Time for a Midterm
By: Bob Fulwider
I recall with trepidation the first midterm I ever received. It was Chemistry 102—winter quarter of my sophomore year. The first frightening experience was when our house scholarship chair handed the papers out during a house meeting. Receiving such a pronouncement was, shall we say, humbling. The second was when my parents were notified that their son was up to more than just “grinding the books.” I about broke the telephone in its cradle when I hung up following the usual Sunday night “family talk.”
Little did I realize there would be many midterm evaluations in life. And now I face still another. When I accepted your chairmanship of this great association last September, I set forth a series of personal goals. First and foremost, I was mindful that our association has a terrific long-range plan in place, mandating the direction we go. Likewise, we have an annual association operating plan that allows us to determine what is most important for our members and then measure our progress. It was within both purviews that I chose eight personal goals. We are six months into this association year. I’m about to be graded—it’s midterm time!
1. Continued strengthening of agency advocacy. We certainly get an A in this endeavor, but not a result of my efforts. Rather, it’s thanks to each of you in your fight for our livelihood and more importantly those of our consumers. Our government affairs department is outstanding and the work of our staff is unparalleled. Our political action committee (InsurPac) contributions are at a record for this time of year.
2. Living the Brand. We’re improving but certainly not where we wish to be. Some of you have yet to give strong consideration to membership in Trusted Choice®—you’re missing a great ride. There are also those who do subscribe but have yet to engage your agency in the Live the Brand program. Ask for the blueprint for branding excellence from your state association office or the Trusted Choice® staff and get started. This month: Contact your local state association for co-op or tie in advertising opportunities. I will continue to encourage all of us to new heights with Trusted Choice®. I give myself a C+ so far.
3. Real-Time. We all know how important it is to our agencies. We have pledged to bring it to national prominence. Yet we all are doing little toward making our workflows more efficient and effective. We must take advantage of what has been provided for us by the Agents Council for Technology (ACT) if we are to effectively compete in the future. I need to work harder on your behalf. B–.
4. Remaining a profitable association. We have been able to do what we do because we’ve been blessed with the necessary resources. Costs continue to rise and it will take considerable effort from our directors to provide valuable member services in this soft market and into the future. Finance Committee Chairman Cappy Stults and his committee are working overtime to analyze our future and make recommendations for our continued success. We get an A– for our efforts to date.
5. Agency/company relationships. Unfortunately, I continue to hear from many of you that things aren’t like they used to be. It seems many of our agencies experience either heavy courting or divorce but it is uncommon today to experience a solid marriage. I haven’t moved very far on this one—it’s still in the works and I ask all of you to stay tuned. Right now, a C– would be in store.
6. Additional membership opportunities. As mergers and acquisitions continue to dissect our membership numbers, efforts must continue to examine new ways to attract new members to the Big “I.” We have a nice start in several areas: international agents, our Large Agents & Brokers Roundtable, combining efforts with our life-health agents and more. Several of our association leaders, like Board Director Steve Spiro of New York, are working hard on this effort. We get an A– for effort.
7. Continued support for our “support services.” I’m continually amazed at the work of InVEST, Best Practices, Young Agents, the Technical Affairs Committee, the Diversity Committee and all the other components of IIABA that contribute to our welfare. I’m pushing their use as much as possible. I get a B for effort.
8. Continued improvements in communication. We’re doing well—that’s because I think all of us are listening to each other. I’m proud of you—you earned me a B+.
Grade for this midterm: B. Six months to go. I really want to be an honors student—not because it’s about me, but because we’ll all be better served. Let’s work even harder!
Bob Fulwider
Chairman
Little did I realize there would be many midterm evaluations in life. And now I face still another. When I accepted your chairmanship of this great association last September, I set forth a series of personal goals. First and foremost, I was mindful that our association has a terrific long-range plan in place, mandating the direction we go. Likewise, we have an annual association operating plan that allows us to determine what is most important for our members and then measure our progress. It was within both purviews that I chose eight personal goals. We are six months into this association year. I’m about to be graded—it’s midterm time!
1. Continued strengthening of agency advocacy. We certainly get an A in this endeavor, but not a result of my efforts. Rather, it’s thanks to each of you in your fight for our livelihood and more importantly those of our consumers. Our government affairs department is outstanding and the work of our staff is unparalleled. Our political action committee (InsurPac) contributions are at a record for this time of year.
2. Living the Brand. We’re improving but certainly not where we wish to be. Some of you have yet to give strong consideration to membership in Trusted Choice®—you’re missing a great ride. There are also those who do subscribe but have yet to engage your agency in the Live the Brand program. Ask for the blueprint for branding excellence from your state association office or the Trusted Choice® staff and get started. This month: Contact your local state association for co-op or tie in advertising opportunities. I will continue to encourage all of us to new heights with Trusted Choice®. I give myself a C+ so far.
3. Real-Time. We all know how important it is to our agencies. We have pledged to bring it to national prominence. Yet we all are doing little toward making our workflows more efficient and effective. We must take advantage of what has been provided for us by the Agents Council for Technology (ACT) if we are to effectively compete in the future. I need to work harder on your behalf. B–.
4. Remaining a profitable association. We have been able to do what we do because we’ve been blessed with the necessary resources. Costs continue to rise and it will take considerable effort from our directors to provide valuable member services in this soft market and into the future. Finance Committee Chairman Cappy Stults and his committee are working overtime to analyze our future and make recommendations for our continued success. We get an A– for our efforts to date.
5. Agency/company relationships. Unfortunately, I continue to hear from many of you that things aren’t like they used to be. It seems many of our agencies experience either heavy courting or divorce but it is uncommon today to experience a solid marriage. I haven’t moved very far on this one—it’s still in the works and I ask all of you to stay tuned. Right now, a C– would be in store.
6. Additional membership opportunities. As mergers and acquisitions continue to dissect our membership numbers, efforts must continue to examine new ways to attract new members to the Big “I.” We have a nice start in several areas: international agents, our Large Agents & Brokers Roundtable, combining efforts with our life-health agents and more. Several of our association leaders, like Board Director Steve Spiro of New York, are working hard on this effort. We get an A– for effort.
7. Continued support for our “support services.” I’m continually amazed at the work of InVEST, Best Practices, Young Agents, the Technical Affairs Committee, the Diversity Committee and all the other components of IIABA that contribute to our welfare. I’m pushing their use as much as possible. I get a B for effort.
8. Continued improvements in communication. We’re doing well—that’s because I think all of us are listening to each other. I’m proud of you—you earned me a B+.
Grade for this midterm: B. Six months to go. I really want to be an honors student—not because it’s about me, but because we’ll all be better served. Let’s work even harder!
Bob Fulwider
Chairman
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