Seth Godin has made the audio of his recent book Tribes available for FREE. Interesting marketing strategy given that the hardcover edition was published only two weeks ago on Oct. 16. Lots of content in the audio that is highly applicable to our business development model. IBOFightBack, over at The Truth About Amway, has the details here. Or you can go directly to the special promo at Audible.com and download directly.
For those of us focusing on the Personalized Health opportunity, the following excerpt from a press release this morning definitely adds a spring to our step (see quoted section below).
With Personalized Health — which includes Interleukin Genetics’s patent protected IP and DNA tests, which we market under the Gensona brand, and the IL-1 Heart Health supplement patented by Nutrilite — we truly have an opportunity to reshape the health care debate in North America, even more so than the politicians campaigning for election at this moment in both the US and Canada.
As of next year, 2009, that same Personalized Health opportunity will be available to our colleagues in Asia as well, when Gensona DNA tests are rolled out for markets there.
Paper Reports Value of Specific Nutritional Products is Dependent on Individual’s Genetic Make-up WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 12
WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Researchers at
Interleukin Genetics, Inc. (Amex: ILI), today received the 12th John M. Kinney Award for Nutrition and Metabolism at the annual Congress of the European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, inFlorence, Italy. The award was given for the paper, “Interleukin-1 genotype-selective inhibition of inflammatory mediators by a botanical: a nutrigenetics proof of concept,” which was published in Nutrition: The International Journal of Applied and Basic Nutritional Sciences (2007;23:844-852). Kenneth Kornman, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Interleukin Genetics, and the first author on the publication, commented, “We are honored to receive the 12th John M. Kinney Award for Nutrition and Metabolism. Many botanical and nutritional supplements claim to provide countless health benefits without being subjected to rigorous clinical study. Our paper reports a well- controlled clinical study has shown the value of specific nutritional products is dependent on an individual’s genetic make-up.” The study, a joint research effort by scientists at Interleukin Genetics and Nutrilite, a division of Alticor Inc., is one of the few controlled clinical trials that has shown the value of specific nutritional products is dependent on an individual’s genetic make-up. The data showed that a proprietary botanical supplement (Nutrilite IL1 Heart Health Supplement) could lower inflammation in individuals who tested positive for pro-inflammatory IL-1 gene variations from Interleukin Genetics’ Heart Health Genetic Test. These individuals also had elevated levels of C-reactive protein. About Interleukin Genetics’ Heart Health Genetic Test
Interleukin Genetics’ Heart Health Genetic Test was developed to identify healthy individuals who are genetically predisposed to over-produce inflammation and are at an increased risk for an early first heart attack.
The Heart Health Genetic Test is marketed on a non-exclusive basis [edit: it became non-exclusive for us only as of last week] through Access Business Group International LLC, a division of Alticor Inc. Interleukin Genetics recently announced an agreement with Access Business Group International that will permit the expansion of Interleukin Genetics’ distribution network for such genetic tests.
About Nutrilite IL1 Heart Health Supplement
Nutrilite IL1 Heart Health Supplement, a proprietary botanical supplement, was developed to reduce inflammation in those individuals who are genetic over-producers. The Nutrilite IL1 Heart Health Supplement is currently marketed by Quixtar, Inc., a division of Alticor Inc.
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 Genetics uses its leading genetics research and scientific capabilities to develop and test innovative preventive and therapeutic products. Interleukin Genetics currently offers an array of Nutraceuticals and OTCeuticals(R), which are sold at the nation’s largest food, drug and mass retailers, and has commercialized genetic tests for periodontal disease risk assessment, cardiovascular risk assessment, and general nutrition assessment.
Interleukin Genetics is headquartered in
Waltham, MA. For more information about Interleukin Genetics, its products and ongoing programs, please visit
www.ilgenetics.com.
Note, of course, that as of last week, Amway Global business owners no longer have the exclusive distribution rights to the Interleukin DNA test IP. Why? Two basic reasons:
(1) Because of Quixtar’ screwed up launch and lack of support for the Personalized Health product portfolio and health solution two-plus years ago and ongoing. They admitted as much when management acknowledged last year that Personalized Health was the victim of a “launch and abandon” product support mentality that prevailed before Steve Liebeman came on board and took control.
(2) In the old (and growth-destroying) business model — still ‘de facto’ business practice for most – based on the “Systems”-developed and promoted ”buy from yourself and teach others to do the same,” a major product/solution portfolio like Personalized Health was doomed to fail on that count as well. This could just as well be characterized as a “lack of leadership” by organizations which claim to be devoted to teaching leadership principles.
The defining advantage Independent Business Owners still have with Personalized Health is the core “value-add proposition” which we bring to the table — the ability to educate the consumer in a field which requires consumer education to be successful. Under the new retail sales focused paradigm being driven, thankfully, by Steve Lieberman and his new team, Personalized Health finally has an opportunity to flourish, and be the breakout health solution which will take Amway Global in North America way beyond the goals set by Doug DeVos and Steve Van Andel.
