Hallelujah!
More holy-rollering.
Let's briefly revisit the crime-scene of the earlier-this-week entry 'Do Religion and Network Marketing mix?' and rake-over the embers for fresh sport… entirely constructive & well-intentioned, of course.
One almost certain way to reduce your chance of business success is to speak of religion in a critical manner. Do so with 'Christian, American, 21st century and Network Marketing' and the likelihood of failure rises significantly.
[Years back, Fogg told me to do whatever was necessary to not offend Christian Network Marketers. I recall the specifics being that I shouldn't use the terms 'damn' or 'hell', even though they're in common everyday usage by many people.]
That's probably sensible advice… but, with a strong belief in the constructive integrity of speaking out against things which 'hinder the efforts of decent people wanting to develop sensible Network Marketing businesses and/or which contributes directly to reducing the overall credibility of the business', I don't find it easy to keep quiet.
For avoidance of doubt, I've nought against Christians—my wife is so-faithed and we get along fine. My gripe is the use of religion as business leverage… specifically by people who mean well but don't realise that they're needlessly damaging their chances of success by so-openly drum-banging about their religion.
Deploying such tactics in closed groups of 'true believers is fine'—and will likely boost chances of success. But, and this is a very large 'but', at some point that message will be seen by ordinary folk who aren't so warmly inclined and will thus be turned-off.
I see too many people getting duped by nonsense, and included here is another example of something which does 'hinder the efforts etcetera'. Howso? Two ways:
- 1 When 'normal' people see it they roll eyes skyward, and thus think less of the presenter and Network Marketing.
- 2 It portrays an unrealistic and partisan view of the ease with which Network Marketing may be undertaken and thus reduces the resources the audience would otherwise deploy toward sensible commercial principle & practice.
Here's the clip (edited for clarity and brevity from the original):
"We believe the very reason why the Network Marketing industry has experienced a season of great attack, defilement and destruction by the evil one is due to the great potential that the industry has to be one of the vehicles that God uses to reveal His Glory throughout the earth.
The ungodly spirits of greed, division, pride and other deceptive forces have attempted to create a negative perception of the industry and many have been hurt as a result.
We are entering into a season of great restoration and multiplication for the industry as a whole. 2006 is God's year of New Beginnings. God's Blessings will be poured out upon the earth through Network Marketing."
Sheesh! Really? Gosh, I never knew.
Constructively… here's me thinking that 'perception of negative' was based on the very real situation that for 50+ years most of the people in the business have failed—lured by the over-promise of easy money and the under-delivery of effective business support.
And, maybe I missed something, but 2006 seems to have come and gone with no discernible improvement of the success statistics—seems that around 95% of participants are still failing to make 'promised riches' and hence quit within months. And, I'll gladly wager my voodoo-doll collection that it was an even spread regardless of religion.
Is that piece suggesting that god-following Network Marketers will be favored over other, perhaps more honorable, activities like aid workers, doctors, nurses, street cops, firefighters—all of whom deserve a helping hand? Surely not, although that does indeed seem to be the logical interpretation.
I'm not doing this to beat-up on Christianity, but because this stuff—as outlined above—'hinders the efforts etcetera'.
The source is Doug Firebaugh—for whom I have respect and whose business building advice I happily publish. But this stuff is wrong in so many ways.
Elsewhere on that site is this:
'Send in the Holy Cavalry Lord to help me in my weak moments which seem to be overwhelming me lately in my Network Marketing business!'
My 30 years of commercial experience suggest any distributor in dire straits is better advised to, rather than kneel and pray, tackle their difficulties in a business-like manner.
And personally I'm thinking that if there is a god, and if she/he is a) listening and b) able to help, then why do we have so much war, disaster and abuse of innocent kids?
Is it reasonable to picture a creator thinking 'Hhhmmm… what shall I fix today? Oh yeah… let's sort out that nutsups business—Darfur can wait awhile'? I don't think so.
And 'God's Blessings will be poured out upon the earth through Network Marketing'… try saying that to the not-smiling people at airport security and see how quickly you're frog-marched off for cavity search and entered on the no-fly list.
Point here? Network Marketing is a business. As a participant, presenting it as such & conducting yourself accordingly is the wise & honorable thing to do.
Filed by g on November 9 2007
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