“Speaking of Amway, what are YOUR thoughts on…?”

Tantalizing hints about new Transformation changes have been leaking out from Alticor sources to bloggers over at Amway Talk (http://www.amwaytalk.com/) — see post on “Transformation: Major Changes Coming in September.” In addition, some have noted the registration by Alticor or its consultants of the domains Amway Wellness.com and Amway Beauty.com.

Now this morning (July 22) comes the press release below: 

WALTHAM, Mass., July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Interleukin Genetics, Inc. (Amex: ILI), today announced the launch of an enhanced test report format and information package for the company’s Heart Health Genetic Test. The test is currently marketed under the brand name Gensona(R) Heart Health Genetic Test by Quixtar/Amway. The new report will include quantified risk information on heart attack and coronary artery disease generated from clinical studies and conducted by the company. The company believes that this enhanced report format will provide individuals and their physicians more complete information about a person’s inflammation-based genetic risk factor for a heart attack. The new package also provides information on the science behind the genetic test and information to help people understand preventive measures and actions that can be taken to lower the risk of heart disease.

In addition, the company will conduct scientific lectures on the Gensona(R) test for interested Quixtar/Amway individual business owners at their scheduled conferences. The first of these lectures will be on Saturday morning and afternoon, July 26, 2008 at the Nardone/Melillo/Callendar conference at the Radisson Valley Forge Hotel & Convention Center in Valley Forge, PA. Thousands of attendees are expected at the conference.

Lewis H. Bender, Chief Executive Officer at Interleukin Genetics, commented, “Heart disease is by far the leading killer of Americans. Individuals with different interleukin gene variations have vastly different clinical trajectories for heart disease progression. The ability to know your individual genetic predisposition for this disease is a new and powerful tool to allow a customer and their physicians to design the best preventive care for that person.”

About Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is an inflammatory disease in which plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply your heart muscle with oxygen-rich blood. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, and other substances found in the blood. When plaque builds up in the arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis. Variation in interleukin genes has shown to be associated with different degrees of CAD risk. Over time, CAD can weaken the heart muscle and lead to heart attack and arrhythmias. CAD is the most common type of heart disease and is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. Lifestyle changes, medicines, and/or medical procedures can effectively prevent or treat CAD in most people. Certain cholesterols have also been associated with increased CAD risk. According to the American Heart Association, over 105 million American adults have total blood cholesterol values of 200 mg/dL and higher, and 36.6 million American adults have levels of 240 or above. Doctors consider total cholesterol levels of 240 mg/dL or greater high in adults and levels from 200 to 239 mg/dL borderline-high.

About Interleukin Genetics

Interleukin Genetics, Inc. (Amex: ILI), is a genetics-focused personalized health company that develops preventive consumer products and genetic tests for sale to the emerging personalized health market. Focused on the future of health and medicine, Interleukin uses its leading genetics research and scientific capabilities to develop and test innovative preventive and therapeutic products. For more information about Interleukin, its products and ongoing programs, please visit http://www.ilgenetics.com.

SPEAKING OF AMWAY, how do you  plan to incorporate Gensona and Personalized Health into your Amway Wellness business? Will you be leading with a product opportunity to build a strong, profitable client base from which you will find others who want to build their own part-time businesses? Or will you be leading with a business opportunity and trying to redirect those who are not interested toward products and to become clients?

written by rdknyvr \\ tags: , , American Heart Association, Amway, Amway Talk, Amway Wellness, Callendar, cardiovascular risk assessment, coronary artery disease, general nutrition assessment, genetic predisposition, Gensona, heart attack, heart health, Heart Health Genetic Test, inflammation, inflammatory disease, interleukin genes, Interleukin Genetics, Lewis Bender, lifestyle changes, Melillo, Nardone, Personalized Health, prevention, Quixtar, risk of heart disease, transformation

Serious enough that IBOs should ask themselves whether they are ready to keep pace.  Are we ready for the challenge?