I’m driving down to Portland later today to the Spotlight showcase, and hopefully Personalized Health and Amway Wellness will be getting the “showcase profile” they deserve. With Interleukin Genetics now winning these kinds of international awards for their ground-breaking research, we expect to see Personalized Health being promoted and celebrated front and center.
“Trust is the lubrication that makes organizations work.” — WARREN G. BENNIS
“When a train goes through a dark tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” – CORRIE TEN BOOM
“Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else’s.” – BILLY WILDER
When I originally created this blog this past April my primary motivation was to encourage candid dialogue among IBOs about topics and issues that concerned me in the business. The company was in the early months of a global business transformation and I hoped that open discussion of challenges that I and others perceived in the business would potentially lead to real world solutions and change. I was also hopeful that Amway and Quixtar’s executives would listen in on our discussions — and even participate in our discussions when appropriate — and that has happened from time to time. From day one this blog was intended to be a collaborative effort, open to original posts by other IBOs, and not centered around one IBO’s point of view or a particular business direction or outcome. That intention has been realized with frequent posts by “rdknyvr” and post-like comments by “Big Apple,” “IBOFightback,” and others.
My approach to posting about our business was different than anything that I had seen online to that time. Posts were theme- and issue-based; and initiated dialogue on numerous topics rather than only responding to issues after a problem had emerged publicly, or simply reporting business news. The approach has been highly effective, has led to hundreds of comments on many topics, and was eventually copied by other sites.
But you might ask, why was creating this blog so important to me? And that’s a good question. So if you don’t mind, allow me to answer it.
It was important simply because in my heart of hearts I didn’t believe in the business anymore. I didn’t believe I personally could honestly promote our business model to potential prospects in its state at the end of 2007 — as much as I wanted to. (As an aside, allow me to add that my challenges with the business had little to do with the issues that the TEAM debacle raised. In fact, I thought the TEAM approach was a big part of the problem.) Even though the company was in the first months of its global business transformation, I had heard the promise of “change” in the business before, and had been disappointed each time, so I had little real hope it would follow through. In short, I knew that if I was ever going to be able to confidently and honestly build the business there would have to be substantial changes in the business at a foundational level — the company would have to come through and prove to me it was serious about real, lasting change. I knew it was going to take a lot to bring me back into the fold, and in all candor, I held little hope it would happen. A lot had transpired over the years to undermine my belief in the company, its leadership, and the IBO leadership. There was a lot to overcome.
What were the challenges that disturbed me the most? What were the issues that would have to change for me to be able to honestly and confidently pursue building the business? They primarily fell into three areas:
The first area of concern was the lack of balance in the business in relation to the tool systems. I believed the tool systems had become the tail that wagged the dog. It is interesting to note that Orrin Woodward recently revealed that he never made more than $750,000 in Quixtar at the Executive Diamond level, yet Forbes.com stated a month ago that Orrin told it that he was on schedule to make $4 to $5 million this year alone from the tool support side of his MonaVie business, and that’s after lowering the price of his system tools when he joined MonaVie! So which business was he really in when he was in Quixtar?! Quixtar, or tools? It appears Quixtar was little more than a receptive host that the parasitic TEAM used to feed itself. And by the way, TEAM was not alone. Many tool systems had evolved far beyond their original purpose and now ruled the roost, particularly in terms of income, and often treated the company like a second class citizen. Rest assured, not all tool systems were equally culpable, but all were culpable on some level.
The second area of concern was the mismanagement of the Amway/Quixtar businesses by corporate leadership and the effect its mismanagement had had on its IBOs, its business opportunity, and its product lines. I held the company leadership personally responsible for allowing the tool systems to usurp so much business territory and to hijack the business far off its original course, often for reasons that allowed the company to be lazy in the marketplace and to serve its own interests. In all honesty, I’m still disappointed the company leadership has not apologized for its failure in this area. The company’s failure at this point was more than a “mistake” in my opinion (as they’ve often called it). One simple example (there are many others) was the retail customer price of most products in 2007 and the company’s retail customer sales volume. The figures revealed during the TEAM court case revealed that only 3.5% of the company’s U.S. volume was retail customer volume. But why should the company care? It was getting its billion dollar plus sales revenue from the IBOs and that was all that mattered. Otherwise wouldn’t they would have taken steps to initiate change in this area well before mid-2007? And why should the system leaders care? They were deriving a substantial portion of their income from the IBOs participating in their systems and that was what mattered most. Besides it was far easier to generate income from business support materials and functions than to earn income from developing business sales volume with downline IBOs.
