“The worth and value of knowledge is in proportion to the worth and value of its object.” – SAMUEL T. COLERIDGE
Don’t we all enjoy the expectant smiles on the faces of newlyweds on their wedding day? In fact, I would say there are few newlywed couples that don’t have special dreams for their marriages on that special day. Both the bride and the groom envision a happy home, smiling children, fun times, and growing old with their mates. Sadly, sometimes their dreams are later shattered by the infidelity or dishonesty of a partner — or even both partners. The result? The trust they once had in each other is undermined and the relationship becomes broken. Some couples are able to recover and to recapture their marriage dreams and rebuild their relationship – perhaps even stronger than before the infidelity. But others are not. For some, the personal hurt and the harm to the relationship was too great and too painful for one or both of the spouses to overcome.
In “rdknyvr’s” June 7th post he asked the question “How do you recapture your dream?”. I was surprised to find that all of the posted comments discussed only one side of the issue, the internal mindset of the IBO. Many seemed to believe that an IBO’s loss of his dream was indicative of a weakness in that IBO’s mind, heart, or will; and all he needed to do was read another book or listen to a CD or two to begin to get back on track. While I agree the IBO’s mindset is an issue, it is only half of the story — and maybe not even the most important half. I am convinced there is an undiscussed aspect of this “lost dream” issue that is equally, if not more, important: the worthiness of the object of your dream, the worthiness of the object of your trust.
As I said, some couples aren’t able to recapture their dream and restore their marriage. One spouse simply no longer believes in the long-term trustworthiness of their mate. On the other hand, those married couples who are able to recapture their dreams do so as a result of both spouses exhibiting daily trustworthiness toward each other over a period of time. And that is the key factor: daily trustworthiness toward each other over a period of time. It doesn’t happen in a week or a month. It often takes months and years. Day after day the husband must demonstrate that he loves and cherishes his wife. Day after day the wife must demonstrate that she respects and loves her husband. Both spouses must demonstrate through their daily behavior that they are worthy of their mate’s trust if the dreams they initially had for their marriage are going to be recaptured and rekindled. Ultimately, if a spouse really believes his or her mate can truly be trusted in the relationship, that spouse can begin recapturing again the dream he or she once held for their marriage, and begin to move forward with confidence.
The same is true in this business.
To be candid, one of my own struggles with the Amway business has been this issue of broken trust. Before I go further, let me state for the record this is just my opinion. Your experience and opinion might be different. Regardless, I believe some, if not all, of the IBO training systems have violated on some level the trust they were given by rank-and-file IBOs. I’m not sure of all of the reasons, but without wanting to impugn anyone’s motives, greed and control immediately come to mind. Let me be clear here. I do not think all tool systems are equally culpable, but I do believe all systems are somewhat culpable. The lack of transparency and full disclosure about tool system issues has been pathetic, unconscionable, and inexcusable. Often training materials, CDs, and books endorsed and promoted by tool systems have been little more than Yugo quality drivel, but at a BMW price. For example, you could easily find two dozen far better business and personal motivation books in ten minutes on BarnesandNoble.com for less money than you pay your tool systems for some of the mediocre books they promote — and earn PV/BV to boot.
At the same time Amway has also violated the trust it has been given by rank-and-file IBOs to provide quality products at a reasonable price and to guard the integrity of the business. It has allowed tool systems to operate virtually unrestrained for years. Most, but not all, of the substantial lawsuits the company has been drawn into over the past three decades originated with a tool system issue, as IBO leaders battled each other over tool system income payouts and other issues, and the company was drawn into their battles. In addition, Amway had little incentive to improve its products or pricing because the lack of profitability from product movement was hidden behind the substantial incomes IBO leaders earned from the tool systems. Tool system income and the personal use business model insulated the company from the business realities of many of its non-competitively priced products. Thus company products were often Acura quality, but at a Ferrari price.
One-sided arbitration processes, broad in scope non-compete clauses, heavyhanded enforcement approaches, and an unwillingness to candidly discuss negative business issues, have also worked to undermine trust and respect. Some have even backfired against the business. This lack of transparency and honesty about product and company issues and the business model itself has been nothing less than a huge disappointment to me.
