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January 27, 2003
Quixtar and emotions
By QBlog in Quixtar
I have a personal problem with Quixtar and emotions. I feel that Quixtar leverages emotions in a business which, by its very nature, should be emotion neutral. There are people who love Quixtar and feel very emotional about the business and people who hate Quixtar and also feel very emotional about the business. Let me explain.
When I am in business with someone, either working for them or with them, I try to maintain a neutral opinion of that business relationship. I get very emotional about the work I do, the effort I put into my endeavors and the finished product or service. However, the actual entity that I'm associated with while doing business is just that, an entity, and I feel no emotions about that entity.
Example: I used to work for a large bank. That bank began mistreating its employees and basically doing the traditional corporate thing of screwing everyone for profits. I didn't like this but the job was serving a purpose and I continued working till I found another job and was ready to sever my ties with the corporation. Today, I continue to bank with my former employer and I don't really feel bitter or joyful about the way they treated people. I probably won't ever work for them again but I don't go around bad-mouthing them either. I feel relatively neutral about the business. Some people I like, others I don't. But the actual bank is neither good nor bad, it's just a business.
Example 2: I love Amazon.com. Why do I love this company? Because I trust them. They have always provided excellent customer service, decent prices, great tools for recommending products and a great inventory. You could argue that THIS (my "love" for Amazon.com) is feeling emotional about a business but I reject that notion. Why? Well, if someone says they hate Amazon.com I won't care. I may ask them why but it doesn't matter to me if they hate Amazon or not. More importantly, if I have a couple of bad experiences with Amazon.com I won't hesitate to find another retailer to fill my needs. My love for Amazon extends only as far as I'm satisfied and as soon as I'm no longer satisfied I move on to other stores. Upon closer examination it would appear that I don't really "love" Amazon but am really just a satisfied customer. I don't have any particular loyalty to Amazon itself.
Example 3: In Quixtar there is a symbiotic relationship with the business, people, products and tools. This creates an atmosphere ripe for extreme emotional reactions. A personal example is that I run a Web development business. I'm extremely proud of my work and am equally passionate about what I produce. Obviously I love what I do and I love the products and services that result from my business. However, if someone is also in the Web business and decides to get out and says it's too hard, not for them or just a waste of time I don't call them losers and quitters. Instead I just continue working. If someone begins to say negative things about my business I listen and determine if there is any validity to what they are saying. If there is then I change. If not then I ignore them. What I don't do is paint them as a loser and quitter and dismiss them immediately as an unthinking drone who has nothing but negativity to spout. Granted, they may be unthinking drones but I give them the opportunity to prove that before I move on.
Point: My point is that too often when Quixtar is questioned or taken to task for certain practices the IBOs get really pissy and sarcastic and generally treat you like a trouble-maker. NOT EVERYONE DOES THIS. I've met (online and off) a few people who are genuinely open-minded and able to discuss Quixtar without the emotional baggage but these individuals are few and far between.
This is, I think, partly why Quixtar is often called a cult (which it's not). People not in the business, or fresh out, feel so incredibly strongly about Quixtar that they discard rational thought and blindly defend or attack the business. This turns me off. Maybe for Quixtar's sake some training could be incorporated in the business model on how to deal with objective questioning of the business. I'm not talking about personal experiences discussed on tapes, I mean something in the actual plan itself, the mission statement or whatever, that directs people to be objective and use their minds instead of their emotions. I doubt that will happen though. Oh well, I try.
Comments
Good commentary, Qblog, I think the whole world could stand a little more common sense. I am an IBO in the Quixtar business and I am incredibly grateful for it. I've learned so many things about life and people and money that I don't know if I could have learned otherwise. I certainly have had my faith challenged, and that is always good! Weather people tease me or not, I see the value and potential of what I have on my hands, and I have amazing people helping me. I can't say enough about how wonderful it is to have unlimited access to encouragement ;) I'm not new in the business. I don't know if you are an IBO or not, but I feel your frustration from time to time. Basically, as I see it, most people like to be comfortable and are afraid of change. Also, a lot of people can't get it through there head that they aren't the center of the universe and so when people dissagree with them or reject an idea of theirs, they get offended or hurt. The fact of the matter is, the world is full of easily offended ignorant "experts" on everything and the pride involved in the whole mess makes for some very interesting messes. I have basically decided to have fun with all of the insane drama that people come up with and work very hard to just be honest. I personally have used my experiences to make my old and new friendships and my marriage more real and more fun and more honest. I think I understand people slightly better now that I've asked a lot of them what they really want and what they are willing to do about it. But, to be perfectly honest, the more I learn the more I realize that I can never fully understand all people. I CAN, however, love them, one at a time..... I think the most fun advise I could give you to help gain some clarity would be to get your hands on a copy of the business plan and show it to a few people. You might be amazed at what you find out. I was. Have a good one. Have fun.
I am really enjoying reading your Quixstar chronicles as just today i signed up for the basic business package, and im feeling very emotional about it. I still feel skeptical. Mostly, I am hoping this opportunity helps develop the sort of motiviation to go on and carry other projects. But i am feeling less and less optimistic.
Posted by: Dan | February 7, 2005 2:30 AM