The Hidden Barrier to Growth in Network Marketing (And How Leaders Can Fix It From the Inside Out)

OPINION | By Peter Griscom

Let’s be honest.

Most distributors don’t quit this profession because they “don’t want it.” They came in hungry. They joined because they believed.

And they’re not quitting just because of comp plan tweaks or product pricing. Those are surface-level excuses.

The deeper issue? Waste.

The Real Killer: Time Lost to Inefficiency

Every hour wasted—waiting on customer service, wrestling with back-office glitches, or chasing down unanswered corporate requests—chips away at belief.

In lean terms, it’s called muda (waste). And in network marketing, waste is lethal. It drains momentum, stalls duplication, and eventually convinces leaders that the dream they signed up for isn’t real anymore.

But here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be this way.

Leaders Can Model the Change

Most people assume the fix has to come from the boardroom. But top leaders can spark it in the field today.

How? By living out Kaizen + AI principles in their own organizations:

• Kaizen (Continuous Improvement): Don’t wait for perfect systems. Lead your team to ask: “What’s one thing we can do better today?” Eliminate tiny inefficiencies in onboarding, events, or communication. Small wins stack fast.

• AI as a Field Enabler: Use automation tools—AI chatbots for FAQs, scheduling bots for team calls, content generators for daily posts. Show your team how to free up time for what really matters: conversations and relationships.

• Self-Funded Reinvestment: When you save time and money by streamlining, reinvest it into your team. Maybe that’s buying Zoom accounts, covering samples, or funding recognition. Demonstrate the principle you want corporate to adopt.

How Leaders Can Encourage Corporate

The best corporate–field partnerships are built on alignment, not tension. Leaders can play offense here:

• Bring Solutions, Not Just Complaints: When raising issues, pair them with concrete suggestions. “Here’s where the waste is—and here’s one AI tool or process tweak that could fix it.”

• Model Speed: Show corporate what urgency looks like. If you can pivot your team in 48 hours, they’ll feel pressure to move faster too.

• Celebrate Transparency: If corporate admits a challenge openly, reward that honesty by keeping the field calm. This builds a culture where transparency is safe—and momentum stays intact.

The Signs of Alignment

When field and corporate both embrace Lean + AI thinking, the results are unmistakable:

• Faster decision-making.

• Leaders duplicating systems, not frustrations.

• Savings reinvested in pay, tools, and recognition.

• A culture of trust and momentum that retains leaders long term.

The Bottom Line

Momentum isn’t magic—it’s efficiency, alignment, and belief all moving in the same direction.

Leaders who embrace Lean + AI in their own teams don’t just grow faster. They also set the standard corporate must rise to meet. And when both sides adopt the mindset, duplication takes off, retention skyrockets, and a true renaissance begins.

The future belongs to the companies—and the leaders—who refuse to tolerate waste and choose instead to continuously improve, automate the trivial, and reinvest in what matters most: people.

Pro Tip: If you’re a leader, don’t wait for corporate to change. Model the change. The right companies will recognize it, match it, and together you’ll build unstoppable momentum.

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Peter Griscom is a veteran network marketing executive, entrepreneur, and technologist with a proven record of driving large-scale transformation. Over his career, he has revitalized underperforming companies, unlocking their full potential and positioning them for sustained growth. Peter has spoken on stages worldwide, training thousands of distributors and corporate leaders on how to execute at the highest level. Recognized for his modern, results-driven approach to problem solving, he currently serves as President of It Works! and Chairman of Van Dyke Acquisitions, where he combines strategic vision with operational discipline to deliver breakthrough performance.