This is a report of a very recent visit to Scientology Phoenix Org by someone I knew in the CMO and SO. Frankly, he gives them a lot more benefit of the doubt than I may have, but still, if this is an Ideal Org and this is how David Miscavige plans to “clear the planet” the proverbial snowball in hell is great odds by comparison. Mike Rinder
Personally wanting to see what an ideal org looks like, I decided to visit Phoenix org. I haven’t been in an org since leaving the CMO and the SO in 1990, before the conception of the ideal org campaign. Back then, the push was St. Hill Size. Period. Having watched the evolution of defectors, along with the subsequent blogs and media coverage, I’ve been curious to see the expansion, or lack thereof, myself. Obviously, visiting one org may or may not be indicative of the whole, but, it is a start.
As for my visit to Phx org, let me start off by saying this: the ONLY thing I found to be close to ideal is the building itself. And, even there exists a departure from the ideal scene: HCO is in a different building from the rest of the org. Now, maybe that’s not a huge deal, but my thought on this is: if you’re going to spend a boatload of parishioner’s money on what should be ideal, shouldn’t you find a building that is truly ideal? It would be one thing if every other aspect of the building (location, visibility, etc) were ideal and that was the only departure, but that’s not the case.
First of all, if it wasn’t for my GPS, I would have had a difficult time locating the org. Even with my GPS, I passed the building, as when I was getting close I started looking for signage. I didn’t see any, passed the building and turned around, only to then see a small sandwich board type sign that welcomed everyone to come in for either a stress test or personality test. There is a Church of Scientology sign in front of the building, but it’s not visible unless you are looking directly at the building, which is difficult when you are driving, and it is small enough to be fairly easily missed. The sign would be sufficient, I suppose, if one were walking past the building. However, the building is in an extremely residential area with little to no foot traffic. To the best of my knowledge, the neighborhood is middle to upper middle class…the western most part of the Arcadia neighborhood, for anyone familiar with the Phoenix area. And, while the yards are beautiful, there is no bustling of activity around the org whatsoever.
I took a picture of the building from the parking lot with a similar perspective to the photo taken when the org was dedicated as an ideal org (which I pulled from the org’s website). The first thing I observed was a dearth of cars in the parking lot. My first thought was, well, it is Sunday morning, which, in my experience, is a typically slow time for all orgs. However, as will become apparent as you continue reading this, the vast majority of these cars very likely belonged to the staff.
I entered the reception area around 11:30 am and told the receptionist that I had been public in England and was in the process of moving to Tucson and that I understood Phoenix was my closest org and that I would like a tour. The receptionist told me that Sunday service was going on and that as soon as it was over, which would be within 10 minutes, someone would be able to give me a tour. I was then pointed towards the huge Div 6 new public area and was told I could wait there and look around.
The Div 6 area reminds me of a high tech modern museum with numerous high def TVs, each of which, I believe, will play intro movies for new public. It was very clean and well kept, although most of the overhead and display lights were off and the TVs were off…just as I noticed that, a staff member came into the space and started turning on the TVs and lights while complaining that someone else was supposed to have done that first thing in the morning and that he didn’t know why it hadn’t been done.
There were absolutely no public in the space, which added to the whole quiet museum vibe.
Tucked away into one of the corners of that space is the LRH office. Now, correct me if I’m wrong (remember, it’s been 23 years since I left the SO), but I believe LRH’s office is supposed to be more centrally/prominently located in the org. In any event, it was a nice office, clean, well furnished – just not a prominent focus point of the building.
I milled around for a few minutes until a staff member approached me (I will not give his/her name nor post, as I do not want any specific individual to be harassed or put through any kind of ethics handling when this write up gets viewed by Scientology management – but I will refer to the staff member, for the sake of simplicity, as a “he.”) and introduced himself. I again gave my shore story and he said he’d be very happy to give me a tour.
He was quick to point out that there had been a huge event the night before – he called it an alliance event. Now, having read about alliance events on this blog, I was familiar with the concept, but I played dumb. He was very proud that Phoenix org hosted the event (he said that Phx hosted because it is an ideal org and the largest of the three orgs), comprised of Phoenix, Las Vegas orgs and Albuquerque org. I asked what the purpose was and he said it was to raise money so that Albuquerque org could become an ideal org. He said they raised $275,000 at the event. I just acknowledged this, though I was and am very skeptical of this amount, given the small size of the Phx org – and, if it truly is the largest of the orgs in this alliance, what does that say about the size of Albuquerque and LV?
