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June 10, 2006
Zeal
By Preston in A/QMOs
I've been struggling to with something over the last few months.
Wal-Mart uses some techniques I consider unethical to keep prices low for consumers. I personally do not visit Wal-Mart, but I do not stop my wife from going there when she chooses.
This line of thought came back to me when I was thinking about my recent meeting with Dick Davis and Brad Duncan. WWDB prides themselves on being "different," and Dick Davis said to me that the goal of WWDB is "transparency."
That being said, would your zeal for or against Quixtar and/or the motivational organizations change if you discovered one of the organizations really was different than the others?
It is a question I am struggling with, along with the very nature of Quixtar itself: Should Quixtar be condemned for failing to correct the motivational organizations and letting abuse occur a full 23 years after there was an acknowledged problem?
Comments
Yeah! It must be zeal. WWDB is totally different. They must be charging differently for tapes, seminars, and they don't teach "buy for yourself".
Good news is, we got one more advocate.
WWDB tape prices are differet? Seminar rates different? Do they not have never ending rallies, opens, quests? Do they don't have "buy for yourself"? You don't have to travel a lot?
As ty wrote:
http://mlmblog.typepad.com/blog/2005/09/my_quixtar_team.html
Half of the tapes I heard in BWW are from WWDB. So lets see how you try to spin it.
Mevi,
I am still trying to figure out the point of your "unprecented meeting". You havn't really told anyone anything. You claim to have met with Brad Duncan & learned so much, but for legal reasons - you can't share. It sounds like a Quixtar arbitration. Can you imagine the evening news anchor saying, "We have the scoop but can't share it." Either they are ripping off their downline & making the vast majority of their income on tools & functions or they are not. I am convinced they are. If you can't get a documented statement either confirming or denying this, then your meeting was pretty much a waste of time. I genuinely wish you the best in your endeavors, but the information you have shared thus far could have been learned in a 2 minute meeting.
"Our goal is transparency, just don't tell anyone."
Mevi:
I have a lot of personal experience with Quixtar and their so-called opportuinity. Obviously you should make your own decision on what your gut instinct tells you, but If I may give you a heads up. If you look at this buisness from a buisness standpoint everything seems perfect and there is no flaw, which is true. The buisness is awesome. Here's the problem you won't see for a few months, they will slowly and gradually enstill what I consider cult-like mind games that will work against your family, friends and even people you love the most. They will tell you not to take any outside sources of info because they consider it evil, The main reason behind that being that they were exposed on Dateline a few years back and dont want it to happen again. I have nothing against IBO's, some close friends are IBO's, just be careful, and if they tell you to not talk to anyone or listen to just them keep your eyes open, or you'll be swept away and lose a lot of money. I hope this helps, my best wishes to you. Good luck
Amway (later Alticor/Quixtar) is guilty of failing to stop the kingpin-perpetrated abuse. They backed off on trying to rein the big guys in when they were threatened with a financial hit as a result (I believe they did actually show a decline of about 300 million in revenue back in 83 or 84, when they attempted some sort fo control?).
So, until the corporation implements and enforces rules which will halt most of the abuse, and accepts some responsibility for their role, my 'zeal against' the company remains.
And are there probably many more IBOs such as Dave who aren't participating in the abuse? I'm sure there are. But the corporation itself is still guilty of allowing the abuse to continue (and profits from said abuse), and one (or many) 'great' lines of sponsorship, who do not rely on overpriced tools and selling only downline for their profits, in no way alleviates the corporate guilt.
I'm sure Enron had some very wonderful people who didn't participate in that company's fraudulant bookkeeping and stock manipulations, too.
Quixtar/Amway is still the most successsful company in the history of the Direct Selling industry thanks to its IBO training systems. These training systems are envied and studied by the leaders of other companies around the world, home based and conventional.
To not understand the need for a profit motive is a misunderstanding of one of the foundations of capitalism. Read Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" or Ben Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac/ the Way to Wealth."
