As a P&C insurance agency co-founder, I often apply lessons I learned while serving in the U.S. Army. Some lessons are general in nature, such as the need for discipline, personal accountability, orientation on team goals, a clearly defined mission and state-of-the-art tools. Others are more specific.
Here are six of the lessons I learned:
1. Identify your employees' strengths. When he was enrolled at West Point, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was one of the worst students in his class, yet he was also one of the finest horsemen ever graduated from the academy. As managers, we must identify employee strengths and weaknesses. We must help them leverage their strengths to generate maximum gain, while steering clear of areas for which they have little or no aptitude. Before recruiting new employees, first decide whether you are looking for a horseman or a scholar—and know how to recognize the difference.
2. Describe the "end state" to your reports. The U.S. Defense Dept. Military Dictionary defines "end state" as "the set of required conditions that define achievement of the commander's objectives." A different way to say it is "commander's intent," an understanding of the goal of the mission and what the outcome looks like.
Agency managers must clearly describe for staff what success is in all aspects of the firm's business. This includes human resources, new business, relationship management, claims management, marketing and just about everything else. In addition to describing the big picture, management should also supply metrics. When it comes to success, clarity is critical.
The staff has its own obligations when it comes to end state. Although management must be able to clearly define success, staff must learn to listen for texture and nuance. More importantly, the communication process has to be open so staff can understand the intent and goal.
3. Identify your "right arm." When Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson lost his left arm at the Battle of Chancellorsville during the Civil War, Gen. Robert E. Lee is reported to have said, "He has lost his left arm, but I my right." We must identify those individuals who are vital to the long-term success of our businesses. Once these individuals have been identified, we must secure their allegiance and help them to thrive.
4. Each new campaign is unique. Although there are lessons to be learned from past campaigns and experience, you can't apply every lesson unilaterally. Each new campaign is different from past campaigns for reasons other than time and place. Recognize when the lessons you learned can be applied, and where creative thinking must be used to solve new and unique challenges.
This realization can be especially useful during new-business campaigns. Players are new, coverages are different and the claims history will have its own fingerprints. The same tired new-business pitch will be seen for what it is: a canned response to some other insured's problems.
5. Maintain a state of readiness. In an ideal world, there are no enemy actions or claims. Of course, you don't need to serve in the Army or insurance business to know this is not the world in which we live.
For soldiers, underwriters and agents, vast amounts of tedium can occasionally be punctuated by rapid bursts of action—and occasionally terror. What's more, this action can cause significant consequences. To help ensure these consequences are favorable—or at least recoverable—all personnel must be perpetually ready for action.
In working with our clients, we advise them to be ready with risk-mitigation and risk-transfer measures long before risk becomes reality. What's more, we encourage them to maintain their own state of readiness.
6. Commit to change. Although the U.S. Army has one of the longest institutional memories in our nation, it frequently adapts to change. This includes matters regarding personnel, recruitment, training, tactics, weaponry, fields of battle, enemy and much more. Even in the face of occasional setbacks, the Army has been able to creatively revise strategies to return to its preeminent position.
Change is also a constant in the insurance business, including evolving risk patterns, new social-engagement tools, ever-changing market conditions, new types of clients and shifting competitive challenges. Encourage and communicate a commitment to change in your office each morning. This commitment will make you nimble, prepare you for what comes next and put you in a position to seize the advantage when others falter or rest.
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