Defcon 1 Direct Selling

CHAPTER 11Dealing with Corporate Mistakes, Incompetence, or Malfeasance

When we choose to work with a company, we know there will be serious consequences, both wonderful and horrific. Most of the people who join our space don’t have the necessary experience and insights to know how to select the right company for them. It’s why the chapter on selecting the right company in Direct Selling Success tops out at more than 5,000 words. That book, and especially that chapter, are making a sea change in our profession already, because they give people tools to make that decision with confidence and accuracy. Because of that book, there’s no need to repeat company selection material here. But what we must cover in this field manual for leaders are the risks and rewards, the hard realities of starting and running a business that leave you vulnerable and dependent on another partner—in this case the company.

Let’s look at some of the specific DEFCON 1 situations your company might create for you and how you can best respond to protect you and your team.

The Company Employs Incompetent People in Important Positions

Let me share an actual example. I was working with a company slated to open the Spain market in December that year. My field leaders and I had many contacts there and knew the opening date about eight months ahead of time, so we had been doing extensive prelaunch work. We had six experienced leaders ready to go and about 60 additional people ready to enroll and order as soon ...