Planning for A Tough Year Ahead?

Let's talk about what's keeping you up at night.

2011 has not been a good year. Business is slow. Customers and carriers are not optimistic about the future. And it looks like more of the same on the horizon. How do I get ready for the third tough year in a row?

Don’t!  Get ready for a better year in 2012! It can be, but it’s up to you. Your carriers won’t make it so. And the stock market won’t make it so. Certainly the government won’t make it so. It will be up to you. The big question you’ll need to ask yourself – and your team: “What can we do differently in 2012?

As November 1st approaches, start by asking:  “What can we do in the next 60 days to make a positive difference?”  60 days doesn’t seem like a long time – and it isn’t. If you could do one or two things during the next two months, in amongst all the usual madness of holidays and year-end, what would it be? One change – big or small – that will make you or your business more productive. Maybe the thing you decide to do is to stop doing something unproductive.

Use the remainder of this year to position your business for a productive next year. If you’ve already completed your planning cycle for next year, take another look at both where you’ve been and where you want to go. If you’ve given up on planning because it all seems so pointless, maybe that’s the one thing you really need to do.

For a powerful start to the new year, identify – and execute – on one or two things you can do to end the current year on a positive note.

Planning for Improvement

If you and your team are hunkered down waiting for the market or the economy to turn around, you may have a long wait. Now is the time to look for opportunities. You can have your best year ever! 

Focus! Focus! Focus!  Plans often fail because too many issues are addressed at one time, not because there is anything inherently wrong with them. How does the coyote eat the buffalo? One bite at a time! There is always a lot to do. So to ensure that you and your team stay focused, identify those things that are imperative to fulfilling the vision of your business. Ask, “What conditions must exist for us to be who and where we want to be?” Think in terms of necessary and sufficient. Concentrate your efforts on the most important issues or Critical Success Factors. Tackling your goals one at a time, you will find your business plans much easier to achieve. 

For most businesses, Critical Success Factors center around people and product. What about your organization – your staff – is critical to your success? What must they be able to do well to ensure your competitive advantage? What about your customers is critical to your success? What are their expectations and how can you exceed them? What about your product/service is critical to your success?  If insurance is just another commodity, what sets you apart? A clear understanding of what is most important makes it possible to set realistic, achievable, smarter goals.

Success breeds success. Improvement generates more improvement. With every achieved goal, your (and your team’s) confidence grows. These incremental successes will inspire and encourage you and your team. You have the knowledge, experience, drive and enthusiasm to achieve your vision. You can have your best year ever!

Finding & Keeping Great Employees

Is it a buyer’s market for employers when unemployment is in the double-digits?  Is finding and keeping the best employees easier when so many people are feeling vulnerable? No. And no. 

Challenge the assumptions. Now more than ever, it’s important to take good care of your employees. You might be working with fewer numbers, so your team needs to cover more territory. If somebody leaves, you want it to be the right people who stay. 

At bare minimum, to engage your employees in your business, you need to ensure your employees have meaningful work to do, and a vision for how that work fits into their world in a meaningful way. Good employees also need the tools to do the job, which includes more than just hardware and software. And good employees expect and deserve respect. 

Of course, you need to pay a fair wage. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to hire quality people for below-market salaries. Don't expect your best employees to help you achieve your financial goals if you're unwilling to help them achieve theirs. It's disrespectful. But it’s not just about the money. Take this fun quiz to discover what is important to your employees. 

Don’t get lazy.  If you are in a position to hire, does this seeming employee glut turn into a bonanza of qualified help for you? No. And no. The best and the brightest were not the ones downsized. So it will still be challenging to find the best qualified people the personality and skill sets to fit into your culture. If you are looking to hire, you’re going to have to put forth the same sincere and diligent effort you always have to find the right individuals.

Again, challenge the assumptions. Individuals who have performed marginally in other organizations will most likely be marginal in yours. Assuming retreads have the experience and job knowledge you need is a mistake. Now may be the right time to look outside the industry for your next producer or account manager. “Hire for fit and train for job knowledge,” is solid hiring advice. All the insurance knowledge in the world doesn’t ensure sales from someone without the fire to sell, or quality customer service without a customer orientation. Sales and customer service are required in most industries. So you may be able to take advantage of the fact that there are good people looking for work. It’s not a buyer’s market, though. Finding and keeping great employees presents the same challenges – and provides the same rewards – regardless of the market or the economy.

Critical Success Factors

Want to drive success in your business? Focus your energy and your resources on those things that are the most important. Sure, you'll have to deal with a lot of urgent activities that don't contribute significantly to the achievement of your goals. Don't let the urgent get in the way of the important, however. If you're only working in your business, and never on your business, you are far less likely to take your business to the next level.

Setting Goals for 2011

I’m leading an ExecSense webinar on Wednesday January 5th on “Best Practices for Establishing 2011 Goals for Your Team as an Insurance Executive: Case Studies of Goals, Benchmarks, Tips & Techniques Set by Other Insurance Executives”, you can get more information at http://bit.ly/ePtXYR

Change is Good - Up to a Point

One of the most often, and often most challenging issues faced by managers is getting change to "stick." A change in process or procedure is agreed to and implemented. Now everyone will do it that way. Right? Well, often, not. Pretty soon, one or more have reverted to the old way of doing it. No apparent reason. No "I don't like the new way so I'm going back to the old way." Folks just slip back to the prior way of doing things. The change doesn't "stick."

