Stewart Emery

18Jul2022

Who Has Inspired You?string(21) "Who Has Inspired You?"

July 18, 2022

Michael E. Gerber, Sir Richard Branson, Stewart Emery BNI, Business, INSPIRE 2

I’m often asked, “Who has been an inspiration to you during your life?”
My answer is that there are a handful of people who have influenced me in terms of business and personal development. I’d like to tell you about four who have impacted my life both professionally and personally.

Michael E. Gerber

The first is Michael Gerber. Michael is an icon in the field of management. He wrote the book “The E-Myth” (entrepreneurial myth). I did not know Michael when I read the book, which I first picked up when I started BNI®. One of the things that really resonated with me was that he talked about systems, systems, systems. You have to write everything down and create systems. Make it replicable and sustainable. AND you have to learn how to work on the business, not just in the business. There are so many things that Michael wrote that I applied to BNI. I truly believe that BNI, as an organization today, exists the way it does because of the influence that “The E-Myth” had on me.

What really amazed me is that going forward almost 20 years, I finally had the opportunity to meet Michael and spend a fair amount of time with him. He visited me at my home, which reinforced my attitude about his knowledge and business acumen. He is amazing. I highly recommend that you read his book. He absolutely makes a difference in people’s business lives.

Jack Canfield

Number two is for personal development as much as business development, and that is Jack Canfield. You may know Jack from the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series which has sold over 500 million copies worldwide. I’ve gotten to know Jack really well and I think he is an amazing guy. He invited me into the Transformational Leadership Council (TLC), which I have been a member of now for a number of years, serving on their board and membership committee.

For somebody who has sold 500 million books and is as well-known as he is, oftentimes ego enters the room several minutes before they do. Not so with Jack. He is easy to talk to, very well-read, low ego, very intelligent, very personable, very driven, and very connectable.

Here is one of the things that I really love about him. He is highly engaged when he is at a seminar. He is up front, listening to everyone’s presentation and taking copious notes. I have learned a lot from Jack; he is a great guy. I urge people to read his books on success, such as “The Success Principles,” and read any of the Chicken Soup books – they are outstanding.

The third person is someone who may not have the name recognition as the first two, however he has really influenced me personally and has influenced BNI. It is Stewart Emery. Stewart has written a number of books including, “Success Built to Last.” I highly recommend that book. He has also written the book, “Do You Matter?” It’s about branding and design of a business, which is really good. I think Stewart is one of the great minds of our time. He has come up with some ideas that are really powerful, two of which I talk about often.

The first is culture eats strategy for breakfast. I love that concept. Culture eats strategy for breakfast. If you are part of an organization that has marginal culture and great strategy, you’re not going to do well as an organization. If you are part of an organization with great culture and a marginal strategy, you will probably do pretty well. If you are an organization that has great culture and a great strategy, you are going to beat the competition every day of the week.

The second thing that I learned from Stewart is the concept that became the basis for the book we co-authored together, “Who’s In Your Room?” The idea is that, assuming you let somebody into a metaphorical room that you create and you can’t ever let them out, would you think twice about who you let in? It’s a great concept and it is particularly relevant for BNI chapters and networking groups because if you bring people in, you realize that you are going to be with these people for a long time and can never get rid of them if you let them in. I appreciate Stewart for sharing this brilliant concept with me, and with all of us.

Sir Richard Branson

I got a chance to meet Richard Branson, entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group, several times through my visits to Necker Island. I’ve spent time with him there and got to know him reasonably well. He is gracious, kind and patient with people. He can connect to anyone at any level of an organization and make them feel empowered and good about themselves. He knows how to relax and have fun, and he’s a great host. I love that he has absolute laser focus on anyone he meets; he gives his undivided attention to them. He talks with that person as if they are the only one in the room, maintaining eye contact with them the whole time. I have gone to school on Richard and his ability to network effectively with all people at all levels of an organization, and I’ve learned a lot from him.

So those are people who have influenced me both personally and professionally.
Who has inspired you? I invite you to think about two or three people who have made a difference in your life and share why & how in the comments section.

I believe gratitude is a good thing. I suggest that if you know these people personally, or if you can connect with them somehow, let them know that they have influenced your life.

Wine O’Clockstring(18) "Wine O’Clock"

May 16, 2019

Ivan Misner

harmony, Stewart Emery, Who's In Your Room, Wine O'Clock Author, Balance, Ivan Misner, Travel, Who's in Your Room 2

Take a little Wine O’Clock time for YOU!

