Remembering What’s Timeless With Amway CEO Michael Nelson

Long before he was CEO of Amway, Michael Nelson started in the company as a project intern. Over the next 35 years, he rose through the ranks of the business and saw lots of changes in the marketplace. He soon discovered that the key to navigating these fluctuations was maintaining an ability to adapt and embrace change. But how does one do that successfully? 

Simple, Nelson says: Honor what is enduring about your business and let everything else be open to reinvention. “When you look at what your organization does and stands for,” Nelson says on a recent episode of the Corporate Competitor Podcast, “look at it in two categories: timeless values, things that shouldn’t change, and everything else, which is available for change.”

A company’s timeless values are its core tenets. They are immutable, written in stone. But everything else? The CEO said that’s where leaders can take advantage of things like research, data and studying their competitors in order to improve. “You have to bring clarity to your foundation,” says Nelson. “Here are the values that we have. These are the things that are timeless.” He adds: “Beyond that…you better be adaptable to what’s happening in the world.”

Today, Amway boasts more than 14,000 employees and a presence in 100 countries. And Nelson’s story is a remarkable example of growth within the organization. But nothing came to him or the company via stagnation. “If you’re not able to be adaptable to change,” Nelson says, “you’re likely to be extinct pretty quickly. You really do need to have that ability to identify what are the opportunities and then understand how you evolve.”

Nelson shared more business insights during the podcast, including:

• Raise your hand. Those who do climb the ladder faster. “I was always a curious person,” Nelson said. “I loved learning new things. And so when opportunities would become available, I was always first to raise my hand.”

• Leadership requires time away from daily operations. Every leader needs margin in their schedules. What Nelson loves to do with his is run. That provides time for him to think, pray and craft messaging. As a dedicated marathon runner, he believes in the power of sport to inspire. 

• Don’t create a culture where people are panicked to fail. While Nelson believes a company’s successes should always be celebrated, he also said that its failures can be, too. Sometimes it’s the swings and misses that actually lead to important lessons. 

Ultimately, Nelson’s 35-year journey with Amway highlights his adaptability and eagerness to learn. He views change not as a threat, but as a new opportunity for growth. And he believes leadership means moving beyond established comfort zones. “A company has to ask itself, are you happy with the culture and the values that you have within the organization?” Nelson says. “Do you want individuals retaining those values?”