Here's a (kind of) scientific explanation for why this is true and why it's so hard to change. Self-Control is Exhaustible

That's why we always encourage follow up as part of implementation. Once the training is done and the change is made, there needs to be provision to regularly - and consistently - check to see if the change is still in place. If there is no expectation of follow-up and follow through, then there is no requirement for self-control - no requirement to stick with the change until it is the new habit.

If you want your changes to stick, you'll have to stick to your changes.

Share Your Vision

Times are tough. To achieve the best results, everyone on your team has to be working together. But they can't read your mind. It's up to you to make sure that all employees know what your plan is and how they fit into it.

For sustained performance, you need employees that are committed to your vision, not just hunkered down doing what's required to get by. For this you need 'shared vision.' To commit to your success, employees must be able to commit to their own success. Creating a shared vision is all about understanding that people do things for their own reasons. 
Read more about sharing your vision here.

Planning to Succeed

Let’s talk about what’s keeping you up at night.

“We’re going into the fourth quarter and we’re not achieving any of the goals we set at the beginning of the year. Our plan was worthless. In this market and this economy, what good is planning anyway?”

This quote is fairly representative of what I'm hearing from many agents. There are really two parts to this question. First, when you plan, your efforts are never wasted. No plan, no matter how well it is developed, will ever work out exactly as conceived – even in a stable economy and a hard market. President Dwight Eisenhower said that plans are useless but that planning is everything. The planning process prepares you to meet challenges and find opportunities when things change. And things always change.

The hidden question here is what can you do when you’re not achieving your goals. It’s time to look at your plan again. It’s not too late to make adjustments to both your expectations and your results.

Identify two things you can do for rest of the year that will have a positive effect on your results. And do them!

If you need help with your planning or your results, let's talk. No strings and no charge. Call me or send an email.

Planning to Succeed

In spite of a tough economy and continued soft pricing, Investors Service Industry Scorecard reported that property/casualty insurance brokers were profitable in 2009. Further, those same brokers have maintained profitability into 2010, again, in spite of marginal or even negative organic growth.  How about your agency? Did you plan for a tough year? Are you exceeding your expectations, or struggling to stay even. As we move into the fourth quarter, are you clear about where you are and where you want to be?

Often, people fail because they lack the persistence to create new plans when plans fail. Your Strategic Plan should always be in a state of evaluation and adjustment. It’s not too late to make this a successful year. And 2011 is just around the corner.

Read our most recent newsletter on Strategic Planning here.

Ultimate Sales Planning

Sales Planning is both strategic or tactical. It is indeed a critical part of any strategic plan but the plan itself has to include all the tactical elements as well.
Frequently

The sales planning process should help each producer set personal goals and the action plans to achieve them. And, each individual sales plan should support the overall agency goals and objectives.

Sales isn’t a department–it’s an attitude!
The most profitable and successful businesses are highly focused on new business sales. In the face of economic turmoil, increased competition, and alternative distribution systems, every business needs a genuine sales focus built into its culture. Business development should be part of every individual’s job description. This is the ultimate in sales planning.

Read more about Sales Planning here.

Share Your Vision

Strategic planning isn’t a solo enterprise. At least, it isn’t if you want to achieve your highest goals. Planning without sharing your plan is like building something all by yourself.
Sure, there is some satisfaction in the work itself – and in the finished product. But think about how much easier it goes if you have some help. And there is something much more rewarding about enjoying the fruits of your labor if you share it.
Who you share the work with depends on what kind of organization you have. Managers and key employees, board members or trusted advisors. Look for help from those who can provide input and perspective.
Who you share your vision with goes right to the heart of the plan. Your employees can't help you accomplish your goals if they don't know what your goals are. And they need to know what's in it for them.
Creating the vision isn’t enough. Working the plan isn’t enough. Documenting the plan isn't enough. Sharing the plan – and getting others engaged in your vision – that’s how vision becomes reality.

Planning is Indispensable

Dwight Eisenhower is credited with saying, "Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” This makes some people uncomfortable - especially when quoted in the context of not planning. To some, this seems contradictory. It's not. Think about Eisenhower's most famous plan, the D-Day invasion in June of 1944. An enormous amount of planning went in to the preparation to take back France and the rest of Europe from the German's. But D-Day was originally planned for June 5th. Bad weather almost forced the Allies to revise their plan considerably.

A thorough understanding of what it would take to postpone the invasion until the next favorable season, and a real understanding of the risks associated with delaying and proceeding, put Eisenhower in a position to make his decision.

For most of us, the fate of the free world does not lie in our ability to get through the indispensible planning that prepares us to take advantage of opportunities or avoid the risks. It does matter, however. Don't let circumstance dictate your well-being and the well-being of your family and your employees and your customers. So what if your plan becomes useless. And it might. It's the process of planning - the practice of planning - that prepares you to take action when action is needed and to hold back when holding back is the smart thing to do.

We're coming into the time of the year when many businesses start their planning cycle for the coming year. Some of you are probably pretty far along. This has been a year when plans had to be revised. A lot of people were caught off guard - with their plans down, so to speak. For those of you who turned the corner, it was the planning - not the plan - that made it possible.

Can't see the forest for the trees?

Strategic perspective - the ability to manage everyday problems within the context of your mid-term and long-term goals - is often impossible to maintain without a little help.

The ability to help business owners maintain that strategic perspective is what I want to bring to the table. The fact that we have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of successful insurance agents, and we know how the business works - from both the company and the agency side - means we can bring perspective along with practical knowledge and advise.

My biggest kick is being able to help an agency owner see another way to solve a problem.