The first thing I noticed when conducting the interview with IBO Rebellion is that he was very suspicious about somebody asking questions about TEAM. Given the recent legal issues going on, I suppose I can't really fault him for that. But if you look on my blog, you'll see that I've been writing about Amway/Quixtar for a while now. A reasonable person would tend to assume that I am not allied with Amway.
Once the questions started being responded to (such as they were) I was very disappointed to see that a typical TEAM member knows very, very little about the legal fund, yet is encouraged to donate to it without understanding the parameters of it's use. If you don't have alarm bells going off in your head about that, you should.
I commend IBO Rebellion for candidly answering that uplines make a profit from their downline consuming motivation. No surprise there, however, yet again, that is not a transparent aspect either. Even setting aside the morality of such a set up, as a business person, you SHOULD be able to project what you will make at certain points in your business. If information is withheld, or if basic discovery is impeded, then you should be walking away. It doesn't matter how positive a business is, you need to be able to see the whole picture before you invest one nickel into it.
Just because someone is positive, or speaks positive, it doesn't mean they have your best interests at heart. Think of the carnival guy who encourages you to spend a couple bucks to knock over a few milk bottles to get a big stuffed animal for your girlfriend. He's positive, he makes you feel good, but does he have your best interests at heart? No. He wants you to spend more money. I think that's a pretty fair comparison, based on the information IBO Rebellion gave me.
I don't really understand the difference between a profit schedule and a formula for compensating people who move the motivation. Maybe IBO Rebellion didn't like my terminology? I dunno. My first though was he has no clue, and he wants to make it look like he's answering a question.
I still highly doubt that TEAM has a motivational aspect to it outside of anyone in TEAM. IBO Rebellion obviously felt insulted that I questioned that, yet did not provide any of TEAM's outside customers. Just as well, I suppose, because then he would've had to answer questions about who gets to perform these motivational seminars for these outside agencies, and how they are paid. Obviously, IBO Rebellion would have no clue whatsoever about that. If anyone from TEAM is reading this, please correct me if I'm wrong.
We found out that TEAM is in the leadership business, but the method of payment for moving leadership is not open and available for everyone to see. I don't care if it's character based or regular run of the mill leadership. I know a line when I hear one, and when you aren't able to know at what rate/wage/scale you are going to be paid at, REAL business owners and even the dreaded EMPLOYEES will not accept that. It's ridiculous.
IBO Rebellion even acknowledged that there may be a bit of a legal minefield for not being aligned with a product based company (In spite of the fact that their product IS leadership allegedly). This tells me that even he is aware that what they are doing is subject to scrutiny, which is probably why nobody on TEAM really knows anything.
As far as the formula being protected because it's a trade secret, I call bullshit. Is your wage at your job a trade secret? Is an auto body's shop price a trade secret? That is the biggest load of garbage I have heard in a looong time.
I got a real kick out of the "element of trust" card that IBO Rebellion threw out there when I told him no answers is not good when people have questions. Ultimately, this is his defense to an obvious question of not knowing what you are going to be paid. The real world does not work that way.
I won't even get into the diatribe about leadership in the last email, because it's ridiculous. IBO Rebellion talks about leadership and all that, but doesn't even realize the painfully obvious point that his interview reveals.
People on TEAM are not leaders, they are followers.
Make no mistake about it, and hats off to Woodward. He has succeeded at getting a bunch of people to be loyal to him, and spend money for him to make a whole bunch more than they do. I have no doubt that he is charismatic, and an excellent speaker. I also have no doubt that the solar system is juust big enough for his and Chris Brady's egos. They're just good at hiding it from their own.
The link to Woodward and Brady's book was the final nail in the coffin for my assessment of TEAM. I actually did laugh out loud. My wife wondered what I was laughing at, so I told her that this guy couldn't answer a number different things about his own business, so gave me a book to read. I outlined what he wouldn't answer, and my wife said, "Why would someone say they are a business owner without knowing how their business works"? Then she called IBO Rebellion a bad name insulting his IQ. I love Mrs. Rocket dearly.
I didn't ask about the constant and repetitive quoting of successful people. I also didn't ask about the rather frightening degree of loyalty that TEAM seems to have for their leaders, in spite of likely not making any money. (Trade secret, remember?)
So, I guess you can imagine what I think of TEAM. I must say, I do believe they have gone from the frying pan into the fire. Yes, I know a bunch of other Amway organizations like True North and DCI have jumped ship. You wanna know why they jumped ship? I'll tell you what I think...
I believe that Woodward, Brady, Florence, Crawford and all those other Amway guys want to keep selling motivation, except rather than under the guise of Free Enterprise, it's now under the heading of Leadership. They aren't selling dreams of Amway success, they are selling dreams of Leadership success. Give me a break.
They didn't learn a damn thing about what happened in Amway. They are making the same stupid mistakes, except under a different banner. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I'm sick of assholes like these guys peddling wares to people that they cannot deliver. Maybe they can though. I just doubt it.
They are just participating in their well oiled sell motivation and control information machine again. I wonder how long until there are anti-TEAM blogs springing up all over the internet?
I have tried to post on Woodward's leadership blog, but they never got posted. I also have been banned from IBO Rebellion's website. I decided to take his advice and put more time into my blog. You can decide whether or not he answered my questions.
" The IBO Rebellion said...Dear Rocket,
I have went above and beyond in answering your questions. You are just a confused person with a pathetic hobby. Like I told you last night when you asked me the question... "What is the difference between leadership and character based leadership?" After explaining this to you, you still didn't get it. You not getting it is painfully obvious to all of us. Because of this you are hereby banned from this site. Good bye Rocket... spend a little more time on your own site... it is looking a bit anemic."
Mark & Tami Crawford 
As a Journeyman Instrument Technician, Mark had been employed and did private consulting in the oilfields. Tami, a Registered Social Worker for the Alberta government, had held varying positions including Career Counselor, Income Security Administrator, Child Welfare Officer, and Provincial Apprehension Trainer. They thought they were doing pretty well compared to others in similar occupations until they were asked, Where will you be in five years if you keep doing what you are doing? When they compared themselves to that group, they realized something had to change and change dramatically. Someone that was on the Team contacted them, showed them the system and convinced them to attend a conference. They were inspired to see successful people from all walks becoming leaders of their respective professions. Upon returning home, they made a decision to do something every day for two years. Over those next two years through the CDs, books and association they have watched their relationship grow stronger than it has ever been before. They appreciate everything that the system has done for them and are now committed to sharing the system with others.
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