Original Source
Some Thoughts Shared Over Dinner...
Just a note- this post is not meant to disparage Mr. Steve VanAndel. It is simply meant to highlight the differences in vision between the Quixtar/Amway leaders, and the leaders of the TEAM. We all know that the lawyers have taken over day to day operations at Quixtar/Amway. This is no longer the American Way (Amway) that Rich DeVos and Jay VanAndel envisioned.
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A friend of mine (former Emerald IBO) had dinner with Steve VanAndel not too long ago, and he relayed the content of his conversation to me. (Note - this is an actual conversation that occurred. Although the exact words cannot be duplicated verbatim...no stenographer was present...the basic content of the conversation is accurate.)
Friend: "Mr. VanAndel...are you excited about the growth of the TEAM and the vision of becoming the WalMart of the Internet?"
VanAndel: "That is not our business model...we will never compete with WalMart. In an MLM structure, there is not enough profit to go around...unless we take it out of your end."
Friend: "Doesn't the basic concept of 'more volume allows for lower pricing' work regardless of whether the product is sold in an MLM environment or on a store shelf?
VanAndel: ...(no response)
Friend: (changing the subject) "Mr. VanAndel...what is the company doing to clean up its negative reputation on the internet?
VanAndel: "There will always be negative...we had the same issues many years ago when the Phil Donahue show invited our critics to voice their thoughts on national television...we got through it."
Friend: "I think the big difference is that Donahue aired one show highlighting negative critics. We have a 'Donahue' show airing every day on the internet."
VanAndel: ...(no response)
Friend:...(trying to find some common ground) "What books have you read lately that you would recommend to a new IBO?"
VanAndel: "Well, I read a book on 'change' recently, but it was a bit boring...I really enjoy spy novels." (Folks...I could NOT make this up! He actually said this!)
Friend:...(takes a large bite of food and chews for a LONG time...)
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What Orrin Woodward says regarding moving toward a WalMart pricing structure. (This is part of Orrin's letter to Doug DeVos in 2005).
The last major point is the operating margins discussed in the meeting. On one of the slides was a chart that stated the average operating margins for Alticor products was 17%. This shocked me, since I was in the process of reading Don Soderquist’s new book, The Wal-Mart Way, where he states that Wal-Mart’s operating margin was 3%. I can understand why we are not competitive at the retail price if we continue to expect margins of almost 6 times the world’s benchmark company! I am all for the Alticor companies making a great return, as long as the value proposition to the first circle is in line. If not, then this is morally wrong and must be fixed, or I am misrepresenting the truth when I show the plan.
What Orrin Woodward says regarding addressing the negative critics. (This is part of his response to the First Circle initiative) :
The Quixtar critics began with a simple truth: The products are overpriced...Since Greg has stated our products are overpriced, we have a moral responsibility to fix this, or else we have given the moral authority to our critics. By giving away the moral authority we have given them the liberty to lie and smear individual diamonds at will and still feel justified, since the original product price is too high...Lets start with product pricing since this is where our critics started and where Quixtar, board leaders, and all IBO’s are in agreement.
What Orrin Woodward says about reading:
"Leaders are Readers!"
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4 comments:
Wow... speechless... I am certainly glad to be apart of a community where the leaders take it upon themselves to be lifelong students. We are so very blessed in that regard. Leading by example is what our leaders believe. Imagine, (I know this is hypothetical because we would be unable to get where we're going if this were true) our leaders suggesting the latest Stephen King novel as recommended reading.... We all would be in trouble. Thanks to all the leaders that be, your examples are worthy of recognition.
Your friends conversation with Mr. VanAndel was shallow to say the least and if it happened as you said it did, he needs more training to be a clerk in a convience store.
As to the WalMart reference, don't confuse margins with net profit.
If you try to sell a product at a 3% margin you will be broke after you place your initial order.
Wal Mart is a distribution company, isn't that what TEAM taught? Q/A is a manufacturing/distribution company.
Think it thru, what are realistic margins throughout the process of getting a widget from the manufacturer to the consumer, so EVERYONE makes money and you have a good value at the consumer end.
Anyone else bored with the negative bloggers.. either Quixsands evil henchman in disguise, or some weird lonely basement bloggers with no stake in whats happening right now..
Check out this rant on the sad state of the basement blogger!! http://drinkxsdotbiz.blogspot.com
IF EVERYONE WOULD DO THEIR OWN RESEARCH AND ASK SOME OF THE PEOPLE, THAT ARE NO LONGER IN AMWAY< YOU MAY UNDERSTAND WHY Q IS DOING WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO THE ALMIGHTY TEAM LEADERS! IT IS NOT ALL ONE SIDED!!
READ THE FOLLOWING AND IF YOU DON"T BELEIVE IT< RESEARCH WHAT YOU READ!! ENJOY THE TRUTH! IT"S NOT ALWAYS WHAT OR HOW WE LIKE TO HEAR IT. BUT IT"S STILL THE TRUTH!!
HISTORY OF AMWAY - ALTICOR - QUIXTAR TRAINING SYSTEMS AND HOW AND WHY THEY CAME ABOUT!