Life for people in this day and age is crazy busy. People will take up every spare moment in your life if you let them, so it is important to create a life that has “margins.” Build free time, family time, and personal time into the margins of your day-to-day existence. If you don’t schedule it, it won’t happen. You’ll be happier when you create margins—we promise. Schedule time to relax.

I have scheduled time to relax. Beth and I are taking a vacation this week with my good friend and co-author, Stewart Emery, with his wife. We have been enjoying this week together in Bordeaux France sipping wine and enjoying the sights.

In this video, we discuss “Margins”. You create “harmony” in your life by creating space in your life. Harmony is the access to the things that really matter to you and being fully present; while avoiding those things that do not.

“Who’s in Your Room?: The Secret to Creating Your Best Life”

This is the premise behind my newest book, co-authored with Stewart Emery, and Rick Sapio. We believe this book can change people’s lives. Learn the secret to creating your best life.

https://tinyurl.com/WhosInYourRoom

Whatever you are in life, be a good one. Experience the best the world has to offer. Opportunities will open up for you when you do.

CHEERS!

18Oct2018

Who’s in Your Room?string(25) "Who’s in Your Room?"

October 18, 2018

Ivan Misner

Building Relationships, Quality of Life, relationships, Stewart Emery, Who's In Your Room Author, Book, Building Relationships, Self Development, Video Blog 9

I’m really excited about the upcoming release of my latest book, “Who’s in Your Room?” in December. It is my 23rd book and I believe it will have the biggest impact on people’s lives than any other book I’ve done. This is the public version of the book and is vastly different than the BNI version.

What if you had to live your life in one room? Whoever you want to interact with in life is in that room. There is only one door. It is a one-way door. Whoever is in your room, stays in your room forever. Whoever comes into your room impacts your life directly in many ways. If you knew that this person would be in your room forever, would you have let that person in your room?

We design the room we live in, along with the people who are in it. We can do that consciously, or we can do that by happenchance. The choice is ours. Understanding this idea now, who are we going to let in our room from this point on?

What do you think about the concept of “Who’s in Your Room?” Knowing this concept now – what would you do differently in the future? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

To preorder the book, please use this link:

https://tinyurl.com/WhosInYourRoom

19Dec2013

New International Networking Week® Video for 2014string(50) "New International Networking Week® Video for 2014"

December 19, 2013

Ivan Misner

2014, BNI, February 3-7, Stewart Emery, Success Built to Last, Who's In Your Room Announcement, Building Relationships, Business, Collaboration, Community, Connections, Global Business, Networking, Networking Prep, Networking Tactics, Referral Institute, Relationships 3

The new video for International Networking Week® 2014 has just been released!

This short, six-and-a-half-minute video, sponsored by the Referral Institute, explains how the week of February 3rd-7th, 2014 will bring about great opportunities for businesspeople around the world and increase worldwide awareness about the powerful benefits of business networking.

2014 will mark the 8th annual celebration of International Networking Week which is now recognized by many countries across the globe, with thousands of events being held during the week. One of the main goals of the week is to help businesspeople everywhere build their networking skills and expand the opportunities within their reach. In the video, I talk about Stewart Emery’s “Who’s in Your Room?” concept within a networking context and how International Networking Week presents a great opportunity to reassess the people currently in your life and reach out to people who you want in your ‘room’ but may have lost contact with or need to build a relationship with.

I hope you enjoy the video and that you’re as excited as I am about participating in the global celebration of International Networking Week come February. After watching the video, please share your thoughts on it, and on International Networking Week in general, in the comment forum below. I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks!

25Feb2013

Who’s In Your Room? – A Personal Storystring(50) "Who’s In Your Room? – A Personal Story"

A few years ago my company was in the midst of one of the largest projects in the history of our organization. The project involved many people—it was very complex and financially challenging. It was also in trouble. I needed to select a key player for the project team. The man I chose had incredibly strong technical skills. He was very qualified for the project and was the perfect person to help turn this around . . . or so I thought. I knew he came with a lot of baggage. He didn’t always play well with others, he would fly off the handle emotionally when talking to people and, worst of all, he brought an immense amount of drama to the workplace. On the other hand he was highly qualified for the work. Based on those qualifications, I hired him as manager. I suspected there would be problems with the drama and the outbursts – however, I felt I could coach him and guide him through this.

