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Manufacturing What I’m Grateful for This Year The Purpose of Insurance November 2019 Staffing Transportation Health Care Energy Construction Financial
A friend of mine who works in life insurance once told me, “You will never know how much life insurance matters until you deliver a check to a grieving widow who didn’t know how she was going to pay the bills and take care of her children after her husband, the primary earner, unexpectedly died.” Being in insurance is an interesting business. On the very best day, you never get any calls because no one needs to use their insurance. Then there are those days when someone calls because their building is literally on fire. This is the kind of call I got very early in my career. I’d been in the independent agency side of the business for about three years when my client, the CFO of a business, called to tell me his building was on fire. I drove out to the location and saw the firetrucks battling a massive four- alarm fire. They eventually put the flames out. When it was safe to go inside, I joined the CFO and a fireman to walk through the building. Water was still dripping from what was left of the ceiling. Even after the fire was out, the stench from the smoke was unbelievable. I had to throw my clothes away that night when I got home. It was a total loss. The next day I had a meeting with the business owner and the CFO. The owner was still in a state of shock. His entire business had literally burned up. During the meeting, I told the owner that he had business interruption insurance. It was something the CFO and I had preplanned. This kind of insurance would provide for lost profit, pay continuing business expenses and keep his people paid during the renovation of the building
challenges and transformations. It’s humbling, and something we’re very grateful for. This Thanksgiving, we want to express our sincere gratitude to our clients. Insurance and risk management is a key component for businesses to be able to function smoothly in today’s world. We know we’re not the only broker in town, so when we say we’re thankful for our clients, we really mean it. We literally wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your support and trust in us. Thank you for allowing us to have this role in your company. We’re honored to be involved in your business, to help place your insurance, and to provide our advice and service. Please have a happy Thanksgiving! We hope your holiday is everything you want it to be.
while he had no sales or revenue. When he heard this, he literally broke down and cried. That was the day I realized how important insurance can be. Not everyone buys business interruption insurance, and maybe not every business needs it, but it’s the kind of insurance that needs to be set up properly. I still thank God I had done it right for this client. Things ended up working out like they were supposed to. The owner survived the shutdown and got his business back into operation. I was even invited to the grand re-opening! He kept working until he was ready to retire and sold the company years later. This was such an impactful experience so early in my career. It really defined how I viewed insurance and my job as a whole. Really and truly, this is more than just a job to us. In many cases, we become a pretty vital part of a business. There are many people in our company who have been working with the same clients for decades and have helped those businesses go through major
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Ed Young on Where We’re Headed
“To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed ... Execution is worth millions.” –Steve Jobs Anyone can take this advice to heart, whether you’re a stay-at-home parent or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Ideas are easy, but no one becomes successful because they had a great idea. Success comes from putting that idea into action. Being able to execute a plan is a skill every business leader needs. Here are three steps to help you improve your execution. 1. Ditch Perfection Have you ever watched a behind-the-scenes featurette of your favorite movie? Some of the most successful films were all but unrecognizable in their early phases. In fact, a lot of early concepts are terrible. Look up the original designs for Woody in “Toy Story” to see for yourself. Fortunately, rather than wait for the perfect script, creators executed their visions and make changes as needed. Putting off action in favor of creating the perfect plan or strategy leads to stagnant business. Successful people know that plans take many shapes before they reach their final form. Don’t jump into something without a clear plan, but don’t be afraid to define your strategy as you go. There’s a reason audiences won’t be flocking to theaters to watch the latest galactic adventures of Luke Starkiller this December. 2. Be Methodical While you shouldn’t wait for the perfect plan, you shouldn’t be flying in blind, either. You can be too energetic about execution. Make sure everyone involved in a plan knows their responsibilities. Confusion will torpedo any strategy faster than you can say, “Who was in charge of this?” The Harvard Business Review states, “Having the discipline to organize people, assemble resources, and then generate a plan that others can commit to Execute Strategy and Kill Stagnancy 3 Tips for Every Business Leader We’re not saying you should micromanage your team, but you do need to be checking in on a regular basis to evaluate progress on your plan. Schedule monthly or quarterly meetings to go over the strategy. This is where you look for any changes that need to be made and refine the strategy. A smart strategy feels reassuring, but learning to execute a plan is the only way to make progress. The best business plan in the world is worthless if you never follow through. will collectively improve execution.” 3. Evaluate, Evaluate, Evaluate
Nothing stays the same. While we may go through stretches in life where it seems like things have become set in stone, change is always coming. This is even true in insurance, a business that, historically, is slow to adopt change. Just ask Ed Young, CFO of INSURICA. “My whole career is change,” Ed says. “I got into insurance in 1989, starting out on the carrier side, holding the insurance contracts. Shortly after I got started, we had several hurricanes that blew through Florida and the eastern United States. I saw firsthand the impact insurance had on rebuilding after these disasters. It’s hard to think about what would have happened if insurance wasn’t there to restore everything.” Ed got his start in the finance side of the insurance world. During his first 10–15 years, he grew while at the company, doing a lot of mergers and acquisitions. In 2004, Ed had the opportunity to move to INSURICA. “INSURICA was doing a lot of acquisitions at the time, which was right up my alley,” says Ed. “Moving to the agency side of insurance was a big change, but I enjoyed it. Agents have to be able to give their clients good information so they can get the right coverage. It’s critical front-line risk management. The job demands relationship building, internally and externally. I enjoy that as much as I enjoy the people I work with. I’m engaged with some really quality people.” Over the course of 30 years in insurance, Ed had seen the industry change in many different ways. He cites the rise of “insurtech” as the biggest change the insured has ever faced. “Technology is rapidly expanding into every industry, including insurance. Insurtech introduces AI and other developing technologies into the game. The evolution of technology spotlights where we’re heading. If you’re not changing, you’re dying. INSURICA has to be ready to embrace those changes.” On top of tackling the changes faced by INSURICA, Ed has experienced all of life’s transitions that come with being a family man. He and his wife of 35 years have two kids, both in their 20s. When he’s not golfing, Ed and his wife are involved in service projects through their local church, bringing positive change to the community. Change is the only constant. That’s why it’s good to know we can count on Ed Young, a man who’s ready to embrace change and help lead INSURICA into the future.
