I used to read the blog of a WWDB IBO who went by the name of "Shaun." He ran a blog called "Expeditions Of Truth" (http://expeditionsoftruths.com/), which you may find here. Shaun has recently vanished without a trace. I'm very positive that his Amway business has now either gone out of business or gone bankrupt. His blog writings indicate that he was an enthusiastic IBO in 2009, and that he had hopes of becoming a diamond and retiring early at the time. I do wish him the best of luck.
Shaun appeared to believe that he was not only doing business with people of high moral character, but that he was also planning to retire in November of the same year. Is it now the month of July, 2014? I'm confident that Shaun would have kept his blog up and running, and that he would have posted any important success stories that came his way. But let's get back to integrity. While I believe that conducting business with people of integrity is a wonderful thing, I also know many great business people who are brutal in their pursuit of success. So, do the people that work for Amway and, in particular, WWDB, have high moral standards, or are they simply as unscrupulous as other businesspeople? Is it really that important? However, I believe that it is irrelevant save for the fact that WWDB members appear to believe that they have leaders with high moral character. Imagine if a guy was a punk who got recruited into Amway and WWDB. Does he suddenly get integrity as a result of that experience? Think about it for a minute.
Let's take a look at some of the Amway/top WWDB's executives. During their tenure as WWDB leaders in the 1990s, they pledged that no one made a profit from the sale of tools. At the time, no one was aware of the truth. We now understand that this was a fabrication. Is this a matter of integrity? We are aware that Triple Diamond Greg Duncan was the subject of Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings at the time. Is it true that not paying your debts demonstrates integrity? In the past, we've learned that Greg Duncan and David Shores had their homes foreclosed on (Public information). Is that a decision made with honesty and integrity? They could have made an effort to pay off their obligations, considering how much money Duncan and Shores make. But they didn't.
According to a blog that is related to this one, "Rocket's Rants," there is a YouTube video of "crown" Brad Duncan promising rank and file IBOs that they can make "hundreds of thousands of dollars" every month if they work hard at their business. First and foremost, I'm curious as to whether Brad Duncan has accomplished this feat himself, let alone with others. Even if someone had accomplished it, it would be illegal or unethical to portray that level of accomplishment as something that could be achieved by a prospective client or customer. Is this a matter of integrity? To set someone up for disappointment by creating unrealistic expectations?
In the past, Brad Wolgamott, a former Amway/WWDB executive, would boast about how WWDB had a low divorce rate. Is it a breach of integrity for WWDB leaders to separate or divorce when they talk about the importance of integrity and how Amway and WWDB save relationships? What about Dean Kosage, do you know? Is there yet another divorcee? Do they have a strong sense of morality? What are your thoughts, Shaun Guthrie of WWDB? For example, what about Howie Danzik, whose website makes no mention of the fact that he was formerly married to Susan? Is it ethical to claim that you started the company as a single person when Howie previously started the company with his ex-wife as a partner? IBOs may retort that these leaders are just like everyone else. And it is correct. Leaders who lie, on the other hand, are not endowed with integrity.
Despite the fact that Amway's owner, Rich DeVos, admitted that the "tools" were likely a pyramid scheme, the company did little when sales decreased following some attempts to clean up the situation. Is that a stance of integrity? I'm not sure what to say, but
It certainly appears as though WWDB and Amway are having integrity concerns at the moment. One of our diamond leaders once stated that evil will prevail in places where decent men do nothing and allow evil to flourish. It appears to be the case in this instance. While Amway, at least on the surface, appears to be making some efforts to clean up its act, I have yet to hear of any important leaders being fired or any reports of discipline being imposed on them. I have my doubts about this because some of the same concerns continue to appear on the internet.
So, whenever you hear stories about integrity, take a moment to reflect on what it actually means to you.
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