It appears that Class V orgs (I am assuming that’s what they are still called) now have uniforms (or, maybe it’s just ideal orgs?). Blue pants/skirts and white shirts for the ladies. Blue pants, white shirts and a tie for the men. Most of the women looked pretty disheveled. Not one of the men had buttoned their collar nor properly knotted and tightened their ties. Maybe the shirts aren’t the right size?
I asked and was told there are about 60 staff total. My guide told me that there are roughly 35 day staff and 25 foundation staff, which led me to believe that Phoenix org had been divided into two orgs, day and foundation. He was most proud of the fact that there was a full time nanny to care for the staffs’ kids and public kids.
When we walked past the two org boards (one for day and one for foundation), I did not see evidence of nearly that many staff. Now, to be fair, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time looking at the org boards and counting staff and it is certainly possible that they hadn’t printed and posted the dymo tapes for each staff member, but I only observed roughly 10 staff members at the org during my tour, which included every space with the exception of HCO.
The org furnishings remind me of Ikea. I’m not saying they are from Ikea, but they are Spartan modern. Regardless of taste for style (I personally don’t care for the Ikea look), the most noticeable aspect was that the furnishings look new and unused (the org was declared “ideal” in July 2012, so there’s been 9 months to use the furnishings) and almost as if they were just there for show – you know, how someone will put furniture in an empty house that is for sale to try to make it look lived in.
There were 3-4 public in the main Academy course room. I am not sure how many were Div 6 public and how many were Div 4 public, as I was told that the Div 6 supervisor is double hatted as the Purif I/C, so when there are people on the purif during Foundation, they are put in with the Div 4 public in the Academy. (Side note: If there were really 25 Fdn staff, wouldn’t those two delivery posts be single hatted?)
I was told there were two HGC sessions in progress, but I did not see anyone in the HGC at all – staff or public. The empty auditing rooms that I did see looked like they were never used. I believe there was someone on the purif, as there was a staff member in the purif area when we walked through, but they must have been in the sauna. I was also told there were 4 people enrolled in the intro Dianetics Seminar for the weekend. I did not see them.
Sunday Service was going on when I got there. We went through the chapel right after it ended….it appeared there were 4-5 public and as many staff attending the Sunday Service.
When we walked through a somewhat narrow hallway, there was an OIC board and I looked at some of the stats….it was hard to read them as the print outs looked like they were using an old ribbon printer that needed a new ribbon. The GI seems to be about $2-4000 per week and VSD about $4000 per week. FHS was zero. I could have memorized more stats, I suppose, but I was really taken aback by the fact that I could not find any separate stats for Day and Fdn, though there were separate org boards for Day and Fdn. I asked my guide if the stats were a combination of Day and Fdn and he admitted that to be the case, quickly telling me that they just don’t produce enough to separate the stats but they will be able to one day. (In the past few days, I had a conversation with a couple of former CLO WUS execs who told me that Phoenix was always just been a single, full-time org. As I’ve dug through my memory, I seem to recall that that’s the case. What doesn’t add up, however, is why there are two org boards…I don’t seem to recall any policies or advices that prescribe staffing a day and a fdn when the org is a single org. But, then again, maybe I have an MU. On the other hand, I do know for sure that combining a Day and Foundation org into one org is a Suppressive Act, as laid out by LRH. So, if the orgs were separated out at one time and now have been combined….well, you get the picture.)
I do know one thing for sure: when I was in the CMO in the 1980s, I had significant familiarity with WUS Class 5 orgs and their stats. Phoenix org was certainly no smaller then than it is now. And, in fact, I believe it was somewhat bigger – at least on the basis of GI and VSD. One thing is for sure: there’s been virtually NO expansion in Phoenix and, quite likely, a significant contraction. This is despite the fact that Phoenix’s population has grown by 50% since 1990.
I was introduced to a staff member who told me she’d been on staff for 2 ½ years and was very excited that she was going to get to start on the Bridge, as she was starting the purif next week. Wow. 2 ½ years on staff and not yet on the Bridge?
My guide was really excited about the new building and how it had contributed to their expansion. He said that before July 2012, they only had 14 staff and were in an office building in the downtown area of Phoenix. He told me about the history of their interest in the building over the years and how their dream of being able to be in this building became a reality during the recent real estate bubble crash. There was a lot of pride in the building … I actually heard more about the building than I did about any kind of services success. Just goes to show the old adage is correct: you get what you push.