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Responsibility of Leadership
THE NEW QUID PRO QUO
transmission line. The oversight cost 86 lives, and Pacific Gas and Electric was ordered to cover the $2.5 billion settlement.
From Turner Brothers Asbestos covering up the dangers of asbestos in the 1900s to the Enron insider trading disaster of the early 2000s, corporate misdeeds have existed for as long as the corporations behind them. However, what were once rare, high-profile stories have become everyday reports. In 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission received over 5,000 whistleblower reports, primarily from company insiders who identified illegal behavior. This was a new record, one that reflected the change in public perception. Marc Goldstein, head of U.S. research at the proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services, stated that, “More people now would agree that directors have a responsibility not just to ensure that companies comply with the law but also to meet broader societal expectations.” What are these social expectations? They are wide and difficult to pin down, encompassing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. ESG risks include, but are not limited to, a company’s impact on the environment, general or racial inequality, community involvement, and choice of board members. Public demands to adhere to ESG standards have translated into high-profile lawsuits. In 2015, Blue Bell Creameries’ ice cream was linked to a deadly listeria outbreak. Since then, a shareholder derivative lawsuit targeted board directors of Blue Bell Creameries for allegedly failing to enact measures to protect the company’s ice cream products from contamination. Another major lawsuit followed the catastrophic Camp Fire in Paradise, California. The deadly wildfire was the result of natural gas giant Pacific Gas and Electric delaying a safety overhaul of a high voltage Have a Laugh!
It’s not just court cases that come calling when leadership fails. Social crusades, whether they be informal employee walkouts or organized efforts like the #MeToo movement, have called many individuals and companies to task. These movements have called social shame on powerful people accused of sexual harassment, like film producer Harvey Weinstein, and of racism, like Papa John’s founder John Schnatter, as well as the companies that would protect them. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, recently found itself in hot water after it was revealed three Google executives received a sizable severance package after being accused of sexual misconduct. Alphabet’s board of directors were accused of maintaining a “culture of concealment” that led to “cover-ups of a long-standing pattern of sexual harassment and discrimination by high-powered male executives.” These social changes are not isolated to outed CEOs or one-time settlements. The real effect of cases made against companies and leaders who fail to adhere to ESG standards have resulted in the rates of director and officer (D&O) liability insurance increasing by 5–20%. When assessing risk management, companies need to broaden their terms to include ESG risk. Care and caution must be exercised regarding leadership integrity and management culture. The public message is clear: Companies that fail to do right by their employees, their clients, and their communities will be held accountable.
Sudoku
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INSIDE This Issue
Something to be Grateful For page 1
Execution Is Greater Than Strategy Meet Ed Young, INSURICA CFO page 2
When Leadership Fails Sudoku page 3
Is Going Green Good Business? page 4
‘Business Lessons from a Radical Industrialist’ How to Get Rich Without Hurting the Planet
journey from point A to point B in his book, “Business Lessons from a Radical Industrialist.”
As awareness about the global impact of climate change rises, consumers have started to vote with their dollars for companies that offer greener, more sustainable products and practices. Slowly, that groundswell has caused businesses to shift their priorities and take steps to track and reduce their
According to Inc. magazine, Anderson, who passed away in 2011, was considered “the greenest CEO in America.” His company mastered sustainable innovation, and its patents, products, and processes
environmental impact. But long before the green movement began in earnest, there was Ray Anderson — one man who decided to flip the script. In 1994, Anderson was 60 years old, the CEO of the modular carpet company Interface, Inc., and no more environmentally aware than his contemporaries. But when his customers started asking about the environmental impact of his carpets, he dropped into the rabbit hole of environmental research and emerged a changed man. He had a new goal for his $1 billion company: It would take nothing from the earth that the planet couldn’t replace. In 2009, Interface created and sold over 83 million square yards of carpet without negatively impacting the planet or losing revenue. Anderson chronicles his
are revealed in his book, which is as much a guide for entrepreneurs of the future as it is for those of the present.
One reader on Amazon reviewed the book as “Inspiring,” writing, “If only the world had more Ray Andersons. The fact that he turned a company reliant on the use of petrochemicals for the production of its core product into [a company] with sustainability as its core ideology and was able to improve his profits is outstanding. Any and every company can learn something from this book.” If you’re trying to lessen your business’s impact on the planet and tap into a market of environmentally conscious consumers, “Business Lessons from a Radical Industrialist” is the place to start.
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