It turns out I was wrong. Monumentally wrong.

Despite his incredible technical skills, his behavior more than offset his technical strengths. The project went from problematic to horrific within a year. It was way over budget, well behind schedule, and not nearly the quality that I expected. Around this time, one of the project team members told me that the best thing the project manager could do for a meeting was to call in sick! The team member said when the manager was not there they got a lot more done.

Right about that time, I attended a presentation that Stewart Emery did where he talked about the concept of “Who’s in Your Room?”. I walked out of that presentation and decided right then and there that this project leader should have never been in my room. I also realized that getting him out of the room was going to be very difficult. Why? Because he kept everything close to the vest. Most of the people in the project didn’t understand or know many of the aspects of the work, because this project leader didn’t collaborate or share information freely. I understood that removing him from the room was going to be difficult and painful. But I was clear on the reality that it had to be done.

It ended up taking months to lay the ground work with everyone on the team by me personally engaging them in pieces of the project they needed to know but weren’t privy to with this manager. I had to drop many of my normal responsibilities and devote an immense amount of time to this process. I promoted some people and moved others around. When all was ready, I made the move and let go of the project leader. There was an immediate and palpable change in the project. Today it has made incredible strides, and it is becoming exactly the product that I was hoping for and it is something I am proud of as an entrepreneur.

The lesson I learned in this very expensive and very stressful process was this: be very selective about who you let in your room. Don’t allow people in just because of their technical skills. I want a work environment that is a “drama-free” zone and I pick people for my organization who I want in my room. I now try to select qualified people who fit the organizational culture of collaboration, people who share information and knowledge and people who don’t bring to the process an Emmy Award winning soap opera of behaviors.

Have you experienced this phenomenon? If so, please tell us about it in the comment forum below and, also, please share any thoughts you have on Stewart’s Who’s in Your Room concept. Thanks!

14Feb2013

Stewart Emery: “Who’s in Your Room?”string(54) "Stewart Emery: “Who’s in Your Room?”"

February 14, 2013

Ivan Misner

Bestselling Author, BNI, concept, Self Development, Stewart Emery, Who's In Your Room Author, BNI, Book, Ivan Misner, Networking, Relationships, Self Development, Success, Video Blog 11

In this video, I talk to bestselling author Stewart Emery about his concept “Who’s in Your Room?” which prompts people to practice discernment in regard to those they let into their life.

Just imagine you are going to have to live your entire life in one room with an entrance door but no exit door–who would you let in and who would you keep out? Knowing the answer to this may be more valuable than you realize . . .

What do you think about this concept? Does it encourage you to be more careful about the people you let into “your room”? Please leave your thoughts in the comment forum below . . .

17Dec2012

Lead from “Among” Not from “Above”string(58) "Lead from “Among” Not from “Above”"

Stewart Emery (Success Built to Last) was over my house a few months ago. At breakfast one morning he told me about an interview he did with a well-known billionaire in the computer industry. The billionaire shared an intriguing story with Stewart about an experience he’d had when the senior executives of a company interested in purchasing his company visited his office to discuss the possible purchase.

Stewart Emery

At lunch, the billionaire told the senior executives of the company he was negotiating with that he was going to take them to the Executive Dining Room. They followed him to the dining room which was very nice but not extravagant. But that wasn’t the big surprise. The surprise was that the dining room had a buffet line. Moreover, the billionaire walked up to the buffet line, picked up a tray, and stood in line behind everyone else. The executives looked around the room as it filled up and they realized that this room was not an “executive dining room” but was the company dining room. The boss stood there in line with all the employees. He spoke to everyone. No one was afraid to talk to him. In my opinion, he didn’t lead by being above them; he led by being among them. Stewart told me that the billionaire said the management team was surprised by the fact that he and all the executives ate with all the employees. One of them commented that this would have to change. For the boss, it was a test. This was not the kind of company that he wanted to sell his business to. The negotiation ended that day.

Companies have a choice. They can move toward exclusivity in their organizational culture or they can strive, commit, honor, and embrace inclusivity in their organizational culture.

Sometimes when people meet me, they say that they are surprised that I am approachable. I find that interesting. I think they feel this way because sometimes we, as leaders, act in a way that people perceive as unapproachable. We act “better than” to other people. I believe people should be surprised when a leader is unapproachable, not when they are approachable. The problem is that we live in a world where success sometimes creates a sense of separation (with both the organizational leaders and others). One of the key things to embrace in a successful company is the sense that the boss, the owner, the senior executive(s) are, in fact, approachable.