No one ever asked me for my last name, asked for an address or for any kind of contact information. As I was leaving, my guide did ask if I had signed their guest book and entered my information. I said that I hadn’t, but that I planned to be back the following week on Saturday (which was my intention, though I did not end up making it back to the org). With that, I left.
As I was driving away, I felt a reflective sadness. This Phoenix “ideal org” is anything but ideal, yet, at least from my guide, the impression I got was that they think they are ideal because they have a nice building. Granted, this was but one visit on a Sunday morning to a single org, but if this is any indication (and, from the other reports I see on this blog, I believe it is) of the broader scene, there is no expansion going on except, possibly, church coffers AKA SOR (Sea Org Reserves) through Miscavige’s real estate acquisition plan and IAS scams.
I got into Scientology 40 years ago. I haven’t had a problem with it in all of my years. The material on Mike and Leah’s show has a lot of negative material that I have never personally witnessed in Scientology. Scientology is very powerful and I have had many spiritual experiences since my experience with Scientology, since I was of 18 years of age. These spiritual experiences have proven to me that there is more to life than the physical body. I have received back from Scientology with this knowledge far more than I could have ever given Scientology in the 1st place.
Take a look at where the truth is where the fire is the biggest in the media on this planet Earth. (It wasn’t until Bush pushed the Iraq War with those crazy “suicide bombers” that I was motivated to read the Koran. – A lot of smoke and fire before the war! … Now, look at the truth the U.S. people found out there and the so-called “WMD’s – Weapons of Mass Destruction”.) How about the Scientology Freedom magazine’s interview with the coroner of Jonestown Guiana? – (There were only 400+ bodies originally when he toured the Jones’ compound the 1st time. (Google the interview, though it will take quite a search with all of the Google and Facebook censoring going on these days.)
There is a lot to Scientology and those who practice discernment will look (really examine) the material to find out what it is really about. Scientology is a mighty endeavor. Hats off to Hubbard, my man. Thanks again. … There is a great amount of fire and smoke that follow this religion just as great fire, smoke, and condemnation has always followed something good and worthwhile on this planet.
All the best of luck on your new show Leah! Keep the show coming. (The better all of us do, then the better we will all ultimately get along in the end. Love is in the end. ‘And in the end, the love you get is equal to the love you give,’ – Paul McCartney So, I do pray you are both materially wealthy Mike, Leah, & those connected to you folks. Have all have what you most want and postulate out of life and living.
But Mike and Leah; where do people go to realize their spiritual potential? – Can you help out with more of that part in your future escapades and shenanigans?!? Thanks.
They should just move back to the building they were in over in Mesa back in the 1990s. It’s empty again (I drive by it when I go to/from work). It sounds like that would suit their needs just fine.
Your report rings all too typical and we can certainly “read between the lines” as we know how the shore story becomes the new “reality”? “…60 staff…”? I would guess they are counting PART-TIME & even volunteer staff.. I mean hey.. if ya got someone who does a few sessions a week, ya gotta count them as a “staff member”, right? (With the added benefit that you don’t have to pay “volunteer” staff!) A real eye-opener is hearing 2.5 yrs. to START any auditing? Whats that suggest about people tech trained staff?
I imagine, (not unlike in the 60’s even?).. that they are content if they can pay the building expenses! Just imagine the electric bill to cool a “BIG new building”??? In Florida.. cooling 3500 sq.ft will run $400-500/mo. So for an even larger building? Answer? at least $600-1,000-1,500/ or more/month?) The only “plus point” from the “empty orgs” is hopefully that IF/WHEN sanity ever does return… (Ok… so show me that “deed for the Brooklyn Bridge” I am interested in buying!)…. that maybe the producers of delivered Scn tech will have a place to move into? Ian Waxler, Cl. 8 C/S
PS A friend who did a ‘walk-thro’ of ASHO back a year or so was all but ignored as they toured the mostly empty building… even the receptionist ! (Any chance ‘VFP’ has been deleted from all admin training? …forget about staff completions of Volume 0?)
Excellent Obs, thank you for the report, it makes me sad as well as to what it has become.
Just a thought – maybe if we had more “Undercover operatives” the CO$ would be afraid of new people and stop their Div 6 activities. I don’t want to see anyone more financially raked.
According to the RTC’s web site list of orgs (2008), Phoenix didn’t have separate day and foundation orgs.
