In looking back at my 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, especially if you can't get straight answers to your questions.
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.
Forcing people to attend mandatory "meetings" is an old propagandizing technique. The meeting doesn't have to be about anything important or helpful. Its only purpose is to break down willpower and to humiliate those who are forced to attend.
ReplyDeleteIt happens regularly in the business world and academia. Some little middle-management asshole announces a mandatory meeting, to be held at some inconvenient time and place. Everybody has to show up. When you get there, it lasts for an interminable time and nothing of any consequence is said or done or decided. But attendance is taken, and you are expected to contribute to the discussion.
The whole point is to make you feel small and dependent. You are asked to publicly demonstrate, by your presence, that you are subservient to "the team." In fact, it is deliberate policy on the part of the meeting's arrangers that NOTHING OF SIGNIFICANCE BE SAID OR DONE AT THE MEETING. This is to drive it home to those attending that they are under the thumb of management, and management can call them up at any time to come to a pointless "meeting." It's sort of like attending a service at church.
There's a vicious bitch who runs a writing program at a New Jersey college. She holds meetings TWICE and sometimes THREE TIMES a week for her faculty, and they all are required to be there. Some of them have to drive in from Manhattan or some other distant area to attend. And absolutely NOTHING of importance is discussed at these insane meetings -- nothing that couldn't have been handled by e-mail or by a simple announcement. The bitch just wants to show how powerful and important she is.
Amway weekly meetings (especially the spectacularly stupid "night owls") are in this same tradition. You attend to show how devout you are. But nothing of any real importance for your "business" is told to you.
Yes, the night owl meetings wee a test of loyalty that did nothing for our businesses. Nothing of substance was accomplished.
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