Moving the Needle
A theme that has always been on my mind is what is our "impact" as a state insurance association, independent insurance broker, or agency owner? Our association has served independent agencies for more than 118 years, and has over 475 members. We have a great opportunity to shape new brokers’ careers, influence policies and develop leaders in the insurance industry in our region. Our opportunity currently is to continue evolving our industry in positive increments today.
Leadership and its impact has always been a strong interest. Over the last couple of years I have been a participant of two leadership programs in St. Louis through FOCUS St. Louis. The first was Leadership St. Louis (LSL 39). The program was built on the belief that the community, just as any business or organization, requires strong leadership to grow and improve. The second program was Impact Fellows. The individuals selected for this program gain a deeper level of understanding of a particular issue and work with the area’s top experts and key players, and apply leadership competencies and innovative thinking to move the issue forward. Three strategies used to accomplish our agenda were to
- Be able to have candid conversations about the issue.
- Recognize your own lens on how you view issue so you can understand others’ lenses.
- Understand how you came to the current situation.
The same framework can help us as an association and as individuals to cultivate our strengths and define our opportunities to take forward action.
State Insurance Association
Our Missouri Association of Insurance Agents is the oldest and largest association of insurance agents in the state of Missouri. Our impact over the last 118 years has been educating and informing the state’s professional independent insurance agents, promoting and showing what high standards of conduct are among its members, and representing the interests of its members and their clients in legislative, regulatory and judicial arenas.
Independent Insurance Broker
How do we start off as an independent broker? Is it "legacy" (being a son or daughter of an agency owner and being given a book of business)? Is it inorganic growth (buying an insurance book of business)? Or is it organic growth (building a book of business from scratch)? Or is it a combination of those? Each one of them has their advantages and disadvantages. Either way, what is your impact on your clients and community? Is the impact being a trusted advisor or simply being an order taker to your client? It comes down to what type of broker you want to be. Does morality matter in business and in modern capitalism? Should dog eat dog? Do good guys end up last? Maybe in the short term dogs will win, but not in the long. We are leaving a legacy.
Agency Owner
Agencies can range in size from one person to some of the nation’s largest independent agencies. Part of an agency owner’s impact is to define an organization’s purpose and assure that purpose trends toward good. The agency owner must foster a culture that is loyal to that purpose, assures it can stand the test of time and is in the best interests of all its stakeholders. In the end, an agency is merely a collection of people who come to work every day motivated by their own moral codes. Threading those morals into a unified culture gives an organization an agency soul. Management actions deeply affect this culture and the ability to grow loyalty, profits and innovation.
In the end, how do we determine what impact we are having? This year we are focusing on key strategies to keep moving the needle in a positive way. We want to focus on attracting and educating young professionals, continue providing excellent development opportunities for our members, and increasing our influence on policies that affect our industry. As Simon Sinek says, understanding the "why" helps us understand the purpose as we challenge ourselves to have clarity on both why we are in the insurance industry, and our vision, strategies and tactics to help us to be successful. It will be great to learn why you are in the insurance industry; if you are open to share, send your comments to patrickc@craneagency.com.
As we come together as a strong insurance association, our impact in our communities is visible. Thank you for all you do in our region.
Insurance &Financial Counselor .. Protect and Preserve Your Assets
7 å¹´Patrick ... excellent and insightful comments! I agree the industry must take a long hard look at our “ why†.. and then†how.†My “why†is clearly spelled out on the mantra for my company ,The Conley Financial Grouo... protect what matters most. But moving beyond that “ platitude “ is the “ howâ€. I'm committed to growing the ranks and increasing the opportunities in our great industry with younger and more diverse (No just Caucasian )candidates . We can talk all day about “ diversity and inclusion “ but until the industry understands the tremendous benefit to ALL.. we’ll never move forward . To that point.. working with other like-minded individuals ,I'm developing the “ HOWâ€. We must discuss this action. I applaud your taking on a leadership role and you have my support!!
Account Executive
7 å¹´Great post, Patrick. That is a great question, "why" are you in the insurance industry? I'd like to hear what others have to say too. For me, it's knowing that insurance touches everyone's life regardless if they know it or not. When someone enters a building, hops in a Uber car, eats lunch at a restaurant, plays with his or her cool tech devices, it's all impacted by insurance somewhy or another. It's what protects us and makes us whole again in case of a claim. Insurance comes to the rescue.