Pasadena (PASA)
Phoenix (PHX)
Portland Day (PTLD)
Portland Foundation (PTLF)
Sacramento (SAC)
Salt Lake City (SLC)
San Diego (SD)
San Francisco Day (SFOD)
San Francisco Foundation (SFOF)
You get what you postulate. They are not postulating free beings based on their on their knowledge and skill of application.
They are postulating MEST and praying that Dave will make the MEST key people out so they will be able to keep their nice MEST and make their donation quotas.
Not my group. Not my game.
Les
Agree, Les. They’re getting what they postulate. Not my game either.
And thanks to the writer of this report!
To Mike and “the person I knew in the CMO and SO”
This is a great report and very interesting to me and those I know who are looking.
Your reporter has a nice way of flicking from a mental ideal to an existing scene, observing a stream of data, noting alignments and misalignments. Data series trained. He has a sense of art in what he sees. An accomplished person. Very cool.
I assume Phoenix has, along with others, received comm to get writers to the new “TV” Channel network being recruited for. Do you know much about that evolution Mike? I would love to get some dope on that. It seems DM is forging on regardless of actual progress in his churches. The mind boggles.
Phoenix seems a harmonic of the Joburg org you featured recently. Very interesting.
As an aside, I discovered one more new independent thinker today. Yay!
Greenonwhite.
Copied from earlier email to Mike, but similar topic –
Mike, I would like to follow-up about your post today concerning libraries. Although not a Scientologist, I became interested in LRH and Scientology after reading Lawrence Wright’s book, and have since read Jon Atack’s new edition, as well as Janet Reitman’s book. I’m fascinated by the story, and saddened by it as well. I’m glad you have escaped the corporate structure….anyway –
I also now own brand a new set of the “basics,” and a brand new set of the recently released, and quite lavish “LRH biography series.” I also have about 20 cd sets of lectures. The basics and the cd sets were purchased at a library sale here in San Antonio. They were unopened, sent sometime last year straight from Bridge Publications. It cost me $20, and I think they would have taken less. The biography series was also purchased for $20, at a different sale. Everything was shrink-wrapped.
I attend library sales several times a year, and will usually see unopened LRH and Scientology materials.
Thanks for reporting jl02. The fact that you got all those basic books and 20 sets of lectures for $20 is very revealing. I hope lots of Scientologists see your comment here about the library sale you attended.
It is sad, the staff member having to appear enthusiastic while giving a tour. When he probably knows something is not right. Hopefully some staff will find their way to this website.
Very well written summation of what is going on in PHX. today. After you did the CGI analysis Mike, it reminded me of when I was running the mission. My X and I paid the bills out of our own personal funds and I can’t tell you how many times I bought books. Books make booms!! Yea, it exploded the Mission right off of the planet.
‘Interesting’ wasn’t the word that came to mind for me when I read that – two orgs sharing one set of stats? For anyone with any kind of experience in a Class V or service org – and particularly one operating a Day and Fdn staff – you’ll no doubt understand how patently insane that actually is. In fact, you don’t need to have been staff to see that – a rudimentary understanding of statistics and condition formulas will tell you that too. How on earth do the individual staff members of each org apply a condition to their stats each week? Unless, of course, they do in fact keep separate stats but report them to management on a combined OIC cable each week. In which case, how on earth does CLO manage them? I really don’t think they’re in Kansas anymore…..
Good write up, it really gives the scene as it is. He also perceived that the emphasis was placed on the building, the TVs and no mention of trained auditors, or Grades Completions, or Clears, or..or..
That is the sadness of it all, just buildings and no Scientology delivery- altered importance amongst other outpoints.
Great reporting. I really like this on the ground report of what is seen in the here and now. Very effective.
Thanks for this report! Undercover operatives from Arizona have told me the same kinds of things but the information was piecemeal and not done with the perspective of improper/off-policy/unworkable. What I would like to see in future reports from the Orgs of Ideal-olotry is a checklist comparing what they saw against what the LRH ED about THE IDEAL ORG says its supposed to be. After all, THE IDEAL ORG is shoved under donors’ noses during the donation phase…was that product achieved?
P.S. By the way, given the number of staff in the org, the description provided sounded like more like a Mission instead of an Org. Except for how much furniture there was. So twenty-first century “expansion” must be in terms of “DOLLARS SPENT AT IKEA”. Not in terms of AUDITORS MADE.
wow…Ideal Alliance Morgues – the scamming never stops!
Scientology’s new scam – MMMM – Marry Morgues for More Money – is what they should call it…LOL!
Interesting… Day Org & Foundation Org Org Board, yet ONE OIC. The same was the case in Berlin (at least until last year, but I don´t think it´s different today). Never came to my mind that this had been wrong…
Thanks for the data!
