“Amway was founded on the belief that, by helping people improve their lives, they could make the world a better place.”

So begins the message from our Chairman Steve Van Andel and our President Doug DeVos in the Amway 2012 Global Corporate Social Responsibility Report released today.

The annual report highlights the many ways our company, its more than 21,000 employees and more than 3 million distributors make a difference in the lives of others.

That includes building homes in Latin America, providing water filters in Haiti, building libraries in China and adopting schools right here in the hometown of our World Headquarters.

Corporate Social Responsibility is built into everything we do: our people, our products and our performance.

 Steve and Doug credit their fathers for recognizing the potential in this business for making a difference.

“They made it their mission to be more, do more, give more. And more than a half-century later, we’re still emulating their powerful example. … We’re awed by how far we’ve come and inspired to keep becoming more, together.”

Read the full report here.

On Monday the New England Journal of Medicine published findings from a new study on the Mediterranean Diet. The study found that people who ate a Mediterranean diet that included fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts and olive oil were at a lower risk for heart disease.  In fact, according to the New York Times, the magnitude of the diet’s benefits startled experts.  

It’s not surprising that a diet of fruits, vegetables and nutrient dense foods has positive health effects. Yet global dietary patterns suggest that people are lacking in dietary variety and are getting their nutrients – especially phytonutrients – from a very limited number of plant based foods.  

If you like the idea of the Mediterranean Diet, there is no shortage of recipes available that leverage the fresh produce, healthy grains, lean white meat and seafood that make it so healthy. Eating in this style will help you get more of the nutrients your body needs, which is a good recipe for Optimal Health.

At Nutrilite we believe in taking a “whole foods” first approach to your diet, making sure you are eating a variety of fruits and vegetables. But we know it’s often difficult to get the nutrients you need from your diet alone, which is why phytonutrient supplementation can help you fill in any gaps.

The Marketing and Consumer Packaged Goods Club at Harvard Business School had a powerhouse of speakers come to its recent Marketing Innovation Conference, including General Mills CMO Mark Addicks and ESPN CEO John Skipper.

Amway was honored to have our very own Mike Edwards invited to participate in a panel discussion about social media and ROI.

Edwards, Amway’s director of digital and experiential marketing, served on the panel with Jan Rezab of Socialbakers, Ken Mah of Danaher and Seth Diamond of Catapult RPM. The panel spoke in front of a crowd of about 50 Harvard Business School students.

Rather than identifying the shortest line between “likes” and profit, the discussion focused more on strategy and purpose. Edwards said social media at Amway is key for crowdsourcing innovation.

“It’s tremendous, and it’s proprietary for us,” he said.

That is one of the things that drives strategy, he said. He also commented on what doesn’t drive strategy.

“Getting fans and likes is not a strategy,” he said. “And planning your strategy based on content going viral is like planning your retirement based on winning the lotto.”

Panel members agreed that the definition of ROI in social media needs to be broadened.

“Social is about driving aspiration,” Diamond said.

The participants did not limit their topic to social media. After the official panel was over, they shared lunch with the business students where discussions turned to lofty matters of the Chinese economy, Indian infrastructure and issues in Pakistan. 

Combine that with their tour of campus and you could say the Amway team got a pretty nice Harvard education. Check out a photo album from the trip at our Amway Facebook page.

To Vivian Yuan and Christy Xin, fireworks are flowers of flame floating in the night sky.

Vivian and Christy, who are on assignment from China at Amway World Headquarters, agreed to share that poetic perspective as a preview to the Amway-sponsored 4th of July Family Fireworks celebration Wednesday in Grand Rapids.

Their observations?

Meaning: In Chinese, “fireworks” translates to flowers of flame. In English, it is art works of fire.

History: Fireworks are a blend of ancient science, modern technology, infinite imagination and beautiful wishes. They originated in China over a thousand years ago, and were introduced to the Western world in the 19th century.

Moments: Fireworks are associated with breath-taking moments all over the world. Examples include the July 4th fireworks in the U.S., the fireworks of the walking gigantic footprints at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony and fireworks over Sydney Harbour in Australia on New Year’s Eve.

Wherever these events take place, these “blooming flowers” in the sky create happiness reflected through the smiles on our faces, say Vivian and Christy.

We look forward to sharing that happiness with our friends and neighbors in West Michigan this week.

It’s been more than a decade since Amway launched the Executive Speaker Series, where interns can hear and learn from our most senior leaders about what it’s like to work here.

The series is unquestionably the highlight of our summer internship at World Headquarters.

Many of us are attracted to Amway because it’s a great place to work and has a strong global presence. But we also have this incredible access to Amway’s top leaders.