The critical role of tool income to IBO leaders in the business was driven home to me in the summer of 2007 when numerous business leaders quickly left the business as soon as it became clear their substantial tool incomes were being threatened. They saw the writing on the wall. Knowing it was far easier to generate substantial tool income quickly than business income, they just weren’t willing to get back to having to truly build the business they said they were building all along. I sometimes think tool purchases by new IBOs are just the tool systems’ back door version of product front loading, but with tools the only ones who benefit are the tool system leaders. Interestingly, the word on the street from Amway/Quixtar corporate insiders is that the corporation has been shocked to see how resistant the tool systems have been to having their role in the business reevaluated and somewhat diminished, and I’m sure much of that resistance has been due to the tool income issue. But recent events in the UK and the US have made it clear to Amway Global that the tool system dynamic and the retail customer dynamic had to change — dramatically and soon. As the Alticor Media Blog put it, “Never Again!” I agree.
The third area of concern was the IBOs themselves. I believed that many IBOs, myself included, had acted irrationally, irresponsibly, and immaturely by allowing the tool systems to sell us a bill of goods on their so-called “proven” systems; and the company to sell us overpriced products with limited customer potential. If an airline had a proven safety record comparable to the tool systems’ proven success record in developing profitable IBOs, it would have been shut down long, long ago. And the company’s retail customer development with its products and retail pricing was no better. The attitude of many IBOs, often encouraged by system leadership’s “Are you a team player?” mantra, appeared to be “Question nothing, believe everything.” I’m convinced a far better approach for IBOs would have been to “Trust, but verify.” No one should blindly follow anyone anywhere. By the way, if you only read a couple of books a year (hopefully more), this year I’d recommend making one of those books Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely. It will convince you of the importance of “trust, but verify.” All IBOs would be well-served to read it at the earliest opportunity.
Another new book offers some interesting insights along similar lines to Predictably Irrational. Ori and Rom Brafman, in their new release Sway: The Irresistable Pull of Irrational Behavior, make a number of intriguing points. For example, why would a seasoned pilot, the head of KLM’s safety program, ignore his co-pilot and attempt a takeoff in dense fog with 55 tons of fuel (far more than the allowable limit for his intended flight) at an unfamiliar airport, Tenerife — causing the worst air disaster in history? And why would the co-pilot, who had followed procedure exactly when he reminded his captain that the flight had not been cleared for takeoff, fail to repeat his warning when the pilot pressed ahead anyway? The collision at Tenarife airport cost the lives of 583 people. Using that accident as their starting point, the Brafman brothers explore the psychological forces that cause people to take large risks to avoid small losses, to judge people and situations by first impressions despite subsequent inconsistent evidence, and to ignore objections from dissenters.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the most reassuring in regard to the purposes of this blog. Research reveals that groups often make better decisions when there’s a “blocker” or “dissenter” present — even if that person dissents for the wrong reasons. The authors describe a classic experiment in which test subjects are led to believe they are being tested for their visual skills: three lines of different lengths are to be matched to a fourth line. The differences in line length are clearly obvious, so there is plainly only one correct answer. However, if you put the real test subject in a room with several actors who pretend to be test subjects, but actually have been instructed to give an obviously wrong answer, most subjects in the experiment will behave in a completely irrational manner and agree with the other test “subjects” that lines that are clearly different in length are exactly the same. But if an actor playing “blocker” is added to the mix and points out that the group is wrong, the subject then feels free to disagree and usually makes the right choice. Interestingly, this is true even if the “blocker” makes a different “wrong” choice by picking two other lines of plainly different lengths. What this experiment says to the business and political world is that organizations that allow no dissent, or demean dissenters, are likely to perform about as well as that ill-fated flight at Tenerife. It also implies that the mass mind is often intimidating, a good reason for strong checks and balances in this business. As an aside, pilots at Southwest and other airlines are now trained to avoid the disaster that happened at Tenerife. Pilots are taught to listen to objections from other crew members, and crew members are trained to communicate those objections in a way that enables the pilot to respond quickly and correctly.
But back to my three areas of concern. Obviously, there was plenty of blame to go around in mid-2007, and it wasn’t limited to one part of the business or any one group of people or IBOs. Everyone, and I mean everyone, myself included, was culpable. Fortunately, last summer the company promised that big changes were coming and a complete business transformation was in the works. Having heard that unfulfilled promise before, I began to shape my vision for a blog like this one, an online “coffeehouse” to discuss my perception of what shape IBOs like me might want that business transformation to take if in fact the company was truly serious this time.
So where do I stand today in relation to my 2007 concerns?
Today I am convinced that the company is serious about taking its business back and creating a more appropriate balance between the corporation and the tool systems (although I would not be surprised if somewhere down the road the systems’ role is limited to motivation only — or they no longer exist at all). As I stated earlier, the UK and US issues (and those in other countries) have made it clear that the status quo was unworkable. Where that unworkability takes us all long-term remains to be seen. However, there is absolutely nothing going on in the corporate training arena for product knowledge and retailing (Quixtar University and related) that is not easily transferable by the corporation to the training arena for building a network of IBOs — and it could likely be offered at far less cost to IBOs. Important factors such as “identification and association” would still be best served by upline IBOs, but would not require the costs associated with them in the current system approach. Years ago when the company offered business training materials they were dramatically less expensive than system produced BSMs, over 50% less. I look forward to a return to those days and enhanced new IBO profitability. The current state of the business in the tool system and business support materials area generates confidence in me that things are going to be positively different in the months and years to come.
