Polaris Global, a leader in network marketing and home-based businesses, is urging its members and all entrepreneurs to follow a strict code of ethics while building their business.

Polaris is trying to change the perceptions of network marketing, also known in the industry as multi-level marketing, through its honest and ethical business practices.

Polaris’s leaders believe following good business practices will result in a stronger and better industry.

– June 08, 2010 Press release for Polaris Global.

When we, as an individual or company, conduct business with a third party there’s a certain level of trust involved.

During the transaction, whether it be for electronics, a book, advice or personal development courses, certain personal details are exchanged and we as the consumers often take it for granted that our details will be kept private.

For the most part the world’s business’ strictly enforce their privacy policies because they know that if caught losing or trading their customer’s information – it’s a surefire way to also lose a ton of business.

Not so for Polaris Global. Well, at least not for founder Gregory Strom whose ethics undoubtedly hit a new rock bottom recently.

I was contacted by one of the businesses I’d interacted with recently with a somewhat puzzling dilemma. They’d received an information request from Gregory Strom and whilst they were under no circumstances entertaining the request, weren’t exactly sure how to respond.

The email (published with permission) went as follows;

Hi XXX.

I saw a nice write up on the web site of that Aussie who is living in Taiwan.

Do you know who I am speaking about? I hope so. I don’t remember his name or where you might have sent him the product.

Would like to learn more when you have the chance.

Thanks so much in advance.

Greg Strom

(contact email removed)
Cell: (contact cell removed)

Let me put this information request into context for you. One of Polaris Global’s listed founders, Gregory Strom, has contacted an independent third party with the hope of them giving up personal details on a private individual.

Ethics, what ethics?

What’s more worrying from this latest development is that Gregory Strom is credited with ‘most recently (producing) all media for Polaris Global‘.

By ‘all media‘ one can only assume we’re talking not only about the documentaries Polaris produces, but also that Strom has had input into their personal development course, Beyond Freedom.

Clearly Strom, and by a great association Polaris Global aren’t really fussed about following any code of ethics, let alone respecting and protecting their customer’s personal details and privacy.

How could they when they’re running around asking other businesses to do the same?

Regarding the email itself, it’s quite cryptic how Strom presents the information request as knowledge. The phrase ‘would like to learn more when you have the chance‘ is quite open ended and one can only wonder what Strom is offering.

I don’t imagine he’s naive enough to put out a request believing businesses will comply without anything in return.

I guess it comes down to what your customer’s privacy is really worth. I certainly couldn’t put a dollar amount on it, but I bet Gregory Strom could.

When people talk about their company’s ethics and the leader’s professional conduct and integrity, this is the stuff they don’t want you to see. This is the stuff that usually goes on behind the scenes, behind MLM that nobody is meant to see.

No doubt I’m being hunted down as my coverage of Polaris Global since it was known as Liberty League has been anything less then favourable. Still, I believe the individual has a right to criticise and review any business opportunity they see fit.

And with practices like this coming from Polaris Global founders like Gregory Strom, is it any wonder that when it comes to Polaris Global the discussion is almost always negative?