AMWAY - QUIXTAR - ALTICOR TERMINATES 6 DIAMONDS -- 12 OTHERS RESIGN
MAY 2002 Last month AMWAY - ALTICOR - Quixstar (AAQ) terminated 6 Diamonds over a dispute on the distribution of money for training tools. In a laudatory move 12 other Diamonds resigned (or threatened to) to protest this action! We salute those 12! This was a magnificent (and we are sure painful) way to protest corporate activity. http://mlmwatchdog.com/Archives2002_2.html (OPENS NEW WINDOW) The “Team In Focus” group that the 15 were in proposed an MLM comp plan for motivational book, CD and rally training materials. This would have gone all the way down to bottom distributors and not be restricted to the Diamond leadership. The other Diamonds went nuts over losing the money. This must be the new generation of leadership at Amway Alticor. Terminations around Amway were at an all time low. To fully understand the history of the Amway Quixtar training system read on!
BACK IN 1982 DeVos RAPS KNUCKLES OF DIAMONDS
Back in 1982 the book, tape and rally Diamond income was secret. New distributors didn’t know about the motivational tool business and it had started to develop into a monster. The program had originally started in 1972. Upline Diamonds got in lawsuits with Downline Diamonds because there were no contracts. Your WatchDog editor had bailed out of Away by 1974 because none of my training material was “good enough.” Why, you might ask? I wasn’t a Diamond! I always say that Amway made me millions of dollars – just not in Amway! Anyhow, by 1982 even Rich DeVos (a hero of mine) told the Diamonds they were on shaky ground in an audio tape “Directly Speaking.” Why? They were not sold to consumers. Over the years the Diamonds countered that it was NOT an MLM system, just millions of dollars of direct sales down the chains of Diamonds.
WHY MLM TRAINING IS A RED FLAG TARGET!
A HISTORICAL STORY ABOUT TRAINING July 2001 - updated May 2007
FOLLOW HOW THE AMWAY - QUIXTAR SYSTEM CAME ABOUT
MLM HORROR STORY
In the 60s, Holiday Magic (HM - a skin care company that believed products were not important) set up a training section called Leadership Dynamics (Zig Ziglar was not part of this, only HM product sales). Leadership Dynamics training consisted of torture, brainwashing, and EST psychology. It cost $5000 to go through it. You had to go through it to get to higher pay levels. The barbwire around testicles, naked dog piles, and suffocation were documented in a book "The Pit." It was made into a film and circulated in MLM trials when the FTC and states hit the company.
THAT LED TO
Glenn Turner was a top distributor with Holiday Magic. He revolted at the torture training and started KOSCOT. Turner did ship products and his leadership company, Dare To Be Great, was based on strong positive training at $5000. Tony Robbins is believed to have attended a course and got his start here. Training was $5000 in 1970, and many today swear it was worth it! However, selling training for 1/3 the price of a new house did not set well with regulators. The state and Federal regulators shut Turner down.
THE LAW ARRIVES
When the FTC hit all of them (MLM companies), one of the major thrusts of the FTC attack was training. Was it of value? All MLM training was hit or suspect. You still see that today when the FTC or states hit a company: Training, if too high priced or paid via MLM, is a great big red flag! Companies that specialize in training can't sell training MLM and stay out of trouble!
AMWAY DODGES ISSUE
AMWAY was hit but had pulled a smart diversification (SO IT SEEMED AT THE TIME), and dodged training issues. In 1972, they started letting top distributors create their downline's entire training systems and informally turned loose what could be charged for training. Amway Corporate at first did motivational meetings at the regional levels, then turned these lucrative large training meetings over to the Diamonds. The FTC did not address the training issues when they sued and settled with Amway (thank you Amway), since they did not exist within the corporate structure!
AMWAY CRITICS ARE WRONG
One of the interesting misconceptions, even from Alticor - Amway - Quixtar members, is that the tools and training system is MLM. It is not. Diamonds generate material and sell it at markups thru the levels of their MLM organization. It is a broker relationship from top down. The upline, starting with top Diamonds, push materials on downlines as almost mandatory. There is not a commission structure, but rather a price mark up as motivational books, tapes, CD's and training sessions go down the rank of Diamonds.
ALMOST 40 YEARS LATER
The distributor training material (and rallies) deals are not within Amway-Alticor - Quixtar corporation. They are Crown Diamond distributor deals, down to the lowest Diamond. There is no formal structure dictated by Alticor - Amway for markups on the tapes and other training material as they travel downline. The worst MLM tape ever was a Diamond out of Colorado Springs bashing every MLM company but his. Others, like Hawkins "Prospecting" (1984), was magnificent (as were some of his other tapes).
ALMOST 40 YEARS LATER, YOUR WATCHDOG OPINION
WatchDog Opinion: The distributor training material (and especially rallies), have gotten too high. Especially the regional training meetings and the big push to get people to them. I am an advocate of MLMer's reading books and listening to tapes. However, I started "The Golden Opportunity" as an MLM with fair pricing for magazines, tapes and tools in the 80's as a kind of personal revolt against the "big wigs" raking in all the money at high prices. Your editor thinks that Amway - Alticor - Quixtar growth in the U.S. has been stunted by too much motovation! Complaints - yes, lots!
AMWAY QUIXTAR TRAINING U.K. SHAKE UP - NO TRAINING BOOKS - TAPES - MEETINGS
http://www.mlmwatchdog.com/Report_Amway_Training.html
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