Knowing Me, Knowing You...
Well I thought I might be able to put my feet up for a bit after all that travelling but obviously not…! Over 100 meetings since the summer holidays and the stats for fit-bit steps look off the charts (shouldn't they count double for high heels…?)
Two things I have discovered during this time which I thought I would share:-
1) It’s incredibly liberating to put yourself in a position to pause and consider what’s really important in your own professional life.
Unfortunately it's not often that many of us get the space or opportunity to question what motivates and inspires us - that’s throwing up some interesting answers for me. So if you manage to find a window for reflection away from the day to day stupidity of the rolling diary - please welcome it, embrace it and use the time wisely. You might surprise yourself.
2) Wow - there are some SERIOUSLY talented people operating in “fintech" and “insurtech".
This new intake of recruits into the industry are diverse, dynamic, open minded and super bright and are coming in from fast moving professions often considered to be more glamorous. OK, I know that's not news to loads of you out there but here's the related observation - many corporate ivory towers are killing the speed of innovation that these new arrivals could bring.
I've been fortunate enough to have been in a CEO or Chair position a few times over - at no time did I have the freedom / opportunity to meet so many disruptors, start ups and new model thinkers. And when I did (often because they had been referred by somebody with "Innovation" in their job title) the risk averse dialogue was always more constrained than it is now.
Don’t get me wrong - the big players all understand the importance of a new approach but the legacy, the back book, the bureaucracy, the rules, the access mean that traction and subsequent execution is unfortunately slow.
To make progress we all know we need to create trusted insurance partnerships for the 2020’s by bringing the two parties together - old and new, traditional and alternative, stable and quick footed.
We can get to the destination faster if we combine the strengths and talents of each - but doing so whilst blending the dramatically different cultures, now that’s a challenge…!
So it’s been a fantastic discovery for me - I mean, I have worked with clever, talented, respected people everywhere I have been - but wow, just WOW.
Loving it,
A
Managing Director at Jasper Gilder Limited
1 年Every time I take a time for reflection I feel blocked. I had a life threatening heart condition partly caused by commercial blackmail I claimed on my Axa - by then Aviva lifd and critical illness policy. Despite (as I have subsequently discovered) being advised by the reinsurers to pay my claim Aviva refused to do so and have not done any kind of proper investigation in line with Swiss re’s reccomendation It’s a complex case Amanda, but I can’t work out how to move on when I don’t feel I’ve had a fair crack of the whip. All offers i’ve made to meet you guys have been refused. I’m 68 and over ￡200,000 from where I should be Knowing that anyone cares would be a start, meantime I can’t reflect and renew as the walls keep moving in on me!
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2 年Amanda, thanks for sharing!
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4 年Thanks Amanda! It is due to this "window for reflection" and the moments of recalibration and reminding oneself of raw inspiration that keeps one sane...and focused.? There are, sadly, one too many layers of -arguably- unnecessary complications and bottlenecks that can slow down change. Everyone wants to be/remain 'current'; problem is the degree of 'ease' that this can be achieved. Corporate mindset has to be updated for change to be long-lived; the process is slow (to be effective), but is time a commodity that organisations are prepared to invest? ? ?
COO & Partner
5 年So refreshing to hear this. New technologies are here to help boost results of the traditional finance industry, not compete against them. It is through new technologies that the most regulated and structured business fields will reach the new and ever-changing customers our markets now have.
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5 年Fully agree. Moreover, markets were not too competitive in the sense of "fighting for survival" until quite recently. Most large insurers were under no real pressure from this side for decades. We'll see whether the weaker players realise they REALLY need to change their mindset and culture before crossing the point of no return.