Power Bite # 66 - Avoiding The Management Trap
Hello MPM Member,
We’re going to talk today about something that trips up a lot of new MPM members. You’ve probably got several MPM members by now. It is never too early to learn the lesson we’re about to share with you!
Building a successful MPM business should be based on a team-building philosophy rather than a supervisory one. Perhaps the single most frequent cause of failure in any home-based business is the mistaken belief that we must manage the people on our teams. It’s tempting to bring a few people in and then want to stop and devote all your time to making those few people successful – that’s what we call the Management Trap (what we’re going to talk about today).
Let us quickly point out that there is a significant difference between managing and supporting the people the people on your My Power Mall Team. Playing caretaker to your team creates a false codependency; doing for others instead of teaching and encouraging them to do for themselves.
You may have been in other businesses that required a much more hands on approach. You may have had to lead meetings, or do 3-way calls, or a myriad of other things. The first thing you have to get into your head is that MPM is different. Because it is so SIMPLE you don’t have to do all those things. All you have to do is teach your team members to use the System that has already been created for them. All they have to do is get people to their website. We take over from there!
But let’s tackle this issue anyway – hopefully ensuring it will never be an issue for you.
The Management Trap creates two serious problems for a business builder. First, it produces weak and lethargic members because someone else is doing their work for them. Second, while managing others, you are losing valuable time that could be more wisely invested in getting more members on your Frontline – building your business even stronger. Remember, new blood is the lifeline of any business. Continually adding new members adds to the vitality of your entire business. If you stop bringing on new members before you are earning enough to live comfortably, then you lose valuable ground. And worse, since MPM is a business of leading by example, the people on your team will do the same thing – creating even bigger problems for you. The bigger issue though is that you are setting up the people on your team to not do as well as they could, because they are following your example!
Supporting your organization, on the other hand, is part of the team approach inherent in MY POWER MALL. It involves responding to legitimate requests on the part of any and all of your team members, or giving them encouragement when they are feeling down. In this letter we’re going to discuss the differences between creating dependency and reinforcing self-sufficiency. It is critical that you recognize (and the sooner the better!) the difference between productive activity and ineffectual, time-wasting practices.
Now, we want to talk about something right here. Have you decided what your goals with MPM are? Are you content with just 5 World Changer members, or do you want to take it to the TOP? Think about it. If you want to go to the TOP, then this letter is especially for you. Even if you think it’s not for you – pay close attention. As you see your MPM business grow, your dreams will get bigger and bigger as you discover the true potential of what you can accomplish.
Most of us come into MPM because we want what we can achieve through being successful, and because we like to help people. That’s great, but it gets pretty tricky when you are trying to understand exactly what “helping” is. Too many of us find it easy to fall into the “Messiah Complex.” You know, we want to save the world – well, at least all the people we bring into MPM. Because we care about them, we are determined to make sure they succeed. It can easily turn into managing their business for them.
Here is an irony you will see played out over and over as you build your business. Those MPM members who demand the least attention are usually the ones who become the most successful.
It’s easy to sign up a new Member, and then proceed to do everything for them. You make their phone calls; you print their Invitation cards; you handle all their computer problems for them. They call you every day for simple questions they could get answered by reading these Power Bite training letters. They want to whine and complain about how “Uncle Johnny” didn’t come into the business, instead of moving on to the next person. They always have an excuse for why MPM isn’t working for them. Your response is to work even harder to make sure they succeed. After all, THIS person REALLY needs you. When you get to the end of each day you wonder why you feel drained and discouraged, instead of rejuvenated by a growing business.
You’ve fallen into the Management Trap. Your biggest challenge will be figuring out who is really going to build a MPM business. To succeed, they must have belief before evidence. That is, they have to be able to picture themselves there and feel the emotions of it long before it happens. They have to be willing and eager to do what it takes to succeed. It is unnecessary to fall into a management mode when what we truly need to do as a leader is to teach them how simple the MPM System is. “Get people to your website!” It really is that simple.
This very system you are going through now is the same one your new team members will go through. Find the people who are committed to doing what it takes, give them the right tools, and then let them go do it.
Managing is always a temptation. But if you are truly doing the numbers it takes to succeed, you won’t have time to fall into the Management Trap. You might think it is much easier to work with your existing team than it is to go out and get new members, but because your team will do what they see you doing, you’ll end up with a whole team of people doing this. If you spend most of your time getting new members, so will they!
The secret is not managing your organization; rather it is finding leaders who will in turn find other leaders. Generally, leaders must be found; they can’t be created. Many people have untapped leadership skills that aren’t “found” until the timing is right. You just have to keep finding people who are excited about MPM. The leaders will emerge if you introduce them to our system, and then turn them loose to build a business.
So what do you do?
- Find as many great MPM members as you can.
- Make sure they have done their Training and know their websites.
- Make sure they know how to use the Mall. Make sure they've gone through MPM 101 and the World Changer Clinic - all available in their Back Office.
- Encourage them on a regular basis.
- Go get the next person who will become a leader.
JUST DON’T DO FOR THEM WHAT THEY MUST DO FOR THEMSELVES!!
We believe in you!
The MPM Team
Shopping Tip: Sit down with your calendar and list all the birthdays, anniversaries and other occasions in your life where a gift is given (baptisms, christenings, bar mitzvahs, graduations, holidays, etc.). Then go to your email client's calendar and schedule shopping for these events 3 weeks ahead so you have plenty of time to receive them before the event. You'll be reminded while you're on the Internet so it's a breeze to get that perfect gift on your Mall without delay.
Business Building Tip: Any time someone hands you something (a note, flyer, change for a small purchase like an ice cream cone -- every other purchase should be made on your mall!) exchange whatever it is they are handing you with a My Power Mall business card or invitation card. (Gina Edwards, Georgia)
Change the World Tip: Do you like to read? Volunteer at a school or public library to read aloud to children. If the atmosphere lends itself, encourage the children (depending on the number you're reading to) or a few children to act out what you're reading. Use lots of inflection and drama in your reading. Kids just love it! If you have a friend who's an artist, invite him/her to come along and illustrate the story up on an easel while you're reading. (From our 101 Ways Youth Can Change the World ebook)
"If you work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work
on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build
end up building us." ~Jim Rohn
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