Dr. Misner’s Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California. He has written nine books, including his latest New York Times best seller,Truth or Delusion? Busting Networking's Biggest Myths. He is a monthly columnist for Entrepreneur.com and is the Senior Partner for the Referral Institute - a referral training company with trainers around the world. He has taught business and social capital courses at several universities and is on the Board of Directors for the Colorado School of Professional Psychology.

Called the "Father of Modern Networking" by Ecademy.com and the “Networking Guru” by Entrepreneur magazine, Dr. Misner is considered one of the world's leading experts on business networking and has been a keynote speaker for major corporations and associations throughout the world. He has been featured in the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times, as well as numerous TV and radio shows including CNN, CNBC, and the BBC in London.

Dr. Misner is on the Board of Directors for the Haynes Children Center. He is the Founder of the BNI Misner Foundation and was recently named "Humanitarian of the Year" by a Southern California newspaper. He is married and lives with his wife Elisabeth and their three children in Claremont, CA. In his spare time!!!… he is also an amateur magician and a black belt in karate.

Our chapter was founded on a concept defined by a social movement of higher principals called Pay it Forward. Pay it forward or paying it forward refers to repaying the good deeds one has received by doing good things for other unrelated people.

The phrase "pay it forward" as a moral philosophy first appeared in Catherine Ryan Hyde's novel Pay It Forward and in 2000 it was adapted into a Warner Brothers film, Pay It Forward. In the book and movie it is described as an obligation to do three good deeds for others in repayment of a good deed that one receives, and that such good deeds should be things that the person cannot accomplish on their own. The recipient of such acts of kindness is then expected to do three good deeds for others in repayment for the help they have received. In this way, the need to help each other can spread exponentially through society, creating a social movement with the hopes of making the world a better place.

In practice the philosophy of pay it forward has broadened relative to its literary roots, and now it incorporates a more general flavor of social responsibility and desire to help others in recognition of the help one has received for one's self. It is also sometimes described as being "good for a favor", meaning a willingness to help others (even strangers) on the expectation that it will all come back around in the end.

The idea of the book has been championed in real life by the Pay It Forward Foundation. The Foundation focuses on bringing the idea of paying it forward to school age children, parents, and educators. The simple idea of doing good works for others to repay the good that has happened to you is one that can easily be conveyed to children and encourages them to be socially aware and take a role in making the world a better place. The main character of the book was a 12-year-old child, thus giving other children someone they can relate to.

Author Robert A. Heinlein preached and practiced this philosophy; now the Heinlein Society, a humanitarian organization founded in his name, does so. We embrace the idea of applying this philosophy to our way of doing business and, ultimately, living our lives.

We are based in North Carolina's Triangle area (Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill / RTP / Cary) with meetings held on Friday's at Hope Community Church on Buck Jones Road in Raleigh starting at 8:15 AM. For more information about general anouncements, meetings, visiting or memberships, please view the appropriate area of this site.