I recently listened to an interview with Vic Conant of Nightingale-Conant talking about the shift in their program sales. During the 80s and 90s, such corporate names Tom Peters and Warren Bennis dominated program sales. However, since the early 2000s, there’s been a significant shift to programs for those want to become in charge of their own destiny. This “Brand You” trend has been going on for more than a decade, posing a significant exposure to today’s companies. As the workforce ages and changes, we’re going to have less available talent than ever. Given future economic uncertainty, more and more of the available talent will opt out to work for themselves.

AGENCY MANAGEMENT: THE GREAT COMPROMISE by Chris Burand Chris Burand defines the great compromise as working smarter, rather than harder. Of course, 12 hours of working smarter is alwa...

ALTERNATIVE WORK SCHEDULES: TRY FLEXTIME by Judith Newman Innovative work schedules that depart from the traditional five-day, 'nine-to-five' variety have been around now for over 20...

ARE CSRS lsquo;EXEMPT EMPLOYEES? by Judi Newman and the IIABA Virtual Faculty Is the customer service representative (CSR) position in an insurance agency considered ...

FRAUDBUSTERS: ASK A LICENSED PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR Part 4 Q: I've been told that California now allows 24-hour access to Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) reports at $2 per record. How do I ge...

AVOIDING COSTLY MARKETING MISTAKES by Stephen Anderson You can no longer sit back and wait for business to come to you. That's the sure route to becoming a victim of the ch...

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR by Chris Burand Many agency owners lament their staffs lack of a work ethic. Agency owners typically judge their employees work ethic against t...

BEFORE YOU SELL-SELL-SELL, MARKET-MARKET-MARKET! by Emily Huling It's 8 o'clock Tuesday morning. You have your prospect list in hand. Every Tuesday and Thursday you diligently put aside t...

CALCULATING lsquo;BONUS OVERTIME WAGES by Don Phin Many employers are freezing wages, telling employees that any additional pay will come in the form of a bonus if the...

CATASTROPHE PLANNING: IS YOUR AGENCY REALLY PREPARED? by Grace Bauer After talking to a number of agents, I've learned that only 10% of agencies are truly prepared for a catastrophe! Sur...