Today the focus on new product offerings in health and wellness — for example, Simply Nutrilite — and the pricing that goes with them are all customer driven. The new Gensona offerings are leading edge and can be expected to be even more diverse over time. The Ribbon Gift program is nothing less than terrific. The above-mentioned Quixtar University puts a foundation under every product offering the company has. In addition, the continued sponsorship of top-notch professional athletes will lead to even greater awareness of our company and our products in the public at-large.
Today the public “coming out party” of Amway Global in print and media ads and other venues has convinced me the company is serious about building, maintaining, and monitoring its public and internet image and reputation — and this will serve the needs of IBOs increasingly well. Everything the company is doing in this arena is first rate and bodes well for the future of all IBOs. But it is important for IBOs, and myself in particular, not to waste the opportunity Amway Global is giving us in this area today. This is a real opportunity for all of us, not just a pig in a pretty dress.
I’ve said all that to say this: Today I believe I could honestly promote our business to prospects without any serious reservations — and I intend to do just that. There are still a few areas where I’d like to see some changes implemented, but they are not deal breakers for me. Thus, in the coming months and years I intend to work diligently to build a Diamond level business outside of a system context. At the same time I intend to keep the company’s hand to the fire from time to time regarding those few critical issues that I still consider important and worth reevaluating. Those issues still critical to me are:
1. The curiosity approach (or as some call it in other variations, the Professional Business Approach). I personally believe the curiosity approach should be banned outright. It creates far more issues than it solves — and none of them are positive. Lack of trust, the potential for deceit, misrepresentation, half-truths, and worse, all come into play with the curiosity approach, and the general public hates it. It is time to do away with it once and for all. Amway needs a clear and upfront image and reputation, not one based on how much information we can hide from a prospect while we dance away in doublespeak. I have no problem with explaining the business in full at an appropriate time when it can be explained properly, but I have a big problem with an opaque response to a direct question. In his recent autobiography/success tome Get In The Game, highly respected baseball Hall of Famer and former Baltimore Oriole Cal Ripken, Jr. wrote:
“Both my parents were as honest as the day is long. My mother just wouldn’t tolerate dishonesty of any sort. Dad [Note: Cal Ripken, Sr. was a former manager of the Baltimore Orioles] was also as straight a shooter as they come. If you asked him a question, you got a direct answer. He had a strong sense of right versus wrong. And if he thought something was wrong, believe me, you heard about it. Dad also tended not to mince words. Nor would he stay quiet just to avoid telling you bad news.
So, just as with the values of hard work and excellence, my parents raised me to be honest and to have integrity. Because of them, I believe I grew up to be a sincere and serious-minded adult. But how do honesty and integrity help a person persevere? Personally, I think it has something to do with trust.
Honesty breeds trust in others. Straight shooters get more work, are appreciated more, and are almost always respected. On the other hand, dishonest people almost never garner universal respect. As with honesty, integrity also breeds trust. If people believe you have strong principles, are sound in mind and body, and are incorruptible, they’ll choose to work with you over others.
You cannot persevere in any organization without the trust of others. If an executive doesn’t trust you, you can be out of a job in the blink of an eye. If coworkers don’t trust you, they’ll complain about you behind your back. And too much of that can also lead to a loss job. It’s far better to be trusted by the people with whom you work and associate. But, as the adage goes, trust has to be earned. Only over a sustained period can people come to count on you. You have to demonstrate your honesty and integrity over and over. And you can’t slip up — not even once. If you do, you’ll have to start all over again. In that case, it’s doubly difficult to regain a person’s respect and esteem. Therefore, it always wise to start out being straight with people from day one. Let them know right from the start that you can be counted on…“
2. Selective openness, honesty, and transparency. When Steve Lieberman announced the global business transformation he stated the company was committed to “openness, honesty, and transparency.” Yet certain outcomes since his announcement have led me to believe Steve should have said “selective” openness, honesty, and transparency. I’ve posted numerous posts on this topic in the past so I won’t rehash them here, but let it suffice for me to state the company could do a better job in the areas of openness and transparency. When Amway Global gets these areas right I honestly believe it will be on the doorstep of getting everything right.
3. The arbitration clause. I believe in the arbitration clause. It can benefit both sides in a dispute, but not if its a one-sided arbitration process in which the company holds all the cards. A one-sided arbitration process is just what the several courts have said it is: unconscionable. Amway Global’s owners are Christian men who hold to Christian principles of fair and equitable dealing. They should know better. Fix it guys. Now. Enough said.
