A friend of mine was recently released from his position as the President of a direct selling company.  I know he is taking it hard, but he is a survivor and will soon land back on his feet.  The curious thing is reactions of several people in the sales force who have been in contact with me.  They are very creative people (as I knew they would be as entrepreneurs).  In the absence of information, they can make up all sorts of possible explanations for the corporate machinations.  Reading between the lines, one of the main questions is “What does it mean for my business?”

The answer is really very simple and straightforward—probably nothing.  Direct sales is a simple business that we make complicated.  You make money by selling, recruiting other sellers, and growing the abilities of people on your team.  None of those have anything to do with the company.

When I was a shiny nosed beginner with Tupperware, I had 6 Presidents in my first eight years.  Guess who the excited and growing sales people were?  They were the ones with a laser-like focus on what they were doing with their customers and their team.  Like most situations that an entrepreneur encounters, corporate activity can become an ominous distraction from what is really important, your own work.