Summary: This is a rebroadcast of <a href="http://www.bnipodcast.com/2011/11/16/episode-231-exceptions-dont-make-you-exceptional/">Episode 231</a>. Synopsis Exceptional performance is not achieved by looking for exceptions. You won’t get great results without great effort. You can’t win the Tour de France without riding a bike, or the Nobel Peace Prize without changing the world. Musicians and athletes need to practice. So do businesspeople. Without discipline and a focus on the fundamentals, you won’t achieve success. There are no shortcuts. Have you run into people like this, either in BNI or elsewhere in business? The ones who want to read advice on how to be successful, but not to follow it? What has your experience been like. Brought to you by <a href="http://www.networkingnow.com">Networking Now</a>. Complete Transcript of BNI Podcast Episode 231 - 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. I am actually at BNI headquarters this week training National Directors for BNI. I have some National Directors from around the world here at BNI. They are going through some training to open up new countries. We are in almost 50 countries now and we'll be opening up more countries next year, too. Priscilla: That is amazing. Ivan: Yeah. It really is. It's very exciting. Priscilla: So what do you have to share with us? Ivan: Well, the topic for today is You Don't Become Exceptional by Looking for Exceptions. I have touched upon this some in other podcasts, but I have additional information that I think is of value because over and over again in my life, I am reminded that exceptional performance is not achieved by looking for exceptions. I'll be really honest. I don't feel very diplomatic today so I am just going to say it like it is. I am really tired of dealing with people who want great results but they don't want to put any great effort. I honestly think that if people spent half as much time focusing on the fundamentals of success in the area they are interested in, they would get twice the results of what they are actually getting. I am not aiming this message at BNI members. I am aiming this message at business owners worldwide, any business professional. This isn't just BNI. In fact, I think in many ways, BNI members are better at this than the average person. But I do find over and over way too many people around the world that I talk to who are searching for ideas and then arguing with people about what works. So they will ask for an opinion and then argue with people who have been successful in that area. Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. Earlier this year, I read an article by a really good friend of mine, Tony Alessandra. Dr. Alessandra. He wrote the material on the “platinum rule.” The platinum rule talks about the fact that you treat people the way that they want to be treated, not the way that you want to be treated. It's not quite the golden rule, which is treat others the way that you want to be treated. You treat others the way that they want to be treated. It's an important concept and his piece was well-written, Tony's material. It explains that especially when it comes to business, it's not about how you want to be treated. It's how they want to be treated. They have needs, desires and wants that may be different from yours. So understanding them is very important. He did a very non-controversial posting, this friend of mine who posted on Tony's material. He caught some guy- this was on an online network. He got some guy who posted a comment that this was a horrible idea because people don't ...