4. The non-compete clause. I understand and accept some of the solid reasons for the non-compete clause, and can see its value in protecting the integrity of our businesses, particularly in relation to IBOs at a certain level in the business, say Platinum and above. But in its current form it is nothing less than overkill, and it creates a lot of ill will. Reevaluate it and apply only it to those who really have something at stake in the business, as I said, perhaps IBOs at Platinum and above. And like the arbitration clause issue above, do it now. I’m not particularly excited about asking my new IBO to sign an IBO agreement with these two clauses in their current form. So fix it and ask all IBOs to sign a new contract. The sooner the better.
5. The pricing of core line products. The company clearly needs to reset the price of some of its existing core line products to a more competitive retail market price. Current pricing assumes IBOs are the paying customer and real target market. Yes, incomes might drop as the BV drops. However, with the increased emphasis on retailing in the business, and the increase in retailing that should occur with reasonable price adjustments, over both the short term and intermediate term, incomes should actually rise — particularly for those actively building balanced businesses that include a strong customer component. Quality, overpriced products don’t create any buzz in the market; but quality, competitively priced products do.
6. The pricing of logo clothing and other items used to promote the business. While this is not nearly as important as the other issues as a general matter, it is an important philosophical issue for me. If the company wants the tool systems to reduce the price of tools (and it does), the company should also reduce the price of clothing using the company name or logo, and other items and literature used to promote the business to customers and prospects. As a philosophical matter I do not believe materials or items used to promote the business should be a high margin profit center. If an IBO can only earn income through the personal and downline sale of products, the company should make the same commitment. IBOs are the company’s partners and its wholesale customers. We should not be treated as retail customers on any level, particularly when we are purchasing clothing with the Nutrilite or Artistry logos to promote and personally advertise our business and its products, for which Amway Global benefits as well. I don’t believe an IBO should have to pay a premium to purchase a company hat, shirt, or jacket to promote his or her involvement with the business. In the most recent “Achieve” magazine Steve Van Andel and Doug DeVos asked IBOs to make their friends and acquaintances aware of their involvement in the business. To that end the company should be going out of its way to offer clothing and literature that allows us to do just that as inexpensively as possible. Brochures that IBOs use to present the business and promote the products should not be retail priced items. The Quixtar Business Opportunity Brochure is priced very well. But the price of most of the Nutrilite logo clothing is not. (XS Energy’s clothing is full retail as well.) In Steve Van Andel’s recent talk at Diamond Club he stated that the company recognizes that it is really our “upline.” That should mean that the company and IBOs make money the same way, the “old-fashioned way,” moving products to customers. Let’s keep it that way.
As I look back at it, that’s a pretty short list of issues. That tells me the company has come a long way since mid-2007. It also tells me that it’s time to get to work.
When I first heard Steve Lieberman’s promise of a global Amway business tranformation in the summer of 2007 my first thought was that I had heard all this before — and it was always an empty promise. But today it has become clear that Steve Van Andel, Doug DeVos, and Steve Lieberman really meant it this time, that the promises of 2007 are real. Recently the company began a series of print and media ads around the “Now You Know” theme, geared toward creating awareness of our brand, products, and our business in the mind of the public. For IBOs like me though the company had to go much further than brand awareness, for as I stated at the start of this post, I personally can’t promote a business model that I honestly don’t believe in. Thankfully, the promises of real change that the company has continued to keep over the past year have begun to restore my belief in the company, its leadership, and its future. I am beginning to believe the company is going to follow through and create a business we can all be publicly proud of and place our trust in. And that leads me to my final thought.
Amway Global: “Now I Know.” I not only know what the company is doing today, I also have a better sense of why the company is doing it and how the company is going about it. More importantly, today I believe more deeply in the company and can more readily embrace it and its goals.
So folks, it’s time for me to get to work. You’ll be hearing from me.
Speaking of Amway, how have the recent changes in Quixtar North America and Amway Global affected your belief in the business and your future in it?
Those who have been around this business for more than a couple years will be delighted to hear that Dr. Chet is returning to work with Amway Global/Quixtar and The Center for Optimal Health, effective August 10th.
Dr. Chet has spent the last several years with The Better Life Institute, more recently known as Better Life Unlimited, in Grand Rapids. Dr. Chet was a very popular educator and highly motivational speaker and trainer for all things health and nutritional. He has also had a running series of bulletins and newsletters available by free subscription from the Better Life Unlimited website which provided excellent support to people starting weight loss/managment programs.
His favorite weight management maxim is “EAT LESS, MOVE MORE.”
Examples of some of Dr. Chet’s excellent bulletins — always based on solid science and peer-reviewed research journals – are as follows:
Fountain of Youth
One Hit Wonder: Acai
The Placebo Effect
Phytonutrients: The Basics
All IBOs building Amway Wellness businesses — including Nutrilite products — and interested in “Optimal Health” and “Personalized Health” will be delighted to welcome Dr. Chet back.
