Chapter 4
YOU DON’T HAVE TO ALIENATE FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Relationship Marketing and Family Matters
“Oh no, he’s wearing those clothes again.”
This was the remark our second son often made some years ago whenever he saw his father descending the stairs dressed in a certain pair of work boots, jeans, and a tee shirt. He and the rest of our children knew what to expect when their dad wore that particular outfit: It was Saturday, which meant yard work or a project. However, they also knew that after giving up two or three hours of their day to help, they would be rewarded at the end of it, usually with a barbeque and a swim party in the family pool.
If you think your personal routines and relationship development patterns are not contagious, think again. Our children now have grown children of their own and they are doing the very same things we did decades ago.
Ask yourself this question: How do people feel when they see you coming or hear your voice? Do they think, “Look out, here comes Jane, and I heard by way of the grapevine that she is building a business in one of those pyramid companies.” What these individuals generally fail to realize is that they too work for companies whose employee organization charts look like a pyramid; and many likely attend churches whose hierarchy is pyramid shaped as well. The word “pyramid” coupled with the word “scheme” comprise a term used to describe an illegal venture wherein only those at the top of the pyramid make money and those ...
