6/25/2015

Are You A Leader? Or, A Follower?


On 24Feb15, I received an email from Ali Brown entitled:



Are you a Leader? Or a follower?

It’s time for a new conversation.
I’ve been talking with several of my clients—past and present—who are in the revenue ranges of high-6 to multiple-7 figures.
They agreed there are plenty of events out there for beginners and those in the low-six-figures, but few to no events for real leaders who are excelling, have been in business for years, and really know what they are doing.
And I knew it was time to put on a special workshop I’d been contemplating.
An intimate event ONLY for high-6 and 7-figure entrepreneurs.
One that focused on strategy, leadership, and collaboration.


A new conversation… by the women who don’t follow.
We LEAD.



Just imagine the power that will be in this room, and the incredible opportunity for all of us to help each other.
I cannot wait to be there myself. And create our next vision and plan together.
The time has come… to Repower.
Have a look here and see if you qualify.
We are limited to only 37 spots total, and several have already been reserved. After sending out just a few private invites to my own contacts, I already have several experts and leaders signed up whose revenues are in the $1M – $4M range.
First come, first served. I’m not doing early bird specials or bonuses and all that jazz.
What you see is what you get. You’ll know if this is for you.
(And isn’t that refreshing?)
Read about it here.
Love and success,




  • First of all – I am not sure why I am on her email list...
  • Second of all – I am not a female so I have no interest in being in a conversation by the women who don't follow...
  • Third of all – I am not a high 6 or 7 figure entrepreneurs...
  • Fourth of all – I don't see where wanting to have this level of income makes me a leader...
  • Fifth of all – well... there is no 4th reason... but, that is not the point, is it?



Ali Brown is an American entrepreneur business coach, author, speaker, and television commentator. She is the founder and CEO of Ali International LLC, an enterprise devoted to empowering women entrepreneurs around the world that currently has over 65,000 members in her online and offline programs. 

In 2009, Brown's company ranked #263 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies in the nation.

In 2010, Brown was a recipient of the Enterprising Women of the Year award, and in April 2010 she was featured in the season finale of ABC's Secret Millionaire.

There is no doubt in my mind that Ali Brown is not a very successful female and there is no doubt in my mind that she is also very wealthy; but, that does not make her a leader, nor does it make anyone who decides to follow her advice a leader either.

What she is... is very good at making money

And no, I am not trying to get into a spitting contest with females as if this were a male who had sent this to me, I would have made the same comments.

Anytime, you are selling for someone else in an effort to make yourself rich, you are making the person who recruited you even more wealthy regardless of whether or not you become wealthy.

AmWay was very good at this process and so is Primerica but both boarder on being schemes... and, a
pyramid scheme is an unsustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public.

Granted, both AmWay and Primerica are selling products and true that if I were to recruit someone below me... that they would have an equal opportunity to grow their business independent of mine and perhaps become bigger than mine.

A pyramid scheme would never allow something like that to happen, but these two are very, very similar and each person above you gets a percentage of everything you sell without lifting a finger, where the person at the top of the organization, could in fact, make a million dollars a year just from receiving that small percentage from a lot of workers.

One could make the argument that this is how American Businesses typically work... so, what's the problem?

All of this may be true, but the point for me is that all of this does not and will not make you a leader, nor will it make you a follower simply because you chose not to participate in the activity; but the email from Ali Brown, implies that this is exactly what will happen if you do not participate.

Leadership has been described as "a process of social influence in which a person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". For example, some understand a leader simply as somebody whom people follow, or as somebody who guides or directs others, while others define leadership as "organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal".

Most leaders in business and industry would say that they perform the following tasks:
  1. Create an inspiring vision of the future.
  2. Motivate and inspire people to engage with that vision.
  3. Manage delivery of the vision.
  4. Coach and build teams, because that is a more effective way to achieving the vision.


It is also pretty much accepted in most business circles that in order to be a good leader, one must first learn to be a good follower. Interestingly, it is not always engrained in our personalities and behaviors to follow... we don't mind working together to achieve a goal where no one is designated as “the leader,” but outside of that it is uncharacteristic of us to follow.

I mean... isn't this why we created those 2 business classes: white collar and blue collar? And, everyone knows that blue collars follows.

I do not have a 6 or 7 figure income but I consider myself a leader. I am not a while collar person although, I still consider myself a leader. And, I also know the subtle nature of being a good follower and practice or deliver those skills as appropriate.

My Myers-Briggs Personality Profile type is INTJ and we are considered theoretical builders of models and concepts. It would appear on the surface of this revelation that my personality is ideally suited to that needed for being a leader; however, that is not to say that I lead people. Good managers know how to leader people but that does not necessarily make them leaders.

I wish Ali Brown all the success in the world because she sure has already proven herself that she knows how to do the business dance as good as any man; but, I just wish she would approach her sales pitch a little differently, because for me it was a tad misleading.

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