For those developing an Amway Wellness-focused business – with Gensona and Nutrilite products, and Time Defiance (Artistry Skincare) – this easy-to-understand interview with Dr. Francis Collins on the Charlie Rose Show earlier today will delight you. The interview mentions “Personalized Medicine” at various points but much of the discussion is pertinent to Personalized Health as well.
OUR FOCUS in the Personalized Health business space is on our genetic predisposition for certain health risks — usually chronic and often related to the aging process – based on our personal genomes. Using exclusive, simple-to-use DNA tests and a confidential, online Personalized Health Questionnaire, we recommend behaviour changes (including exercise, diet, among others) and supplements, including exclusive nutrigenomic supplements to support a healthy lifestyle and “extend your years of wellness.”
In a nutshell, that’s our business and value proposition.
For more information on this point, read Section B-1 of the current Business Reference Guide (pdf downloadable for free from our site), and Personalized Health Program Guidelines, available on the Quixtar/Amway site. (Eventually, there should be similar guidelines posted under Best Practices at the IBOAI site and blog.)
Dr. Collins was the head of the Human Genome Project — completed in 2003 – and his lab discovered the genes responsible for Cystic Fibrosis and Huntingdon’s Disease in the 1980’s.
Collins recently resigned his position at the National Institutes of Health to pursue his interests in driving Personalized Medicine research and related writing projects. August 1, 2008 was his last day at NIH.
INTERESTINGLY, Collins recently published a fascinating book on the DNA code called, “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.”
Just in case there are any genuinely committed business builders reading this blog who are building an Amway Wellness (ie. Nutrilite, Gensona, etc.), or an Amway Beauty business (which could include relevant Gensona tests at some point) this brief post will draw your attention to an interesting blog on personal genomics — genomeboy — and an excellent new article in Wired magazine on Harvard University’s George Church and developments in genomics, sequencing and synthetic biology.
A number of personalized genomics companies are mentioned in the article — some of whom are potential competitors, but not in our direct sales channel (yet) and some who are strictly in the personalized medicine space, not the personalized health space where we (Alticor/Amway/Quixtar) are positioned. Some of these include: 23andme, funded in part by Google; Navigenics, funded in part by Kleiner Perkins; DNA Direct, Sciona, Knome, and a few others.
By the way, in case the inclusion of references to personal genomics and synthetic biology seems far fetched, they will in short order have a major impact on our area of business interest — Personalized Health and Wellness.
Finally, if the links above to Amway Wellness and Amway Beauty seem broken, it’s because at the time of this writing AmwayWellness is registered to Weber Shandwick, a consultancy which I’m surmising has been contracted by Alticor. And the AmwayBeauty domain is registered to Alticor through MarkMonitor.
This post is an addendum to my posts on Personalized Health on this site from June 23 and July 22, and Chuck Lia’s excellent posts from March 24 and May 1, this year.
Speaking of Chuck, he has just gotten back home to Atlanta from a few days in Southern California with his family. Watch for a thought-provoking post from him later this week on … can’t tell you but it will be good!!!
A few days ago, Forbes Magazine published an article on former Quixtar IBO and TEAM co-founder Orrin Woodward that suggested Woodward’s training system business, now ported over to MonaVie, is little more than a thinly disguised “pyramid selling scheme.” The article, while not really critical of Amway per se, revealed a basic lack of understanding on the part of the Forbes reporters of direct sales business models which are legally and gainfully employing — many part time and some full time – millions of Americans and Canadians.
In anticipation of the article’s publication, and after Forbes interviews with Alticor and Amway executives in Ada, Michigan, Amway sent a confidential communication out to all Diamonds and above, which was leaked by an astute and sympathetic Diamond (I’ve no clue who so don’t ask me) to the independent Amway commentary sites Amway Wiki, Amway Watch, Amway Talk, and The Truth About Amway.
In that letter, Amway executives promised,
We may object to aspects of these articles and will follow up with the publications regarding inaccuracies and misstatements … we remain committed to telling our own story and have invested an unprecedented amount in a national ad campaign, sponsorships, and public relations programs. Through these efforts, we will openly and transparently communicate who we are and what we stand for, creating greater awareness and favorability for our business opportunity and product brands – ultimately strengthening this business opportunity and the potential for success for every hard-working Independent Business Owner.
So, while the business and system critics were jumping up and down in their high chairs, spitting up, and throwing their food on the floor, what did Alticor do?
Alticor quietly purchased a significant volume of banner ads at Forbes.com, taking a positive upbeat approach with banner ad versions of the already familiar and popular ”Hello, my name is...” and “Now you know” ads which have been running so successfully in other media.
Was that a brilliant move or what!!!
SPEAKING OF AMWAY, what has Alticor learned from it’s PR battles of last year, and are they now performing in a much more transparent, proactive, and positive manner, consistent with the goals of the Transformation initiatives?