Recently, 100 interns gathered to meet the first of this series’ seven presenters: Amway President Doug DeVos. “We all have special gifts to contribute,” said Doug. “But success is not simple. It’s hard work.”

Not too many interns can say they met the president of their organization. But now we can say we did. Interns left the event feeling inspired and ready to face their internship head-on.

Stay tuned for future blog posts on the Executive Speaker Series. Our next speaker is Dr. Sam Rehnborg, president of the Nutrilite Health Institute.

Amway Co-Founder Rich DeVos was inducted into the Direct Selling Association (DSA) Hall of Fame in 1979. That year, Trivial Pursuit was launched as a board game and Blondie and the Bee Gees topped the U.S. musical charts. Two of Rich’s sons, Dick and Doug, were in their teens and 20s.

Yesterday, Dick and Doug also took their place among those who’ve dedicated the most time, effort and devotion to our industry. The Hall of Fame Award honors individuals who have given significant years of service and have made considerable contributions to DSA, Direct Selling Educational Foundation (DSEF), and the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations; and have shown commitment to the future of the entire sales channel.

It is considered the industry’s highest honor, but it wasn’t the evening’s only acknowledgement.

The DSA also bestowed, for only the second time in history, its Lifetime Achievement Award. It was given to Rich for the remarkable contributions that he, along with Jay Van Andel, have made to the industry over the years.

DSA President Joe Mariano fittingly ended the evening’s celebration with these words: “May we all continue to change lives, make the world a better place, and inspire entrepreneurs – the dreamers and the doers who move our industry forward and keep it strong.” At Amway, we certainly plan to. After all: Like father, like sons.

For centuries, the tea house has been a key element of a Japanese garden.

It’s a tranquil place. Before you enter, you cleanse your face and hands to symbolically check your cares and worries at the door. 

It’s a harmonious place, where you meet with friends, receive special tea and cake, and enjoy your time together. 

It’s also a familiar place for our recent guests at Amway World Headquarters, who participated in the Georgetown University Leadership Program, supported by Amway Japan and The Japan Times.

They were excited to learn that a tea house is planned for the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, as part of The Richard and Helen DeVos Japanese Garden. Construction for the project begins in 2013.

During a preview and personal tour of the future garden site, they shared their stories and suggestions for the first official tea ceremony with David Hooker, president and CEO at Frederik Meijer Gardens.

Already new friendships are starting to blossom.

When we say we’re a company built on values, we mean it.

Freedom. Family. Hope. Reward.

Those are our Founders’ Fundamentals that are embedded, literally, in stone in front of our World Headquarters in Ada, Michigan.

These principles, along with our corporate values and mission, provide a solid foundation for all our business operations, from our dealings with distributors to the leadership positions our executives hold within their communities.

To find out how, inspired by our values, we collectively improve the world around us, read our Corporate Citizenship Report.

Or watch this video of Amway Chairman Steve Van Andel and President Doug DeVos discussing what the Founders’ Fundamentals mean to our organization.

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In their pre-Amway days, Co-Founders Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos embarked on a sailing trip to the Caribbean. They didn’t let the fact that neither of them knew how to sail stop them from their wanderlust.

Well, the boat sank in the waters off Cuba, but one of the things salvaged was the boat’s bell, which Amway Chairman Steve Van Andel will talk about in his May 2 speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C.

“It’s something I keep right outside my office at Amway’s headquarters as a constant reminder of Dad and Rich’s sense of adventure and willingness to take on new challenges,” Steve says. “These were two guys not easily deterred by hard work or rejection.”

Steve will highlight the importance of that adventurous spirit when he visits the Chamber. It will be a familiar venue for him. He has served on the Chamber board since 1996, is a past chairman and currently serves as treasurer.

Our guest blogger is social media consultant Cami Reister.

Amway President Doug DeVos and former Amway President Dick DeVos will receive our industry’s highest honor when they are inducted into the Direct Selling Association (DSA) Hall of Fame in June.

The induction during the DSA Annual Meeting will recognize the far-reaching impact these second-generation Amway leaders have had on direct selling.

Both have served as chairman of the DSA board of directors. Dick has been chairman of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) and Doug was previously chair of the Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF), earning that organization’s Circle of Honor Award in 2009. Doug is currently treasurer of WFDSA.

 “The leadership and vision Dick and Doug DeVos have provided to the Direct Selling Association over many years made their induction into the DSA Hall of Fame an obvious choice. The tireless efforts of both of these extraordinary men to serve the interests of not only Amway, but the entire direct selling community, has been a source of inspiration,” said DSA President Joseph Mariano in a news release announcing the honor.

Amway Co-Founders Rich DeVos and the late Jay Van Andel were inducted into the DSA Hall of Fame in 1979 and 1987, respectively.