What are your thoughts on this matter? Please feel free to share any relevant stories and experiences you may have.

26Mar2012

Who’s in Your Room?string(25) "Who’s in Your Room?"

March 26, 2012

Ivan Misner

Building Relationships, Passions, Quality of Life, relationships, Stewart Emery, values, Who's In Your Room Building Relationships, Emotional Intelligence, Rant!, Self Development, Success 9

“Who’s in Your Room?” This was the question asked by a close friend of mine, Stewart Emery (pictured in this blog) at a presentation of his that I attended a few months ago.

He posed an interesting series of questions and ideas to the audience; “What if you had to live your life in one room? Whoever you want to interact with in life is in that room. There is only one door. It is a one-way door. Whoever is in your room, stays in your room forever. Whoever comes into your room impacts your life directly in many ways. If you knew that this person would be in your room forever, would you have let that person in your room?”

He went on to ask, “If you let people in – what would your room look like? Would it be:

An angry room?
Chaotic room
Happy room?
Conflicted room?
Would there be a lot of drama?
Are there too many people in the room?
Too many interruptions?”

His point was that the quality of your life is a direct reflection of who is in your room. How you manage who you let into your room (and life) is very important. How do we go about choosing who we let in? He suggested a sort of mental “doorman” who is trained on your values and your passions. It is this doorman who stops people from getting into your life who conflict with your values and passions. Nobody gets in who doesn’t meet your personal values.

He asked us to do an exercise to think about the people who are in our room now. Are there people close to us that don’t live our values? Would we have let them in if we had thought about this concept before letting them close to us?

This concept fits powerfully with building a powerful personal network. The people we bring in close to us should be people we want to work with. They should be people who share our values and our passions. Understanding this simple concept can help us to understand the difference between an opportunity or a distraction. It can help us choose between a person who we think has a skill set we need versus a value set we wish to emulate.

What do you think about the concept of “Who’s in Your Room?” Knowing this concept now – what would you do different in the future? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

6Jan2011

My ‘Apple’ Experiencestring(33) "My ‘Apple’ Experience"

January 6, 2011

Ivan Misner

"Do You Matter?", Apple, culture, experience, Gift, Stewart Emery Business, Customer Service, Marketing/Sales, Recommendation, Sales 16

It was a few days before Christmas and the malls were incredibly packed. My eldest daughter needed a new Apple laptop for college and I was going to get her one as a Christmas gift.

Apple’s in-store customer service is legendary and I would soon experience it firsthand. I went to Victoria Gardens, an outdoor mall near my home in Southern California. I walked up to the entrance of the Apple Store and the first thing I saw was that the place was wall to wall people. No, really – I’m not exaggerating – it was literally wall to wall people. I think if there were any more people in that store the Fire Marshal would have had to empty the place.

I stood at the door and was dreading the idea of going into this packed store and waiting forever for service. I took a deep breath and walked through the entrance. I was no more than two steps into the store when I was greeted by an Apple employee. I expected her to instruct me where I needed to go in order to take a number and wait for service. Instead, she said, “how can I help you?” I was a little surprised but, I told her what I was looking for. While standing in the middle of the store she paged someone from a mobile device. She told me he was the expert and could set me right up with what I needed. After a few moments Chris was standing next to me answering my questions.

Within minutes of walking through the door I picked what I wanted. Chris swiped my credit card with his telephone and instantly sent the receipt to my email address. The entire transaction was done in a fraction of the time I expected in a store that was busier than I thought possible.

A good friend of mine, Stewart Emery wrote a book called “Do You Matter?” A major premise of the book is the idea that customer service is all about the “experience” people have in the transaction of business. I’ve been to the Apple store a few times now and I can say with conviction that each time has been an amazing experience in customer service.

Another thing Stewart talks about in his book, which the Apple company seems to truly understand, is that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The Apple culture of customer service is light years ahead of any other computer company I have done business with – period. No computer company has come close to giving me such great customer service (some other computer companies even rank amongst the worst service I’ve ever had).

Well done Apple. I will be back again… and again, and again.

If you’ve had a similar customer-service experience, I’d really enjoy hearing it. Please leave a comment and tell me about it.