It’s a given that last year was a bumpy ride for Alticor PR particularly as they worked with green and “Internet-inexperienced” outside crisis management consultants who had no understanding of the community nature of and loyalty associated with our business model, to respond to a uniquely bitter legal attack by TEAM.
But has Alticor learned from that experience in the truest sense of being a Peter Senge ‘learning organization’?
I say ‘Yes’, in spades. What say ye?
TWO VERY INTERESTING articles and a TV story about Alticor and Amway were published today online, with markedly different perspectives. The first site to pick up on the pending Forbes article was IBOFightBack at Amway Talk followed a bit later by a brief post at the IBOAI blog site.
Forbes article link: Climb to the Top
Information Week article link: Amway Parent Catches iPhone Fever
TV Story: First Steps health initiative in Grand Rapids: article and video link with Alticor CEO Doug DeVos
The Forbes story focuses on Orrin Woodward’s TEAM – unflatteringly — and also touches on Amway in a tangential way. With respect to Amway, the Forbes ’business reporters’ clearly have little understanding of the direct sales channel despite having talked with the Direct Selling Association, and seemed to perjoratively tag anything to do with direct sales as a “pyramid,” (although allowing for a false distinction between “legal” and “illegal” pyramids — no such thing as a “legal pyramid selling scheme”). There seemed to be no understanding of network marketing as a viable, non-pyramid-structured sales channel.
To put the whole article in perspective, the best response I’ve seen so far was in the Forbes article’s reader comments from a ‘JCSmith9898′ who said:
As an Amway/Quixtar business owner in Michigan, I was very glad A/Q terminated Woodward and his Team leadership. Many times, I have met with people who have a distorted view of my business because of the Team’s focus on tool training profits and a building approach that made money for the top guys with little left for the new guy — if taught to structure an Amway biz properly, the new guy can make good money too — Amway should be congratulated for cleaning house of organizations that are damaging its reputation.
About an hour later, the second article was published online by Information Week, about an iPhone pilot being considered by Alticor for its Amway North America “sales force.” (Yes, that’s how you are considered by the corporate world — an independent, self-employed commission-based sales force.) The tone here was much different, as one might expect from a cutting edge business/tech publication:
Ada, Michigan-based Alticor is the parent company of Amway, which for almost a half-century has sold household items and nutritional supplements to U.S. consumers through a contracted sales force.
And a bit later,
Alticor’s IT team is building the applications for the pilot now. Beginning in January 2009, the program will be limited to a pre-selected group of 150 or so independent business owners… The iPhone trial is part of a larger effort to create a suite of Amway-specific mobile business applications and make them available to the sales force. The trial will look at how well the apps function over the iPhone and how they affect sales results.
A tale of two cities, a tale of two articles. One set of journalists taking a ‘National Inquirer’ approach, the other looking to a mobile ’Web 2.0′ future.
Finally, a seemingly unrelated story from Grand Rapids today about a new initiative called First Steps to help underpriviledged pre-school aged children access the health care and learning opportunties they need to be successful when they enter school. Who is leading this initiative by donating from its profits, and donating CEO Doug DeVos’s time? Watch the video at the link above and see for yourself.
An example of Compassionate Capitalism* at work?
SPEAKING OF AMWAY, what do these perpectives say to you about Alticor’s attempts to be better at Transparency, to implement Transformation and move to focus emphatically on increased retail sales? Do these kinds of articles give Alticor a stronger hand in enforcing the Accreditation ground rules? Is your System/LOA really on board with the First Circle personal profit retailing concept or is it, in your view, just paying lip service?
What are you doing personally to implement the Transformation process into your business? How are you using technology to build your business, specifically, your First Circle personal retail sales, and developing consistent retail customers?
INTEGRATING the ideas from the two stories and video clip above, do you have a goal, a mission, a desire to invest some of your business profits into something that will make a difference in your community? ie. TRANSFORM your community? Can you do that with the income you’re earning from your Quixtar/Amway business now?
* Compassionate Capitalism was the title of Rich DeVos’s landmark book published in 1993
(PS. Please don’t use this as a forum to slag TEAM or Woodward… go somewhere else if you have issues with them)
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?
“It just seems to me you aren’t going to be credible if all you talk about is your successes.” — JAMES CANALES, President and CEO of The James Irvine Foundation, one of California’s ten largest foundations
“A real leader learns ways to promote and reward truth-telling, demands honesty from his or her crew, and never punishes messengers with bad news.” — C. MICHAEL ABRASHOFF, former Commander of the “Best Damn Ship in the Navy, the U.S.S. Benfold,” and the author of three New York Times bestsellers on leadership, including It’s Your Ship
Amway is currently in the first year of a major business transformation. It goes almost without saying that all businessmen understand that turning a company like Amway North America around is no easy task and takes tremendous skill and expertise. Well, Steve Miller is affectionately nicknamed “U.S. Industry’s Mr. Fix It” by America’s business leaders for his unparalleled success in turning around failing companies. In 2002 the Wall Street Journal asked Miller if he would share with the Journal’s subscribers his thoughts on the most important aspects of turning a company around. That request resulted in an article in the WSJ by Miller that same year titled “Tips From A Turnaround Specialist.“ Allow me to note that Steve Miller is the former CEO of Delphi Corporation and the author of the recent book release The Turnaround Kid: What I Learned Rescuing America’s Most Troubled Companies. As Amway Global is in the midst of its transformation today, its turnaround if you will, I thought after reading Miller’s book that looking at Amway’s North American business transformation today in light of Miller’s seven tips might be a worthwhile online exercise. Below is a list of Miller’s seven tips with my comments added after each tip. I would be interested in hearing your comments about these seven tips as well.
