How to earn the confidence and commitment of your employees, customers, and stakeholders in today’s changing world.

We’ve all heard this joke: A local “hayseed” tries giving directions to a tourist, becomes frustrated, and ends the inquiry by saying simply, “You can’t get there from here.” The humor of this scene lies in its absurdity.

What's your agency's standard for quality? It seems unrealistic to expect quality standards of 100% . . . after all, nobody's perfect. Wouldn't life be a lot easier and less stressful if everyone accepted a certain amount of predictable human frailty and built in a margin for error? It could even be called something impressive and positive sounding-'acceptable quality level,' for example.

A LEADERSHIP QUIZ FOR TOMORROW by Mike Manes The responsibilities of a leader include: A. Comforting the afflicted B. Afflicting the comfortable C. Both A and B...

AGENCIES AND BROKERAGES OF THE FUTURE How will the agency/brokerage of the future be managed, and what will be its profile? A preview of the future should help insurance companies determine what valu...

BORING OR SOARING? GREAT PERFORMERS! by Mike Manes IMMS Consultant Mike Manes strives to facilitate change, communication, learning, and positive results. To that end, Manes has writ...

COMMERCIAL AND PERSONAL LINES PROSPECTING LETTER Dear (Customer Name), I'm dropping you a simple note today to say one simple thing: WE WANT YOUR BUSINESS!! And that we're more than willing to g...

DISABILITY INCOME Dear (Customer Name), WHAT IF YOUR INCOME STOPPED TOMORROW? How long could you get by without any income? If you're like most of us, the answer would be: Not for very ...

Roughly defined, disintermediation means removal of the middle man. Do a linear projection based on historical forces and you'll conclude that the disintermediation of the agent from the Personal lines process is inevitable. After all, when Warren Buffet, Conning & Company, banks, large insurance companies, and others agree on something, they must be correct, right?

Financial Statements/Assets: lsquo;You Can't Get There from Here!' by Mike Manes We've all enjoyed this scene: A local hayseed bec...

IMPROVING LEADERSHIP PERFORMANCE! by Mike Manes This is the sixth in a series of articles by Mike Manes on managing organizations and ...