Yet, even through all of that, I, like many of you, want to trust the company. I truly want the company to be a business vehicle worthy of my trust and worthy of the investment of my time and effort. There was a time when this business had a strong moral imperative, when integrity was a non-negotiable, when trust had been earned over many years, and that earned trust was valued and protected. Somewhere, at some point in time, at least in the North American market, it appears everyone lost their way.
Thankfully, the UK situation and other recent legal issues were a real wakeup call and got the attention of everyone.
Pastor Timothy Keller of Manhattan, New York, uses an example to make an interesting point in his book The Reason For God. He says,
“Imagine you are on a high cliff and you lose your footing and begin to fall. Just beside you as you fall is a branch sticking out of the very edge of the cliff. It is your only hope and it is more than strong enough to support your weight. How can it save you? If your mind is filled with intellectual certainty that the branch can support you, but you don’t actually reach out and grab it, you are lost. If your mind is instead filled with doubts and uncertainty that the branch can hold you, but you reach out and grab it anyway, you will be saved. Why? It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch.” (bold italics mine)
To take the point a step further, one of the key issues in having worthwhile dreams is finding a strong branch, an object (read “a business vehicle”) worthy of your faith, dreams, and efforts. At the present time I am not convinced Amway is the strong branch I believe it needs to be. I believe it can be, but I do not believe it is that branch today. Over the past decade I am sure there have been thousands of ABOs in the UK who trusted Amway to be their strong branch and the vehicle to achieve their dreams. Have they been rewarded for their trust? Have they been rewarded for centering their dreams on their Amway businesses? Are the issues rank-and-file ABOs have in the UK today due to their lack of belief or their lack of a dream? Or are they due more to the lack of daily faithfulness by Amway and some tool system leaders to the trust they were given by ABOs? I think a quick read of the judge’s final ruling in the DBERR v. Amway UK case provides a clear answer.
So to recapture our dreams it isn’t enough for an IBO to take his mind, heart, and will in hand. It’s equally important for the company and IBO tool system leaders to take themselves in hand, to act on a daily basis in a manner commensurate with the trust they have been given.
Let me ask you, which of these options might you prefer? A business with a mediocre product line but a great business model; or a business with a great product line but a mediocre business model? My answer? Neither. Neither business would be a worthwhile object of my trust or faith, nor worthy of my dreams or efforts. Rooting my dreams and investing my effort in either business approach would be incredibly foolish in my opinion.
I’m looking for a business with great product line and a great business model — one worthy of my trust and an investment of my time and energy. Product line is not enough on its own. Business model is not enough on its own (and, for the sake of discussion, I am including tool systems when I say “business model”). It takes both quality products and a solid, integrity based business model.
A business with respect for all IBOs all the time. A business that views transparency, honesty, and openness as part and parcel of the very fabric of its business. A business that, to borrow a biblical phrase, “swears to its own hurt.” A business with a vast Ellis Island and a small Berlin Wall (and you know what I mean by that). A business that becomes so competent at doing what it has set out to do it doesn’t matter what its competition is doing. A business with a few less legal eagles and a few more Jon M. Huntsmans. [Read Huntsman’s book “Winners Never Cheat: Everyday Values We Learned As Children (But May Have Forgotten)” and you’ll understand what I saying.] A business with less hype and spin, and more truth and candor. A business with an unfettered commitment by everyone at the company and in the field to real transformation, rather than a business that sometimes acts like a bipolar teenager giving it lip service.
That would be a good place to start in rebuilding trust with me. How about you?
When I begin to really see that kind of a business day after day, not just when it suits the company or IBO leadership – a business truly worthy of my trust and efforts — that’s when I will start believing far more deeply in the company and its potential to again be the vehicle to help me achieve my personal and business goals.
And that’s when I will begin recapturing my dreams in the business again.
written by Chuck Lia
\\ tags: Amway, Business Competition, Recapturing Dreams