I wonder when this all will really collapse under its own weight. I wonder if anyone even bothers to figure out in advance the costs of running an Ideal Org once it is opened, what would have to be produced to support those running costs (including the promise of a decent living wage for staff) and what it would take to produce what would be needed to actually produce what would be required, taking into account that a sizeable chunk of staff hours are devoted to activities that would bring back little or nothing to the org, such as all hands call-in for endless events, all hands regging for book donations, all hands regging for the IAS, etc. It is inconceivable such planning and budgeting could possible be being done, given the results. The cause of that is either irremediable incompetence or deliberate organizational sabotrage, or a combination of both.
1. Question to those who know details of “org” finances: if GI is less than VSD, does that mean that public are using money on deposit for courses faster than they are generating new cash? If that is a trend across the RCS, then a big source of cash reserves (unused deposits) is being diluted. I wonder if that means they will have to push cash out from Int to the orgs to cover expenses… Hard to tell in the “Down the Rabbit Hole” world of RCS accounting craziness. I wonder if that trend (GI less than VSD) is true for other orgs as well.
2. GI of $3,000 per week (midpoint of stated $2,000 to $3,000) ties with the story Mike published a couple weeks ago about the Berlin org. The Berlin metro area is about 4.5 million people, and the Phoenix metro area is about 4.2 million. It’s interesting that Berlin, the capital of a country whose government has taken various actions against Scientology, has about the same revenue from its org as Phoenix, a US city that has no real governmental intervention against Scientology. Perhaps this is due to the small number of people supplying the revenue (maybe 20 public each paying $1,000 per month is all it takes to keep the org stats at this level).
3. Nice perspective on the org staffing — it sounds pretty clearly like they actually have 10 staff but just puff the numbers as a “shore story” for people wandering in and wondering why it’s so empty. It occurs to me that if 75% of GI goes “uplines” they can only afford 10-15 staff at $50 per week if they are going to pay the electric bill. And of course, given summer temperatures in Phoenix, paying the electric bill is kind of a survival issue, not just a “nice to have.”
All in all, this is a very useful report. Thanks to the author for capturing valuable details on the walk-through. These tend to confirm my estimates that a) there are less than 25,000 people including staff affiliated with the RCS worldwide; b) total RCS income from all sources is less than $200 million per year — which sounds like a lot but it is probably down by at least $100 million per year in the last 10 years, and c) total worldwide gross income from the Orgs is $30 million of that total of $200 million. That last point implies that any negative changes in IAS donations or money funneled through Narconon and other ABLE entities is keeping things afloat, and that income is the most subject to rapid fluctuations as a small number of individual donors change their minds, or as the insurance fraud investigation recently launched against Narconon Georgia spreads (any halfway competent insurance company is right now quietly reviewing all claims they have paid to anybody who claims to have been treated at a facility at the same address as any Narconon facility worldwide; this is almost certain to blow up dramatically).
JP,
Thanks again for another thoughtful, well reasoned comment. I will try to answer you:
1. If GI is less than VSD, does that mean that public are using money on deposit for courses faster than they are generating new cash? Yes, it does. I believe this is probably more common than it used to be — though there are still orgs with NO auditors…. Reason being is that there is only so much money that even the most voracious vultures can extract out of the dwindling number of members in their area. The priority is IAS, Ideal Orgs and book donations, NOT service sales. Phoenix isnt done with their “Ideal Org” fundraising — now they are hosts to the “Southwest Alliance” to get money for Albuquerque.
2. It’s interesting that Berlin, the capital of a country whose government has taken various actions against Scientology, has about the same revenue from its org as Phoenix, a US city that has no real governmental intervention against Scientology. The actions of governments don’t tend to really effect org income. More so, the activities of the orgs themselves….
3. Nice perspective on the org staffing. In fact John, staff pay is limited to a percentage of Corrected GI (CGI). This is the GI minus refunds, booksales and FSM Commissions paid. Typically in an org like this, if the GI was $2500 the CGI would be $1500. This is the amount actually available to allocate to pay expenses. “Off the top” of that CGI is the payment to “management” which includes “film rental” as well as “management services”. Most orgs cut into their staff pay percentage in order to cover threatening bills, phone, rent, utilities etc. But even if they did allocate 30% of CGI to staff pay, that is only $450 out of a GI of $2500. If there are 60 staff that means $7.50 per staff member. Even at 10 TIMES that income it is hopeless to exist as a staff member. Their income needs to be high 5 or low 6 figures to make it viable to be a staff member in a 60 man org (and there is NO way 60 people even puts one person into each office space in that Phoenix monster).
