Spotlight on Joan Seery, BNI Hawai'i

I first met Joann almost a year ago when I joined the Kaimuki Chapter of BNI Hawaii.  I remember that she conveyed a perfect balance of professionalism and warmth.  She was gracious and a good listener, and yet managed to stay on topic and follow the meeting agenda.  At that point, I didn’t know how important she was in the Honolulu business world.  I just knew I wanted to get to know her better. 

I met Joann’s husband, Mark Seery, a short time later when he conducted new member training for BNI.  Joann became the Executive Director for BNI Hawai’i after she and Mark had been members of BNI for eight years in Massachusetts for their consulting company, Serious Business Solutions.  She had been a chapter president and, since they dreamed of coming to Hawai’i, would open their BNI Meeting with “Aloha BNI!”.

Their dream turned into reality over four years ago when Joann and Mark moved to Oahu.  They moved here to grow and develop their consulting company in Hawai’i. They had no idea that the BNI Hawai’i franchise would be offered to them three years ago.  That has been their best referral source yet!

I caught up with Joann and Mark recently at Leadership Training for BNI.  I was there to learn more about my new role as President of the Kaimuki Chapter (don’t be impressed, no one else wanted the job).  As usual, the Seery’s managed to keep us on topic and followed the agenda, but still infused a lot of fun into the workshops.  And, of course, there were ample opportunities to network.  I asked her if she would share some of her insights with our readers.

Here’s what Joann had to say:

Why BNI?    “I had a difficult time growing my consulting business.  I had spent a lot of money and time with unsuccessful marketing until someone mentioned to me about networking.  I originally hated networking because it made me feel uncomfortable.  Even though I had my MBA, loved people and taught business to graduate students in Boston, networking did not come naturally to me.  It was through BNI and BNI’s Giver’s Gain philosophy, that I was able to develop my skills and grow successful companies through building relationships and networking.”

What are Your Top Three Networking Tips?

1. “Give first!  Ask people how you may help them before asking for business for yourself.  Volunteer in the community and offer your services to boards and organizations.
    
2. “Be consistent with your follow up.  Developing relationships take time.  Stay in contact with your referral sources.
    
3. “Constantly develop your networking skills.  Go to different types of events.  Take classes and workshops on areas in which you need to develop your skills.  If you do not like speaking in public – join Toastmasters.”

I had a rare opportunity to watch Joann work a room at the HWBC’s September “Pau Hana Pupu Party”.  “Pau Hana” loosely translated means “finish work,” as in “I finish work at 5:00 pm.”  “Pupu,” of course, means various simple foods, like sushi, noodles, chicken wings, chip and dip, etc.  In Hawai’i, you can put on an event and forget to validate parking, screw up the registration, mess up the speeches, and no one minds or complains.  BUT, skimp on the food and you’ll be vilified and roasted like the prime rib you should have served.

Prior to the Pupu Party, an excellent class on “The Art of Networking” was taught by Alissa Kimura, Board President of the HWBC.  Alissa is a financial consultant with Axa Advisors (alissa.kimura@axa-advisors.com) and speaks regularly on various business topics.

I walked in around the time Alissa was giving advice about attending networking events.  “First,” she said, “Go a half hour early and volunteer to help.”  I felt about a dozen pairs of eyes look my way, because, you see, I had sauntered in 45 minutes LATE.  In my defense, I had decided to save the rainforest or something noble like that by taking the bus instead of driving into town, AND, I had allowed forty-five minutes for what should have been a twenty-five minute bus ride, so if all had gone according to my best laid plans, I would have been twenty minutes early.

Where I made my bloomer, if indeed I can be faulted at all, was in picking a bus with a driver who seemed determined to get every ounce out of every syllable of the word “lackadaisical.”  I’m telling you, the man did not have a care in the world.  He pranced, singing “Tra-la-la” from one bus stop to the next; in no hurry at all, and, often stopped even when no passengers were waiting to board.  If there were a Nobel Prize for slowest-blasted-driver-on-the-face-of-the-earth, this young man would be booking his flight to Stockholm as we speak.

Anyway, back to Joann Seery.  After Alissa’s class (which I promise to write more about next month, as it was fantastic), the students gathered their business cards and began putting into practice the networking techniques they had just learned.  They faced off and began asking each other interesting questions and actively listening.  This meant, of course, that I had a clear path to the buffet table, so I loaded up a plate and sat down to observe the networking action.

I watched Joann, business cards in hand, as she spoke with one after another of the participants.  I can honestly report to you that she practices what she preaches.  She took the time to find out how she could help the person with whom she was speaking, and at times recommended that they talk with such-and-such a person who might be able to help them further.  She even suggested a few people check out my Kaimuki Chapter of BNI with an eye towards increasing the membership in my group.  Once again Joann’s warmth and graciousness came through even as she conducted herself professionally and with focus.

Joann Seery will be speaking at the Hawai’i Women’s Business Center (www.hwbc.org) on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. at the “For Women, By Women” event put on by Envision event planner, Janine Wedemeyer (jmwedemeyer@msn.com).  I look forward to seeing her there and learning more about what she has to say.

With aloha,

SANDY McKEE

Please contact Sandy at SandyM@TheNationalNetworker.com.

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