The Great Reece-Shuffle

The Great Reece-Shuffle

Five years ago I wrote an article about my ten years in the Insurance industry. Today marks my fifteenth year with FM Global, one of the world’s leading commercial property insurers. I was going to wait ten years before writing a follow up…but re-reading the article this morning, the last paragraph really struck me and compelled me to ‘Reshuffle’ and write one now…you could call it…a ‘Reece-shuffle’… ??

As?fun?as it is to look back, I find myself looking forward at the next ten years, excited about the?possibilities and opportunities of the future. Technology, Politics, Competition, Supply Chains?and increased Natural?Hazards are set to completely disrupt the insurance industry?as we see it...and I for one cannot wait to embrace these changes. Here's to my next ten years at FM Global!

A couple of things that my ‘five-year-ago-self’ couldn’t have contemplated…moving to a new position in the US Corporate Office (covered in a separate article, Coming to America) and a global pandemic, truly re-shaping the world! It's also pretty mind-blowing to think that those 'disruptors' that I mentioned were not immune from disruption themselves!

The move to America had some challenges and delays, but when I finally relocated there, I had 9 solid months of a daily commute to and from the office. Daily meetings, collaborations and chats by the coffee machine; Conferences and training sessions; Navigating crazy Rhode Island drivers on the highway to and from Providence; Exploring new towns, beaches and states at the weekends….life was looking good!

Before I knew it, we were in March 2020 and literally rolling out of bed onto a desk to begin the day’s work. Life got weird for a while! It was a daily consumption of too much food, maybe too much alcohol, too little exercise, too much news-reading, too much conspiracy believing and lots and lots of ‘binge watching’. It was unsustainable and we thankfully snapped out of it! Hopefully you have some experience of what I am talking about!? ??

Luckily, my role and I’m sure many, many others, could be maintained through remote working. In fact, my team excelled in this new way of working. We really didn’t miss a beat in the transition and were still cranking out excellent work for our customers.

My role is to support one of the company’s internal applications and we were able to create more than 100 new enhancements for the application within the pandemic year. Many of these new enhancements were critical for our end users, who had also had their daily routines turned upside down and needed additional tools to do their job.

While work continued to chug along, the world outside was a mess! Vaccine controversies, one-hour windows for outdoor exercise, small businesses shutting down, larger businesses pivoting, supply chains crumbling…and worst of all, countries closing their borders to ‘outsiders’.

For 20 months, the only family I could see was my wife. Our friends and families were stuck across ‘the pond’ with booked flights slowly delaying, postponing and then reluctantly cancelling. Technology really stepped up in helping to bridge the gap virtually, while reality worked to return to some sort of normality. Im sure I wasn’t the only one helplessly barking instructions and orders to the ‘elders’ on how to click on links, set up Netflix accounts and all manner of activities that really need you to ‘be in the room’! The struggle was real!

Luckily, we were able to get back to the UK for an extended period in Oct/Nov of 2021. This was a really great time to re-connect and catch up. My management couldn’t have been more helpful and supportive with allowing me to continue to work from the UK and maintain a work/life balance during this time. ?

I find myself extremely grateful at the ‘opportunities’ that have arisen from the pandemic. It is surely a combination of a great place to work, supportive friends and family, luck…as well as my innate desire to try and turn lemons into lemonade!

The pandemic has led to a phenomenon known as the ‘Great Resignation’…later recoined as the ‘Great Reshuffle’. This was the contemplation of life that millions of people around the world undertook during the lockdown, re-evaluating if their life was moving in the direction they hoped. Many decided to do something about it, either quitting their job, re-locating, trying something completely new, going back to education etc.

For me, the contemplation certainly took place! What would a ‘Reece-shuffle’ look like?!

When I took stock…there was a realisation that things were going quite well! In our 13 years together, myself and my wife have been quite the YOLO (You Only Live Once) couple and have, to our parent’s annoyance, prided ourselves on being DINKS (Dual Income, No Kids)! No doubt our parents were hopeful that this period of contemplation would result in a desire for family and ‘settling down’….

Well...we decided that we wanted to be in Boston!!

Don’t get me wrong, we loved our apartment in Providence, RI and with our additional time there courtesy of a removal of the ‘daily commute’, we were able to spend many more hours exploring the streets, restaurants, paths and parks of the city.

Our decision to move to Boston was borne of a couple of reasons; we had extra time to really condense what we wanted to see and do in Providence; and our new situation at work of being able to flexibly work remotely, meant that we could live further afield from the office.

I am typing this article on the outside deck of my new Boston apartment, with a smile on my face! ?? It has been a week since the move and the apartment is still a jungle-gym of yet-to-be-unpacked boxes. Our legs are already aching from the 5-10km evening walks we are undertaking, but if the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s to not take things for granted and really cease the moment!

I am sure you have also undertaken your own reshuffle and focused on what is really important to you. If you haven’t, I would certainly encourage you to do so. You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take. I also sincerely hope that you have as much fun and as much luck as I have had.