If your particular LOS was deceptive, that's another story, but it still doesn't detract from the need for a profit motive.
http://blogstar-thequixtarblog.blogspot.com/
Javert>> These training systems are envied and studied by the leaders of other companies around the world, home based and conventional.
Oh, wow, Javert! "studied and envied by other companies around the world"? That's pretty impressive ;-) LOL!! Care to list a few of those companies?
To not understand the need for a profit motive is a misunderstanding of one of the foundations of capitalism. Read Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" or Ben Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac/ the Way to Wealth."
And how exactly have kingpins allowed this when it comes to tool sales. They're pretty anti-capitalistic when they don't allow others to sell tools to those in their motivational organization.
Yeah it's true that there needs to be a profit motive,as is the case in any endeavor. The problem is how they influence people to change their opinions on important choices. (I.E. Religion, politics, family, etc.) Some L.O.S. are not bad at all and are amazing people. My experience was that they tried to change people to their way of thinking and make them feel as if they are doing gods work. They turned an amazing buisness into a ministry, where it has no place being. Understand I am not anti-christian or anything like that, I just feel if you pay money to be in a buisness then it better be a buisness and not a secret religious cult.
Is the zeal justified, though? To cast me out as some sort of "lost cause", simply because I raise the question: Is it possible to have a legitimate Quixtar business?
Should David Robinson be punished and demonized? To those who say "down with Quixtar" because of their inaction against the A/QMOs, I say, why punish David?
That is the question I struggle with - I didnt say I had an answer...I simply asked for discussion.
Zealots on the "positive" side will say Quixtar is your only option
Zealots on the "negative" side say Quixtar is as guilty as the A/QMO's.
Where is the line in the sand?
"envied and studied" Javert give me a break. Maybe they are studying how Q* does their tools abuse without legal ramifications.
You can't make a good food dish unless the basic ingredients are wholesome. A truth built upon a lie is really just a card house waiting to fall. I could go on with Confucius like responses, but my belief is no the people that are IBO's are not "bad" people...with a really big UNLESS to amend that. Unless, they know and understand the fabrication that they are being made a part of. Otherwise they are nothing more then unwitting brainwashed followers being used just as many cults have used people before.
Dawson,
Man it is finally nice to meet someone with common sense. I am just writing to back everything you said, I won't write anything about quixtar because you said word for word what I would have said. Its really sad too because they are usually great people that believe they are making the most of there life, and are usually convinced that this is the ONLY way to get their dreams.
Mevi/Preston asked:
Should Quixtar be condemned for failing to correct the motivational organizations and letting abuse occur a full 23 years after there was an acknowledged problem?
My answer: A big humongous YES. Allowing the abuses to occur is inexcusable and unconscionable.
That being said, even though because of Quixtar's gross negligence, I would never join Quixtar, I still don't have any problem with IBOs that treat the business like it should be treated, like our beloved David Robinson.
But I will never let Q off the hook until they take actual steps, not cosmetic ones, to correct the problems and discipline/punish the guilty parties (i.e., the so-called leaders).
I've been thinking lately how we would have at least one Quixtar executive, usually Larry Harper, give a short speech/announcements at functions while I was in BWW. He obviously knows what's going on but he acts like the BWW "leaders" are so great.
This has nothing to do with anything, but I thought it was funny/wrong when after Larry Harper had left the stage, one of the diamond+ men said how Larry was a good guy and all, but that he was basically lacking (don't remember the exact words) since he wasn't building the biz. Can you imagine putting a Q executive down in front of thousands of IBOs? The hubris.
By the way, Mevi, don't let Brad Duncan sweet talk you, something he's probably good at, seeing how far he's come in the biz. Remember, actions speak louder than words.
"The goal of WWDB is transparency"? Give me a break. If that's true, then they've failed miserably.
Posted by: rara | June 11, 2006 3:54 AM