I appreciate the strength and beauty of skyscrapers. The gracefulness of these buildings is rooted deep below the earth in their foundations. Building these structures begins with the search for bedrock.
There is a layer of lithified rock below the loose surface soil. One rarely sees a skyscraper’s substructure: the tallest building requires a well-planned structure and a much stronger foundation than a smaller building to withstand the test of time.
I recall the words of renowned architect Pillars Allen, who said how these buildings are driven down to rest on bedrock formed by incredible forces over time. It’s just a matter of finding the bedrock.
At DSA ENGAGE, we considered the foundation of our businesses. What is our bedrock? What are our pillars? And how high in the sky might we be able to build?
What forces might challenge our ability to serve the people in American and global communities who depend on us for quality products, supplemental income, the opportunity to build their own businesses and the chance to develop professional and social skills?
Our bedrock is a long history of success and service, created under lots of pressure.
What are the pillars on which we build our businesses so that they may reach their heights?
- Transparency in everything we do.
- Simplicity in language and compensation plans.
- Integrity in conducting our business.
- Community working together and collaborating through DSA, as family and friends.
In fact, DSA’s recently approved 2022 Strategic Plan brings these points to light:
- DSA will continue to foster vibrant commercial growth;
- DSA will continue to ensure a supportive regulatory environment;
- DSA will enhance our industry’s reputation; and,
- DSA will build an even stronger direct selling community—
And I would add one more pillar: the Direct Selling Education Foundation.
An important part of our commitment to broadening understanding of the direct selling business model is being led by the Foundation. Today, more than 200 DSEF Fellows work to advance a better understanding of direct selling.
As I’ve said many times, I believe these academics—our DSEF Fellows—to be the most important resource we could possibly hope to have available for this channel and our members.
In classrooms across the country, Fellows are teaching the next generation of business leaders about our channel’s validity, viability and potential and how our business model is uniquely aligned with the ongoing labor and commercial trends.
In fact, a group of Fellows and industry experts, led by Dr. Vicki Crittenden, published the book, Direct Selling: A Global Social Business Model that is now available through Harvard Business Publishing.
As we move into and beyond 2022’s second half, consider the importance of our bedrock and our pillars, for this is our foundation. We have the foundation, now let’s build something great together.
JOSEPH N. MARIANO is the President of the U.S. Direct Selling Association and the Direct Selling Education Foundation.
From the July 2022 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.