Last year, Alticor (and Amway, Quixtar) announced a major rethink in how they do business, including hints about how they intend to take back control of and manage their foundational brand, the Amway name. Along the way, a number of other changes have been rolled out on a manageable, test-and-iterate game plan.

A few examples, but not an exhaustive list:

* changes to and a move toward standardizing certain parts of how the business plan is shown to prospects

* enforcement of company rules designed to protect the core brand, including the willingness to bleed along the way for the sake of long term integrity; and by that I allude to their refusal to be blackmailed by TEAM leadership

* an Accreditation process which among other things is designed to build stronger Company/Motivational System collaborations, and guarantee a more reliable “brand experience,” as Chuck (and Harry Beckwith) indicated. [aside: have you taken Chuck’s advice in his post and signed up for your free marketing newsletter from Harry Beckwith?]

* significant increases in bonuses at all levels, and other motivational rewards aimed at prioritizing retail selling and increasing immediate focus on IBO Personal Profit Centres (ie. First Circle profits)

* introduction of a new department devoted to training, headed by new VP Alison Hague, and hiring some of the best and most experienced training and course developers around — including partnering with successful IBOs to develop new courses – and establishment of Quixtar University

* hiring of product development experience in the person of new Quixtar Managing Director Steve Lieberman, and introduction of new lines of fresh retailable products – Simply Nutrilite and Artistry Essentials — innovating and iterating on existing core strengths

* sponsoring a brilliant set of outstanding athletes as world wide brand ambassadors, including 100 metre world record holder Asafa Powell who was ALREADY a Double X user and attributed his record setting edge to that product

* other behind-the-scenes developments including creating a new research and development team and hiring Glenn Armstrong, PhD, as the new VP Innovation to head up the group

Now they’ve gone one step further by hiring a new Executive VP and CFO (Chief Financial Officer) who is an alumnus of General Electric’s renown management development system, and Boeing Capital Corporation:

“May 21 /PRNewswire/ — Alticor Inc. today announced the appointment of Russell A. Evans as the company’s new executive vice president and chief financial officer. He joins the company from Boeing Capital Corporation, where he served as vice president and CFO.

Evans brings more than 28 years of experience to his new post. At Boeing Capital, Evans led a team of 80 people and supported the subsidiary’s core business of arranging financing to assist in the sale of products and services for other Boeing business units. As CFO, he oversaw Boeing Corporation’s $7 billion aircraft leasing business, which included evaluating airline financing proposals, cash management, portfolio risk management and all aspects of public financial reporting. He also served on key corporate teams, including the one that launched the company’s new 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Before joining Boeing in 2004, Evans had worked for two decades at General Electric, where he held positions of escalating responsibility in the company’s financial operations. In his last GE post, Evans worked as chief operating officer of GE Service Management in the appliance division.

“We’re delighted that Russ will be joining our team at a critical time in Alticor’s global transformation,” said Steve Van Andel, chairman of Alticor. “He brings to us top-notch experience learned at two of the world’s most admired companies.”

Doug DeVos, Alticor’s president, added: “Russ will play a key role in assisting the company in achieving its goals of solid revenue growth and elevating our business capabilities to the next level.”

Evans said, “I’ve been extremely impressed with Alticor’s global reach, quality consumer products, leadership team, and their commitment to excellence. That, combined with a robust plan for growth, is a very compelling opportunity. I look forward to playing a role in bringing those plans to fruition.”

SPEAKING OF AMWAY, and in light of Chuck’s previous post related to brand management, how seriously are YOU taking Alticor’s Transformation Process, and what odds do you  give it for success? In what practical ways has the transformation motivated or changed what you are doing to build and succeed in your Quixtar/Amway Global business?

written by rdknyvr \\ tags: Accreditation, Alison Hague, Alticor, Amway, Artistry Essentials, Asafa Powell, Boeing, Doug DeVos, General Electric, Glenn Armstrong, Quixtar, Quixtar University, Russell Evans, Simply Nutrilite, Steve Lieberman, Steve Van Andel