The Greatest Networker in the World : The story that has changed the lives of millions Now it can change yours!

Media:	Paperback
Author:	John Milton Fogg
Publisher:	Three Rivers Press
Release date:	26 February, 1997
List price:	~~$12.95~~
Our price:	$10.36 that is 20% off!

The Greatest Networker in the World : The story that has changed the lives of millions Now it can change yours!

Average rating: Stars

Great Networker in Training

This book was an escape for me. I have spent the last few months, being new to networking, filling my brain with information about the industry from those who succeeded in it. The story was great and a joy to read. It is a nice break from the more technical oriented books I have been reading. There were parts of the story that seemed to drag on a little, but it did not distract from the overall enjoyment of the reading. I definitely would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be a more than average networker (which I think fits everyone in the industry).

The Greatest Networker in the World : The story that has changed the lives of millions Now it can change yours! - John Milton Fogg

The Emperor Has No Clothes - so don't look for the trousers

This may be the most overrated book in network marketing.

Don't get me wrong. John Milton Fogg is a heck of a writer. This "fable" is truly an extraordinary read, filled with wonderful images and seemingly heart-felt sentiment. A page-turner, the reader whisks through the story of a novice networker's breath-taking encounter with the Greatest Networker in the World. From a Japanese Restaurant to a hot bath to a baseball diamond to an opportunity meeting, the reader really believes that he (or she) is learning the secret to true networking success.

As such, this book has been heralded as the "classic" for the industry. (I must confess that I once was a believer.)

It's easy to come away from this book after a first reading thinking, "so this is what I'm missing." Fogg has a gift.

The problem, however, is that there is nothing that Fogg presents that truly helps someone "do" the networking business, and do it well. There is nothing written in the book that justifies the feeling of discovery that the first reading bestows.

Moreover, Fogg presents no authentic insight.

Instead, this book is empty. It promises a "secret," almost Gnostic, knowledge of the inner-game of MLM, but never delivers.

It certainly leaves the reader hungry for more; but hungry because there was no food in the first place.

This book, instead, permitted Fogg to craft for himself a self-styled persona of "networking expert," with his finger on the pulse beat of the industry. What Dexter Yager did with Amway, Fogg tried to do with the industry as a whole. Take a look at his greatestnetwork community. (Yager, to his credit however, actually built a downline. I don't think Fogg can say the same.)

The Emperor has no clothes. There is little, in anything, in this book which is new or thought provoking. It gives the appearance of substance, but appearances are deceiving.

John Milton Fogg - The Greatest Networker in the World : The story that has changed the lives of millions Now it can change yours!

Entertaining but not instructive

This book tends to get rave reviews among network marketers. I'm not surprised simply because the book is one of the few such stories available about MLM. But, if you asked this book to stand by itself alongside other success fables like "The Instant Millionaire" by Mark Fisher.....I'm not sure it can hold it's own.

The other issue is that many people promote the book as a "how to book disguised as a fable". But, it's not. If someone were really looking for nuts-and-bolts training on how to build a network marketing business, they would not find it here.

The book is essentially the story of a young networker who's frustrated with his business and is about to quit. He meets a famous and wealthy network marketer at a hotel meeting who invites him to come to his mansion so he can "show you how this business works".

The young man arrives and is led through what is (apparently) the author's ideal setting for wealth: horses, pastures, guest rooms, Japanese baths, a Japanese maid, peacocks and a Sam-Walton-style pickup truck that the Greatest Networker claims is his favorite vehicle.

In fact, this is the bulk of the book: the young man's exposure to the life he's looking for. And that's no bad thing. It's quite motivational. I particularly enjoyed the "movie scene" where the young man is instructed to visualize his ideal life. It's a good exercise for prosperity.

But, the one thing that this book is NOT is a "how to" book on building a downline. There's absolutely no information given on how to actually work the business. It's almost as if the author got side-tracked from his topic of MLM and started writing a book on prosperity and positive thinking. While those are certainly factors that need to be considered, anyone buying this book expecting it to be a "how to book disquised as a fable" is going to be sorely disappointed.

Also, it's worth noting that many MLM books seem to be written by those who have very little experience in actually building a large, dynamically-growing downline. This author is well-known in the industry as a speaker, author and commentator....but he's been candid enough to concede that he's never actually built a large income in MLM. If this book is intended to be a "how to" book, it's for that reason alone, I couldn't give this book five stars.

But, if you're involved in network marketing, you should definitely have a copy. It's nice to have a motivational novel about our industry. So, it'll be a good addition to your MLM library.

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