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... every day and get a pit in the bottom of my stomach. The list went on forever. So I came up with a new procedure. At the end of the day, I now review my suspense and code those tasks that I absolutely have to do the next day. My list of more 100 went down to about 15 to 20. A second example is that I have a habit of working at my desk from morning until late in the day. I don't take breaks and sometimes even skip lunch. I decided to start walking away from my desk at least once every hour or hour and a half. After I've finished a project or feel the sense of having enough, I do something entirely different and walk away from my desk. My suspense system is the key ... return all phone calls; at 11:00 a.m., I check my voicemail again. In the afternoon, I view and return all e-mails, complete any special projects under "other," and then perform my "end of day." This process begins by writing the time that I need to start work the next day, since I have phone call appointments 15 and 30 minutes apart. I then review all tasks under each master list category to identify which calls, e-mails, and projects absolutely must be done. This way, I'm always prepared for the next day. Finding solutions to these little irritations made a huge difference in my outlook on work. If you're feeling yourself wilt on the job and think that you might be falling into a similar situation, take a ...

... the time. We withhold our thoughts and feelings from our loved ones, friends, clients, suppliers, and colleagues. And, they (including our clients) withhold information from us all the time. Let's look into this a little further. We need to create a business culture in which our clients feel totally comfortable with telling us "everything." So, I hope you're in the habit of checking in with your clients on a regular basis to make sure that they're completely forthcoming with how they feel about doing business with you. Want a gutsy way to ask this? Say to your clients, "Let's forget about the market for a minute. We believe we have strong strategies in place for moving forward. Looking at our relationship and my level of service, on a ... one or more of the parties don't express their truth. I'll illustrate this with another brief story and then let you get back to work. Hank was a buddy of mine for more than 20 years. We hung out in high school and college together. We were best friends. Then he did something I didn't like. I was angry. And I didn't tell him. We slowly drifted apart. Why didn't I tell him how I felt? Not sure. I guess I was just into being right and angry with him. Then, about a year ago, after seven years of not talking to him, he called me up and asked to meet with me. He asked me if I was angry with him. We talked about it and cleared the air. He apologized ...

... the time. We withhold our thoughts and feelings from our loved ones, friends, clients, suppliers, and colleagues. And, they (including our clients) withhold information from us all the time. Let's look into this a little further. We need to create a business culture in which our clients feel totally comfortable with telling us "everything." So, I hope you're in the habit of checking in with your clients on a regular basis to make sure that they're completely forthcoming with how they feel about doing business with you. Want a gutsy way to ask this? Say to your clients, "Let's forget about the market for a minute. We believe we have strong strategies in place for moving forward. Looking at our relationship and my level of service, on a ... one or more of the parties don't express their truth. I'll illustrate this with another brief story and then let you get back to work. Hank was a buddy of mine for more than 20 years. We hung out in high school and college together. We were best friends. Then he did something I didn't like. I was angry. And I didn't tell him. We slowly drifted apart. Why didn't I tell him how I felt? Not sure. I guess I was just into being right and angry with him. Then, about a year ago, after seven years of not talking to him, he called me up and asked to meet with me. He asked me if I was angry with him. We talked about it and cleared the air. He apologized ...

... every day and get a pit in the bottom of my stomach. The list went on forever. So I came up with a new procedure. At the end of the day, I now review my suspense and code those tasks that I absolutely have to do the next day. My list of more 100 went down to about 15 to 20. A second example is that I have a habit of working at my desk from morning until late in the day. I don't take breaks and sometimes even skip lunch. I decided to start walking away from my desk at least once every hour or hour and a half. After I've finished a project or feel the sense of having enough, I do something entirely different and walk away from my desk. My suspense system is the key ... return all phone calls; at 11:00 a.m., I check my voicemail again. In the afternoon, I view and return all e-mails, complete any special projects under "other," and then perform my "end of day." This process begins by writing the time that I need to start work the next day, since I have phone call appointments 15 and 30 minutes apart. I then review all tasks under each master list category to identify which calls, e-mails, and projects absolutely must be done. This way, I'm always prepared for the next day. Finding solutions to these little irritations made a huge difference in my outlook on work. If you're feeling yourself wilt on the job and think that you might be falling into a similar situation, take a ...

... owner yourself. This advice is particularly important if you're the only owner or the one with the lion's share of the equity. It's not uncommon for a major principal to become so closely associated with the agency that he or she starts to identify with it on a personal level. The longer you do everything yourself, the harder it will be to delegate even the smallest of responsibilities. Ego and habit form a psychological barrier that makes it increasingly more difficult to share clients and decision-making with even the best of potential successors. This phenomenon is even more pronounced when family relationships enter into the business environment. The tendency to put off perpetuation planning until tomorrow has been developed into an art form by thousands of agency principals around the country. There's definitely a reason why insurance companies are so anxious to ... the book's value. After making sure that the buy-sell agreement is providing a good basis for the perpetuation plan, start working on the other key elements. Will there be enough time to get the respective buyouts accomplished? If there are three owners, all over age 55, who want to start their retirements by age 65, you have a serious problem. Even if the owners are 10 years apart in age, unless there are already some good younger candidates in the wings, when the first one is ready to get out, there might not be enough time to build the necessary depth of willing buyers. It's hard enough to find good producers, let alone ones that have the entrepreneurial qualities you would like to see in fellow owners. No matter how good their sales performance, unless ...

... lot of discussion and activity related to both agent and company duties with respect to notification. Here are three suggestions for handling this exposure: Determine how each of your carriers handles this type of exposure. Get their procedures in writing, and ask them to notify you in writing if they change. Once you know how individual carriers each handle the exposure, you can proceed accordingly; Get in the habit of conveying to the carrier, in writing, instances in which proper notice has not been sent to the various parties involved. In other words, document your file and always leave a trail; If the carrier elects not to notify, ask if you can send a letter notifying the interest that the policy has been canceled. As long as that's your procedure and you're consistent, you would ... . Fourth, once you've discussed the coverage and the cost with the client, your role as an advisor is over and the client has only to make a business decision. Finally, the checklist demonstrates your professionalism to the client. Once you've initiated a discussion of the risk-management process with them, you're in a position to talk about insurance and non-insurance methods of dealing with risk. This sets you apart as a competent professional able to present alternatives, rather than the stereotypical salesperson interested only in making a sale. This builds the strong trust relationship that's essential for a long-term relationship. The beauty of this activity is that almost all systems have built-in account checklists and if you use a Notebook computer, you should be able to do this as you visit with the client or at least complete the ...