On October 4 an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal titled "Job Cuts Set At American Express Co." The article described how American Express was planning to eliminate as many as 4,800 jobs over the next two years in its Travel Related Services (TRS) unit.
We've become quite accustomed to hearing news like that. But the real shocker in this news story was the fact that the job cuts come "at a time when TRS, which includes all of American Express's card and travel businesses, is reporting significant earnings increases." The unit's earnings have gone from $243 million in 1992 to $895 million in 1993 to $498 million in just the first six months of 1994 -- and in spite of that the company is cutting its work force by approximately 8%. I hate to think what would be happening if earnings were not as rosy, or if the company were losing money.
And the driving force behind all this? The need to be competitive.
Elsewhere in the travel industry, technology is accelerating job elimination. Airlines are setting up systems to enable ticketless plane trips. Airline passengers are checking flight schedules and making reservations on their personal computers. And what does this mean for travel agents? It means that they'd better start looking for another future.
A recent survey by the American Management Association of human-resources managers from 713 major companies found that eliminating jobs was a very effective way to improve profit and productivity. Twenty-six percent of the companies polled said they plan to eliminate jobs again by next June 30 -- the highest percentage in the eight-year history of the survey. In the past, however, two to three times as many companies eliminated jobs as said they would. For example, in last year's survey 21.6% said they planned to cut jobs by June 1994 -- but 47.3% actually ended up doing so.
And what about college graduates looking for a job? Is there any hope?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that almost 18 million college graduates will be joining the labor force between 1992 and 2005. The problem is, during that period there will only be about 14 million new jobs requiring college experience. So almost one-fourth of these new graduates will have to settle for jobs for which they are overeducated. For example, ten years ago, Kodak used to visit more than 100 college campuses to recruit employees. Now, with 9,000 Kodak employees facing layoffs, the company visits only about 26 schools. The company hires only half as many college graduates as it did in 1990.
At the same time, workers who are lucky (?) enough to have jobs are being pushed harder and harder by their employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that average overtime hours per week for manufacturing workers is at the highest level since the department began tracking it in 1956. Manufacturing workers are averaging 4.4 hours per week of overtime. This figure is up 34% from four years ago. And many workers are starting to complain, despite the 50% premium paid for overtime. Recent labor strikes have included mandatory overtime in their protests. Earlier this year the steel plants of Allegheny Ludlum were the targets of a strike after some workers were required to work as many as 146 hours in two weeks. In a highly publicized case, USAir recently fired a flight attendant who delayed a flight while trying to get out of a last-minute overtime assignment.
The bottom line is this: companies are faced with global competition and they are trying to do more with fewer employees.
But, in spite of all that, the future is very bright. Bright, that is, for people who are willing to change their thinking. For people who realize that most jobs today are dead-end pursuits. People who are willing to take responsibility for their own future.
We are entering the age of the individual. Powerful tools such as personal computers and access to global communications networks are giving individuals the ability to work and live and play, how and where they want. Giving individuals the ability to connect to other individuals, to conduct business on a people-to-people basis, cutting out all the corporate middlemen. Giving individuals the ability to define and build their own large networks of contacts.
This new interconnected world is the ideal environment for network marketing. Billions of consumers, all interconnected, all drowning in a sea of information, looking for direction and guidance in purchasing products, looking for a way to earn a living, looking to develop personal relationships.
The trend in marketing is to get face to face with the consumer, up close and personal. But how is a big company like AT&T or Nabisco going to do that? They can't do it with big ad campaigns. They can't do it with massive email transmissions. They can't do it without a lot of people. And that's what network marketing is. A lot of people, each doing their little part.
In network marketing, you don't have to personally interact with very many people at all. You simply have to make sure that the people you do sponsor duplicate your efforts. That's the secret, the power, of this business. And when that happens, then you can get literally face to face with thousands, and even millions, of people, through the efforts of the people you sponsor, and the people they sponsor, and so on.
Network marketing is not a panacea. It is not the be all and end all. But the business has the very real potential to play a major role in the world. Things are changing today at a frightening pace. The old rules no longer apply. It used to be that you could get a job and work hard and have a good life. Those days are gone forever.
A new world is emerging, a world that is exciting and full of opportunity. Network marketing is an excellent vehicle that can enable individuals to thrive in such a world.
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