Martin Lawson

My first memory of Martin was when he and Gillian ran workshops together. They were very useful workshops, but it was the dynamic between the pair that really made them special events.

I also remember Martin presenting the Member Success workshop at BNI Head Office. Over the years I’ve seen many directors give this workshop, but none were a match for Martin. He made the BIN pin seem like the most important tool that your BNI membership gave you.

However it was a One-2-One that I had with him that I remember the most. I had recently trained as a BNI Director and thought that a One-2-One with my boss would be a great idea; luckily Martin did too.

So one evening I found myself at the BNI Head Office and shown into his office. Martin was surprised that I had asked for a One-2-One because not many directors did.

Having been trained well I thought I would play the ‘you game’ and ask about Martin first. But I was talking with a professional and it wasn’t long before we were talking about me.

Firstly, Martin asked about me, and my family, and how he could help me. Then he asked about my business and how he could help me there, and finally he asked about how I was finding being a BNI Director and if there was something he could do that would help me.

I got so much from my time with Martin that evening and it shaped a great deal of my thinking about BNI, networking and what was good referral-giving.

Just as a matter of interest – I did find out some fascinating things about Martin that evening; I will miss him.