Defcon 1 Direct Selling

CHAPTER 6Creating Momentum and Exponential Growth

Sounds crazy, but it’s true. It is easier to build your business fast than to build slow. Just as you frequently witness in sports, momentum begets more momentum, and sometimes an unstoppable force is created.

Know what it’s like to check your back office and see more than 4,000 new team members with activation orders—in a day? And then more than 4,000 the next day? And the next? And the next?

I do.

Know what it’s like to see those tens of thousands of new team members go inactive and disappear because the company couldn’t handle the demand and ship their first orders?

I do.

Everyone talks about that magical, mythical animal known as “exponential growth.” It’s almost impossible to find a recruiting presentation that doesn’t have a PowerPoint slide showing a chart with a hockey stick line of steady growth suddenly curving dramatically toward the heavens, then disappearing into the top right corner of the chart. But most people have never actually been a part of true exponential growth.

I have. Twice.

Once it worked elegantly, because the company was prepared and had the resources to handle the massive spike in demand. Another time was the scenario described above, where the hard work of amazing leaders was squandered and reputations were destroyed, with pain and chaos the result.

Exponential Growth Is Not a Fantasy

As leaders, we have a sacred responsibility to provide sound advice and helpful mentoring to our people, guiding ...