It’s planning season. When I say “planning,” I mean thereal thing, rather than that other thing thatcreeps in this time of year, when some insurance carrier repsprescribe seemingly arbitrary growth targets for their appointedagents.

The real thing begins by imagining what is possible rather thanfocusing on the incremental. Earning the leading market sharein your category is possible; squeaking out a couple points ofgrowth is incremental. But achieving what is possible oftenrequires us to do things better, smarter, differently. Inother words, it requires innovation.

I was thrilled several weeks ago when my colleagues and Ihad the chance to meet Stephen Shapiro, innovation expert andauthor of Best Practices Are Stupid: 40 Ways to Out-Innovate theCompetition. Of all the interesting things Steve shared,what resonated most with me was his view that expertise is theenemy of creativity and innovation. The theory is simple: themore familiarity you have with a particular topic, the less likelyyou are to create a breakthrough because your brain ispre-programmed by your knowledge and experiences to find familiarsolutions. Conversely, the best, most innovative solutions toyour challenges might already have been solved in otherdisciplines.

Consider Steve’s example of a Scottish engineer working on waysto locate and seal cracks in gas pipelines. It only took a papercut for him to make the connection between the capillaries in hisfinger and his work, resulting in the creation an inert coagulationingredient that was able to seal the cracks. Today, there is agroup of cardiologists and gas pipeline experts in the Houston areacalled “Pumps& Pipes” who come together as purposeful tangents– very different disciplines who tackle strikingly similarchallenges – and share insights that might sparkinnovations.

There’s plenty of evidence that solutions created by otherdisciplines are helping to inspire innovations in insurance. A few examples:

• Numerous insurers are now pursuing the use of unmanned aerialvehicles (UAVs), aka drones, to improve the claims and riskmanagement process.
• When seeking out new ways to help members feel more connectedand informed during a claim, PURE executives were inspired by an adfor Domino’s Pizza’s “Pizza Tracker” to create a “ClaimsTracker.”
• When those same executives were looking for ways to helpmembers deal with trauma following a large loss, they studied howNavy SEALS dealt with PTSD and then ultimately turned to Steven M.Southwick, MD, a recognized expert on the psychological andneurobiological effects of extreme psychological trauma, to helpinform an approach that fosters resilience.

If we ask the right questions, more often than not we’ll findthat smart companies in other disciplines have answered them in away that might inspire our own innovations. A few examples ofthis might include the following:

How can we create an insurance shopping experience thatpeople actually like…and tell their friends about?

Instead of merely studying the direct writer with the latestintergalactic online shopping gizmo, I invite you to look atTrunk Club, a firm that has built a business by targeting agroup of people who typically despise the traditional notion ofshopping for clothing: men.

Understanding that most men grimace over the clutter and hassleof the mall, but many value highly personalized service and lookinggood, Trunk Club reinvented the shopping experience in a number ofways. First, they assign a personal stylist to every client, onewho is typically educated, articulate, and conversational. Second,they create exceptionally personalized experiences without evermeeting most of their clients in person. Following a phoneconsultation, the stylist sends an elegantly packed (and easilyreturnable) “trunk” of hand-selected clothes, typically accompaniedby a personal handwritten note. These messages, along with highlyprofessional follow-up emails (complete with photo of the stylist),humanize the experience, contribute to high revenue pertransaction, and stimulate word of mouth.

Perhaps it is no wonder that the firm, which was acquired byNordstrom this summer for $350 million, more than tripled itsrevenues in the last year alone. Imagine what is possible ifwe were to find such unexpected ways to reinvent the shoppingexperience for our own clients.

How can I convert my agency into a place that attracts newcustomers and stands out in the community?

BMW is tackling a similar question, seeking to redesign dealerships by “decluttering the showroom”over the next several years. The concept is simple – replacecliché cubicles and high pressure conference rooms (not to mentionthe dreaded Finance Manager in the back office) with bright openspace featuring interactive high-definition touch screens andemployees assisting customers on tablets. Yup, just like anApple store.

How can we become an employer of choice for bright youngtalent?

You don’t need a search engine to know that Google has earnedthat status. Sure, the company’s exceptionalperks – which include organic meals, generousinvestment in employee training and education, and wellness centers– play a role. But perhaps most important is the culturethat Google has created. Almost all “Googlers” say the company hasgreat leadership that welcomes innovative suggestions fromemployees, and it doesn’t hurt that leadership encourages employeesto spend up to 20% of their time pursuing an innovation or otherinterest of their choice. Imagine if your workplace stimulatedso much passion and creativity.

There are many more challenges and opportunities facing ourindustry that likely have been addressed already in one way oranother by a different discipline. Whether these relate to theunderwriter seeking new, more efficient ways to properly assessrisk; the independent agent who obsesses over differentiatingherself from the direct writer down the street; or, the claimsadjuster who desires to fulfill the company’s contractualobligations while addressing the client’s emotional needs, theanswers may be found in a purposeful tangent. What bettertime to find one than planning season?