Looking back at my Amway IBO days, I can now laugh at some of the weird stuff we did, and believe it or not, I have reason to believe that my old LOS, WWDB, still teaches some of this and some other major groups also teach it. I believe some of these practices were the reason why some people refer to the Amway business as cult or having cult like qualities. If you recognize some of these practices, you might be in an unethical group and you should ask your upline the tough questions and possibly reconsider or reprioritize your involvement in the business.
Submission to upline was one of the things we were told. Our group was told that upline would never purposely lead us astray so we should trust them and never try anything without checking upline. Afterall, upline had experience and probably had all the answers. Some of this checking upline included asking permission to get married, buy a car or a home, or even something as small as purchasing a camera. The upline said maybe someone upline might have advice on how to get a good deal on a camera so no harm in checking upline before making a purchase. It is my guess that upline didn't want your disposable income being spent on anything other than standing orders and functions.
Late meetings. Our upline was into late meetings, many occuring after midnight. I suppose it was a show of loyalty and dedication to the upline and the system. In reality, it made most people angry at their jobs because they had to wake up early to go to work. For me it made me mad at our upline because the meetings taught us nothing of substance and it just made us tired. Our upline used to talk about time being important but it was never important enough to make him show up on time for his own late night meetings. Another cult like factor - sleep deprivation.
Secrets. Anytime we asked about how much income uplines may have been earning, we were either told it's none of our business or shown a photocopy of a 5 year old bonus check that someone upline may have received. Our proof that the business worked was upline showing off pictures of sports cars and mansions. Of course we now find that some WWDB diamonds had homes foreclosed, and one prominent triple diamond had some dealings in bankruptcy court. Looking back, I suspect that many diamonds have mortgages, which would be nor problem except that these leaders scoffed at the sutpidity of having a loan. That diamonds pay cash for everything, including homes. My former sponsor still lives in a run down rented home beause he won't purchase a home unless he's got the cash. My former sponsor is a physician so I find his position on buying a home preposterous. His oldest child, a son probably grew up deprived of his parents because of dedication to the system and the functions.
Losing money is success. Many times, our group was told that losing money was a sign of success. It was success because we were investing in our futures. That the business really is not about money but about friendships. I suppose upline taught this because everyone was losing money so it was nice to hear that success was around the corner, and that we were all nicer people and on our way to success if we just attended more functions and bought more standing orders. People who sold off some of their personal property were edified if they did so to attend a function. Obviously these folks were not advised to run their business within their means. Upline even said that going into debt was okay, but only if the debt was to invest in the business or to buy extra function tickets.
While some of these practices seem bizarre, I believe it is because the upline advice was self serving and meant to channel their downline's dollars into tool purchases. It is the only conclusion I can make. What's your conclusion?
Spot on, Joe! I was also in the WWDB LOS and would add the bit about "no cross-lining". We were told that cross-lining was dangerous: you might make a remark or suggestion that could derail the other person because you "don't know their situation".
ReplyDeleteLooking back on it now, I believe that cross-lining was dangerous indeed: if everyone found out that no one is making money, attrition would be even higher and that would cause the river of money from the tools business to start drying up!
Love what you're doing here, Joe. Keep up the good work!
Ah yes, cross lining. It wasn't for the IBO's benefit. It was for upline benefit. Cross lining would allow IBOs to discuss business with each other and that would be disastrous.
ReplyDeleteIf cross lining was so bad, you wouldn't be allowed to hear any diamonds who weren't directly upline of you. But that never happens right?
Lol oh wow I forgot all about " no cross-lining"
ReplyDeleteYeah they drove that home hard, I was in BWW myself but I think the reason Diamonds get excused, which is just a way around their own rules, was because Diamonds are gods essentially.
I remember when I went to a meeting and I saw a lady from a restaurant I frequented a lot, she was also an ex-IBO, but had recently been brought back in the fold.
She spoke to me, I was hesitant because I knew how they got with cross-lining and sure enough. As soon as we were talking, her sponsor blitzed us and started asking who I was, my LOS etc..
I was taken aback because he saw me earlier in this weekly meeting and he saw me most times, SMH.
~Joseph Manman
Cross-lining allows IBOs to compare notes. And Amway is terrified of that happening, so they forbid it.
ReplyDeleteIf you found out that some other guy was losing $300 per month in the same system where you were losing a similar amount, how long do you think either one of you would stay?
Fundamentalist evangelicals won't let you read Darwin. Amway won't let you talk to cross-line.