One of the things my upline used to teach, and apparently is still taught today, it to duplicate or copy your way to success. In fact, we were told to always check upline because things we did needed to be duplicatable for your group. For example, flying first class to a function was not duplicatable, thus not allowed. I believe this is why some IBOs mistakenly think they are franchise owners. Looking back, it would seem that diamonds are exempt from this rule. If it's not duplicatable as upline says, why do they fly first class, or why do they claim to do so? The hypocrisy of upline at times, is astonishing.
At functions, everyone seemed to have a catalog shirt or suit. Everyone used the products and spoke phrases or strategies off the tapes, or standing orders. This is where the term "tapespeak" came from. The recruiting approach was also similar for many, and people in the US became aware of the techniques and I believe this is a contributor to the apparent decline in Amway North America. It's funny for me as a former IBO, because you can see what's coming from a mile away or more. And the IBO responses are a source of humor :).While IBOs can certainly duplicate certain things such as dressing alike and using the same tools such as voicemail to run their business, they cannot duplicate the conditions or the market that a higher pin may have had in order to achieve their success. That is why I believe so many IBOs fall short of their business goals. In fact, if duplication was truly the answer to IBO success, then why aren't there more pins breaking? Why do diamonds and other big pins quit the business if the answer was duplication? It's because duplication is just a catch phrase used by upline that may sound reasonable, but does not work in the real world of business. The results of decades sides with my argument.
I think the bottom line is clear. Duplication doesn't work. You can copy and duplicate your upline all you want. But you cannot duplicate everything, which means there are too many variables and aspects of your upline diamond's business that simply cannot be duplicated or copied to any realistic measure of success. Duplication is not a copy machine, so you might think you are copying or duplicating, but you're not. Also, if your upline diamond is no longer qualified and you are unaware of this, you then are duplicating something that is not nearly as successful as you were led to believe.
Joe, what you say is correct in one sense, but I think you are missing the main point about "duplication" in Amway, and why it is enforced.
ReplyDeleteDuplication is really regimentation. Your up-line doesn't want you doing anything that makes you stand out from the crowd of other IBOs. A perfect example is forbidding you to fly first-class to a function. It certainly doesn't matter what kind of plane ticket you buy to go someplace, as long as you get there safely. I mean, why should anybody care?
Up-line cares because if you fly first-class, there are other down-line members who would feel demeaned or inferior because they can't do the same. And even some Platinums or Diamonds might be angry, because your use of a first-class ticket seems to encroach upon their prerogatives as an elite. There is a great deal of envy and jealousy in Amway, as was discussed recently at a thread at Anna Banana's website. Up-line gets annoyed if a down-line IBO is able to afford things that other IBOs don't have, or that maybe even the up-line doesn't have. They commonly say "You haven't EARNED THE RIGHT to have that yet!" Or "Why are you driving that fancy car?"
Amway IBOs are frequently advised to sell their homes, and rent an apartment instead. They are told to cash in their stocks and bonds. They are counseled to sell valuable properties, like heirlooms or jewelry or upscale cars, and use the money for Amway tools. The business about IBOs wearing the same cheap catalog business suits and cheesy white shirts to meetings and functions is a sign of Amway's need KEEP EVERYBODY REGIMENTED, and totally obedient. If you showed up at an Amway meeting in a finely tailored Brooks Brothers three-piece suit, and with a top-of-the-line Rolex watch, your up-line would freak out in a state of rage. If your wife wore fashionable designer clothing and expensive gems, your up-line would bawl the both of you out. Amway may talk alot about the fantasy of getting rich, but the entire ethos of the organization is based on the low-class, small-town, populist outlook of rubes and hicks.
Regimentation in travel and clothing and possessions is merely a reflection of what Amway really wants -- lockstep obedience in thinking and acting. Anyone who is independent, who thinks for himself, who is not ashamed of what he owns, who has a critical mind, is simply NOT WELCOME in the Amway racket.
This is why it is really ironic that one of the normal approaches used to get a recruit is to say to him "You look like a sharp guy with intelligence..." The plain truth is that Amway has no interest in a person of that sort. Amway wants stupid, conformist, unimaginative IBOs who will obey orders and never question anything that up-line says.
Duplication means regimentation.