The Next Change: What Are Publishers Worth?

by metatron 11 Replies latest jw friends

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  metatron

  Once upon a time, I invested in an electronics company that increased its profits by over 200% by reducing its customer base! This counter-intuitive result came about because they realized that most of their revenue came from a few customers who needed more support.

  Fast forward to the Watchtower: whether they admit it to themselves or not, change will come because they are piling up huge numbers of publishers that are almost useless. Worse, they eat up published resources without contributing for them...... and they drag the organization down in multiple ways and create more problems.

  They have a "growing" problem - with increasingly useless growth. The Solution? Screw the publishers. Sell off their branch offices, assembly halls and kingdom halls for hard cash. Reduce literature and magazines. Dump Bethelites.

  Eventually, you will see Watchtowers reflect a sort of 'cult within a cult' attitude. Lots of upbrading and judgemental stuff about being "really" faithful. You may very well see fewer elders as they get more selective, realizing that they can get the same "income" with fewer publishers. If they keep growing, so be it - but that growth will not be underwritten as it was in the past.

  metatron
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  baltar447

  Interesting thought.
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  MrFreeze

  How can they judge which pubs are "worth" anything? Unless they fill out a form saying how much they donate or something...
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  Gayle

  interesting,, free laborers of just sitting around or just walking around,,not 'worth' much. On the other hand, to ask for a tithing, won't work because paying for 'boring' or chastisement won't be very successful either.
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  Amelia Ashton

  How can they judge which pubs are "worth" anything? Unless they fill out a form saying how much they donate or something...

  We paid by direct debit so they would know.
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  DesirousOfChange

  Fast forward to the Watchtower: whether they admit it to themselves or not, change will come because they are piling up huge numbers of publishers that are almost useless. Worse, they eat up published resources without contributing for them...... and they drag the organization down in multiple ways and create more problems.

  Which is why I have wondered why the WTSGB doesn't just declare a moratorium and let everyone out who wants out. Why maintain the hardline on those who leave without making a stink about it?? Let them go!! Don't those people just give JWs a bad name?? Aren't they the ones who fail to maintain the JW morals, etc?? And why? Because of WT rules they are forced to live "double lives" -- one being they life they choose, the other being the "WT Image" in order to keep communication open with family & friends.
  
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  Mickey mouse

  The Watchtower is hard hearted just like Pharaoh. No one likes to lose slaves.
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  Nathan Natas

  Yes, a realization of the old "80-20 rule," which in this case would state that 80% of the Watchtower's wealth comes from 20% of its membership.*

  They would be wise to start a major reduction-in-force immediately, but the WTB&TS is seldom wise, faithful or discreet.

  *A corollary of this would be that 80% of the problems of the WTB&TS come from 20% of their membership. The WTB&TS assumes that this troublesome 20% are the "apostates," but actually, the troublesome ones are the unproductive and inactive "almost-faithful" hangers-on who drag everybody down with their whining, complaining and being "stumbled" all the time. Get rid of those ZEROS and restore some pep to the org.

  If any of the WTB&TS management team knew anything about business, they would have realized this a long time ago.
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  Lion Cask

  Interesting thought, indeed. I did a lot of this sort of thing for a few years working on assignment with a management outfit called Mckinsey and Company and I am certain that you are directionally right. There must be millions of dollars in low hanging fruit in the Watchtower Corporation but capturing them may be beyond the Society's ability or determination. Mckinsey's formula is well tested and successful. They employ the brightest of the bright MBA grads from the best business schools, pay them very well and expect them to work their asses off. Their motto is "up or out", which means you either keep progressing and contributing or you have to leave. There are no sacred cows allowed. They go in, they find out what's wrong and then they fix it, sometimes leaving bodies in their wake. This is the kind of bloody minded determination and honest introspection it takes to turn big opportunities into cash and from what I see in the WTS they don't have it, and it is unlikely they'd bring in outside expertise to do it for them.
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  Giordano

  I think they are doing it. Closing branches and 'laying off' bethelites in other countries has started. They're printing empire is no longer financially successful thanks to tax laws and the threat of Gov. lawsuits.

  When they vacate Brooklyn they will get rid of a thousand or more bethelites.

  While they get ready to sell off a ton of expensive real estate, which will take time, they'll live off of donations as long as they can while their investments grow ......... think endowment fund. Hence the iron glove at the throat of the congregations. Fear works......... but they are pretty good at hiding the iron fist in a velvet glove.

  My guess is that have a twenty year plan in place maybe a little longer. Forget about Armageddon, I don't even think the society see's any light at the end of that self made tunnel.

  Here's what I think they know. They've peaked. Most of their growth probably comes from born-ins and 67% of born-ins leave.

  The old generation and a few more are dying, whose going to be left?

  The society is going 'Fordlandia'

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordl%C3%A2ndia

  they are going to try and create the new world in upstate New York.....good luck with that.