TIPS FROM A TURNAROUND SPECIALIST by Steve Miller
1. Tell everyone the truth, especially if the truth hurts.
This is the one issue I find most disappointing about Amway’s public image. As James Canales says in the quote leading off this post, only bringing up the positive undermines your credibility. Publicly owning up to challenges adds credibility to the positive things a company says. A few weeks ago, Microsoft lost a court case. Within hours their media and PR folks (are you listening Amway/Alticor Media Blog?) released a statement saying “we still believe in our position and expect to appeal.” So, even when a current outcome isn’t positive Microsoft at least publicly acknowledges the current state of affairs. Every time Amway fails to acknowledge or comment on a recent negative court ruling or public event (as has been the case multiple times this year alone) it loses a little more credibility with me and others, and it will continue to lose credibility until its actions in this area become more transparent — or I and others no longer care about Amway enough to be concerned about its failure to be fully forthcoming. In my opinion, Amway’s failure to openly discuss negative news and outcomes shows weakness and frailty, not strength and resolve — and I believe the company is stronger and more resilient than that. It’s well past time to demonstrate it when it comes to truth telling.
2. Don’t study things to death. Most of the choices you need to make are clear, and decisiveness breeds confidence.
Would anyone say Amway has been clear and decisive over the last twenty-five years? While sometimes Tex can annoy people, one point that Tex makes is not refutable: Amway has had more than enough time to deal with several critical issues, some of which were clearly delineated by Rich DeVos over twenty-five years ago. The perception that Amway has failed to act decisively on those issues in the past has bred a lack of confidence in the company among many IBOs, and a general lack of credibility in the public at large. Regardless of what Amway is doing today, it is accountable for failing to act in the past.
Please understand, I am not saying that Amway is not dealing with these issues in several meaningful ways today, but it is important for Amway corporate to remember how long some of these issues have been on the table. It’s definitely time for Amway corporate to be very clear and very concise about where the company is headed. I do get a sense that some real changes are being implemented and that the corporation is taking serious steps to turn things around, but clarity and ongoing communication about those changes and steps are critical. The new national ad campaign is a meaningful step in the right direction on a public level, but there is much more that can be done on the IBO level. The North America Spotlight Tour is an important step in that direction, clearly demonstrating the change and innovation coming from the company today. This weekend the Tour stopped in Chicago, and bloggers Big Apple and Bridgett were both in attendance [as were AJ Gannon and bernsber!]. I’m looking forward to hearing from them online when they get home. The recently announced sponsorship of the Tina Turner Tour by Amway Global is another terrific step in the right direction. There is much positive to talk about in this area.
3. Listen to your customers. They know more about what’s wrong with your company, and what’s right, than anyone.
Who are Amway’s real customers? Based on recently revealed data from court cases I think we would have to say it’s Amway’s IBOs. Retail sales of only 3.5% of total volume can hardly be considered much in the way of true customer retail volume. So the question morphs into which so-called “customers” is Amway listening to? Better yet, which of its “customers” should Amway be listening to? It’s IBOs? It’s retail customers? Both? Neither, but “focus groups” instead? Often it appears Amway’s so-called “focus groups’ are made up primarily of IBOs. Think that one out, doing product marketing research with a captive clientele like starry-eyed new Platinums. What we need instead is marketing research done with our target audience, potential customers with whom we have no leverage.
Just who is Amway doing its market research with? I’d really like to know the answer to that question so I would have a better feel for the direction Amway is taking. For what it’s worth, I believe if Amway wants to know what is wrong with these aspects of its business perhaps it should listen to some of the people who have refused to buy our products or decided not to join our business. Ask them why, and then take their answers seriously. The bottom line is that products purchased by IBOs are important to our success, but products that retail customers are willing to buy because they find them compelling and attractively priced are even more important to our long-term success. We do not need or want discounted, low quality products. Discounted products often say the wrong things about a company and its products. (If you don’t believe that take a read of Chapter 10 “The Power of Price: Why a 50-Cent Aspirin Can Do What a Penny Aspirin Can’t” in Dan Ariely’s book Predictably Irrational.) At the same time, over-engineered (so-to-speak) products, expensively priced for our ge