'Call it whatever you like-re-engineering, restructuring, transformation, flattening, downsizing, rightsizing, a quest for global competitiveness- it's real, it's radical, and it's arriving every day at a company near you.' (Fortune April 5, 1993)

In an increasingly complex and fluid business environment the need for proper planning is greater than ever. Where do you begin? David Stambaugh provides an outline to move your agency in the right direction.

Use these guidelines to supplement the IMMS.com Inside Track Webinar “Create a Learning Organization and Continually Improve Your Business.”

Salespeople, like athletes, need planning, practice, and coaching to compete — and win!

Six reasons why mergers and acquisitions fail.

Few business transactions pack the high-stakes potential of a merger or acquisition. Done well, the deal can help an agency attain new levels of prosperity. Done poorly, it can be crippling.

One of the toughest financial decisions agency owners face is how much to pay themselves. It's especially tricky for agencies with multiple principals, because it's rare that all owners make identical contributions to the organization. Deciding what's equitable compensation for each individual may cause unnecessary conflict.

Are you trying to figure out how much to pay your producers by asking, 'What's the agency down the street paying?' Beware!

In the early 1990s a state insurance commissioner, in a Wall Street Journal front-page article, called insurance agents the 'buggy-whip makers' of the late 20th century. Several years later, you seem to be doing just fine, and in many cases, even better than investors in other areas. Kevin Stipe offers an overview of the insurance agency as an investment vehicle in this document.

Getting your name in print in industry publications can result in credible publicity for you and your firm. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or never been published, you’ll get useful tips in this document by Henry Stimpson.

Do you think reporters are human sharks who want to misquote, distort, and sensationalize? When you hear the word 'reporter,' does your instinct tell you to utter 'no comment'? Or instruct your secretary to tell the reporter you won't be in your office for, say, the next 11 years?