Standard day and foundation org splitting does allow for moonlighting.
Squirrel day and foundation org splitting also allows for moonlighting.
It’s obvious with this staff pay scene of the full time staffers, that they are squirrel splitting into this fake day and foundation schedule for the staff, to allow for moonlighting.
I’d just like to add my two cents to Mike’s reply, having been involved in one Ideal Org evolution directly and indirectly.
1. Yes, delivery, measured by Value of Service Delivered (VSD) exceeds Gross Income (GI) – a bad indicator. Ideally, especially in an “Ideal Org”, GI would be slightly above VSD. What’s supposed to happen is that money paid in advance for services is placed on hold in the Flag Banking Officer #1 account and not disbursed to the Org until that service has been delivered. Only then would it be counted as GI. But that is almost never the case because Orgs these days are living such a hand-to-mouth existence. Additionally, most Orgs have a delivery backlog. For decades, people have put money on account for training and/or auditing but the delivery capacity has not been there – especially with no or few auditors. So, unless that delivery backlog has been burned up by conversion to book sales or basics courses or Purification Rundowns or other easy-to-deliver Div 6 services or refunds and repayments (which also comes off the top of GI), delivery will exceed (backlogged) VSD unless the entire brand is turned around.
2. Germany got its hiney spanked by the international community for governmental actions against Scientology – too reminiscent of Third Reich antisemitism. So the Lutheran Church/German government cabal took a lesson from the U.S. where similar governmental discrimination would have earned a thorough smack-down and went the “free press” Black Propaganda route instead. Which, in the U.S. through hack journalism, stacked talked shows and college humor “comedy” shows – contributed to in no small part by the abusive excesses of the RCS – have effectively made Scientology a laughing stock in the court of public opinion. But it is those abusive excesses that account for the mass exodus of membership, as Mike correctly alludes. Even negative press often piques curiosity because – despite how the press likes to think of itself as the molders of public opinion – most people know the press is owned by vested interests and is full of crap, almost to the point of “if the press says it’s bad, it must be good”. And since that idea is reinforced by the fact that the REALLY bad stuff gets scant coverage by the press, Scientology at least gets the benefit of the doubt. So, people will still read Scn books and research the Internet to see for themselves. Were it not for the abusive excesses of the RCS, the Church would still be enjoying record growth as it was even under the most intense COINTELPRO governmental covert interventions of the ’60s and ’70s.
3. I would bet that the “number of staff” reported by that Phoenix staff member is accurate to the extent that that is the number of staff who have been RECRUITED for the Org. However, the number recruited seldom reflects the number actually WORKING on staff. Since an “Ideal Org” would be split into two organizations – Day and Foundation (evenings & weekends), the Sea Org Mission that recruits staff does so for both organizations before the Grand Opening with promises of a rational schedule, livable pay, Bridge services from the Universe Corp, etc., etc. as all delineated in policy. After all, an Ideal Org would of course do everything per policy, right? So, even if recruits can’t activate their (expressly volunteer) staff contract immediately and must first do a “Project Prepare” (i.e. pay off [Bridge] debts, resolve medical issues, etc.), they still get reported as on the “staff” rolls. And even if they never show up for work (or only for the Grand Opening) or slip quietly into non-participation, what CMO Missionaire is going to risk bursting DM’s bubble with the facts? So, only those who can be supported by their spouses (which is actively encouraged) show up for work – at least for awhile until internal conditions become intolerable even for them. But even then, they just go on an LOA but stay on the staff rolls.
I see no reason to fault your conclusions, especially in light of recent events. A total implosion is therefore the RCS’s ineluctable future. However, once that has occurred, I believe the brand is salvageable provided there is a thorough independent audit followed by full disclosure, accountability, transparency and major corporate cultural reforms. If that never happens, the Independent field will fill the pent-up demand. In any event, due to the brilliance and workability of the core methodologies, Scientology as a subject is unkillable. I hope that doesn’t disappoint you.
Correction: Point 1, last phrase should read: “. . .(backlogged) delivery will exceed GI unless the entire brand is turned around.
Very nice write-up … saying it like it is.
Good thorough OBS. Phoenix despite being Ideal, is worse off then when I was on CLO WUS management lines in the 80’s. Really sad.
Another excellent post. Keep ’em coming, Mike!