The Enduring Network

A durable network environment is dynamic. And it is dynamic thanks to the attention and recognition that is given to each of the following elements in the network:

• seeing durability as the power behind networking
• stimulating initiatives and networks based on durability
• making networks accessible for others
• making visible the different roles that shape a network environment
• discussing the power behind network marketing centred around durability
• inviting each other and meeting each other (literally and figuratively)
• sharing experiences, solutions and results
• continuing to ask questions

I welcome discussions on “online marketing & network marketing” and “success & failure” but I am allergic to statements such us “no-one ever succeeded through online marketing” or “offline marketing is dead” or “you are either a winner or a loser”.

Discussions are nourishing. They feed the network by stimulating initiatives, by recognising the different roles that people play, by inviting others to share their experiences, by encouraging others to ask their questions. This is the energy source behind durability.

But the "black & white" statements are loaded with negative energy that will kill initiatives. They close the doors on individuals, they embrace believers and scorn doubters, they are not inviting to others who are not like-minded, they do not recognise that there is a place for everyone within the network, they do not encourage someone to share an experience to the contrary, they do not encourage the asking of questions to the contrary. They do not further the search for a workable balance. This is what stifles and eventually kills a network. And in the world of network marketing that can happen overnight!

So let's take a statement like "If you want to succeed go offline. Online does not work. Online is a complete waste of time". What kind of effect can this statement have on team members? Well, let's start with me myself.

I personally suffer from an extreme form of Ménière's disease which is a disorder of the inner ear that affects my hearing and balance. It is characterized by episodes of dizziness and tinnitus (a continuous ringing in my right ear, which is aggravated whenever I enter a noisy environment such as a restaurant or any kind of offline meeting or get-together) and 100% hearing loss in my right ear. Is it any wonder that I have turned to the Internet and online communication through email, skype chat and conference rooms. And there are plenty of other networkers for whom the Internet offers a way out because of physical or mental ailments that they suffer. Or even physical isolation when you are living 4 hours away from a major city or town in the Philippines or Mozambique.

Each of us has to learn & discover a balance that works for us. We have to allow for local culture and personal circumstances. The culture in India is supposedly a good market for offline marketing. The Scandinavian countries and Iceland are good for online marketing, especially during the colder periods of the year. And if you are living in the middle of nowhere in Ireland, or the Philippines or Mozambique, hours away from the nearest town or city, would you promote locally or globally? Offline or online?

As leaders and mentors we have a responsibility to our team and to those who attend our meetings, e.g. our online presentations and trainings. This gives us a certain amount of power. And unfortunately, with power comes arrogance, and arrogance will kill the network.

When we talk about success through team work and duplication… why is it that some networkers think that they invented the wheel? In the business world that I grew up in success through teamwork is a well recognised phenomenon as well as the art of leadership through leading & following. And there is a mindset that many of our networking leaders and mentors still have to open their eyes and ears to, and that is this:

“The duplication process of two who get two who get two is an oversimplified interpretation of a universal law that unfortunately misses the essence of a successful network. Duplication is what is being sold, whereas durability is what we really want. We want the kind of durability that even if the business lets us down, the network remains intact. And that kind of durability requires what the Dutch language so eloquently expresses as “doorgeven van partnerschap” in English “passing on the partnership”. So all the emphasis that we put on leadership is missing the essence of partnership. So where internet & network marketers talk about duplication and leadership, the universal laws of nature teach us durability and partnership. And that durability is obtained through passing on the partnership.”

So how would I express this mindset in advice for US ALL? Simple. Most of us have followed this advice anyway in one way or another. Certainly those of us who have experienced any kind of success in our lives.

Search out people who you would like to work closer with.
Initially this can be the person or the team you choose when you sign up for a business venture like Chews4Health. You chose the person or team because you feel that they can lead and mentor and support you along the way. Or perhaps they led you to expect huge spillover if you joined their team… whatever the reason.
But from here on you are in control of your future success.
This is where you start looking for one or two business partners of your own to join you in your business venture. And if you are lucky you will find yourself in what Napoleon Hill calls a master mind group. A small group that meets regularly to plan and act together. And there you have the foundations of a new node in your network. This is not a splinter group, unless the initial team closes its doors to these break away initiatives, but a new node within a durable network. It no longer relies on the existence of the previous group for its endurance and survival.
When you build partnerhips in this way then you build relationships that can last you a lifetime, even if your partnership only lasted a month or a week or a day. It is very much a like a strong friendship. You can lose touch for years and yet still meet up again as if it were yesterday in the trust that the friendship is still intact. The same goes for durable business relationships. The duplication is in passing on the partnership, and that means that one partner may move on to his or her own new partnership leaving a slot open for a new member in the current partnership.
There will always be those satellites among us that travel in the space between the partnerships. And when one partnership breaks up then that will not affect the durability of the network. It is not the durability of the individual partnership that determines the durability of the network, but rather the ability to initiate new partnerships by passing on the partnership. This is the way in which our natural universe continues to evolve.

Try to hang on to the leadership or the partnership for too long and you kill the network. And you certainly kill whatever business relationships you have because your partners will no longer trust you. Most of them won’t tell you, but the damage is done anyway.

This is one of my favourite photos representing a durable network. There is no single team or group that stands out. Instead everyone has a role, big or small, that visibly contributes to the whole picture, and makes it what it is… a durable network. Or as Jim Collins puts it "Built To Last!"

And when do we get the most leverage out of our own network marketing?

When we play our role initiating, building and maintaining the durable network environment! And this goes by many names such as magnetic sponsoring, attraction marketing and last but not least multi-leverage marketing.

So now you know something about me and my way of thinking and what I hold valuable in life (my photo top left says alot as well).

And the next time I talk to someone about marketing on the internet and that person says to me "It Can't Be Done!" then I will point that person in the direction of one of my favourite poems (click here and you will find it at the top of the list) and get on with my life.

Yours sincerely,
Iñaki Legorburu

PS. And here is a parting thought with regards to mentoring and training within the enduring network:

"We do not develop people, people develop themselves."

PPS. And the following is an extract from the network approach within organisational theory. Does any of it sound familiar to you?

Positions of commitment in the network

• An initiator often starts alone. The level of commitment generated will depend on the description of the initiative, its appeal and magnetism, and by the connections established.
• Partners support the initiative; they fulfil a role model, and will often approach an initiator. They put their shoulders to the initiative, bear it out, and accept the consequences.
• Links create connections with (re)sources, they guide the process from a particular perspective, they are ambassadors, they help build a knowledge base, and they provide access to information. And, they establish connections with users and suppliers.
• Suppliers contribute specific specialisations, resources or materials to the network.
• Users take advantage of the network as they seek to find answers to their questions and in their activities.

The above described positions of commitment will shift. And within the enduring network, as new initiatives arise the partnerships will be passed on.