started going through the business cards I brought back in order to keep in contact, and to link them to other businesses within BNI where both parties might benefit.

BNI is certainly changing the way I do business. I am actively promoting it to my fellow chapter members to enhance the ways that they operate, and I am confident the strategies being adopted by BNI will ensure that as an International organisation we really will change the way the world does business.

Mark Horner, RIBA