The final event in Agency Nation's virtual Elevate Trilogy, the original Un-conference, took place on Nov. 4 and covered all things independent insurance agency culture.

Want to know more about topics ranging from leadership and perpetuation to diversity & inclusion, recruitment challenges and more? If you registered but didn't get a chance to tune in, you can check out the on-demand recordings available with your event login on the Elevate conference event platform.

Bob Rusbuldt, Big “I" president & CEO, welcomed attendees to the event and introduced the keynote speaker, Bryan Falchuk, best-selling author, life and executive coach, podcaster and insurance industry advisor. Falchuk has been featured in Inc., The LA Times, Chicago Tribune and others; spoken at many TEDx events; been on more than 175 podcasts, TV and radio shows; and his best-selling books, "Do a Day" and "The 50 75 100 Solution," help people live better across all aspects of their lives.

But Falchuk's passion is insurance. “I've been in this industry for over 20 years now, I care about it, I think this is an unbelievably important industry, it's an unbelievably important product," Falchuk said. “If you really think about there's nothing that goes on in our economy—in our world—without insurance standing behind it."

Falchuk shared what he learned from studying the recent years' disruption in the insurance industry, walking agents through how to overcome insurance's stuck mentality by engaging with customers and employees, making capital strategic, creating a real advantage and more. He also answered attendees' questions about dealing with change on a granular basis, empowering staff creativity and remaining authentic.

Want to know how to beat lag and evolve past barriers? Registrants can view the keynote recording on demand.

However, the keynote only kicked off a packed agenda. Next, Beth Miller, CEO of Executive Velocity, guided conference-goers through advice on starting succession planning. The session appealed to agents who are working their way up through the ranks or owners who are seeking a successor before retirement. The session is available for registrants now.

In the age of The Great Resignation, recruiting is a hot topic. Doug Smith of Cordia Resources chatted with attendees about the cutting-edge strategies needed to acquire talent in the disrupted post-pandemic world. Registrants can learn the latest on recruiting and onboarding now.

Quincy Branch, president & CEO at Branch Benefits Consultants in Las Vegas, and Andrew Appel, president & CEO of Gregory & Appel Insurance in Indianapolis, sat down with Whitnee Dillard, Big “I" director of diversity and inclusion, to discuss how their agencies are making strides in inclusion and the many ways to bring diversity into your agency. The two agencies cut completely different paths to their D&I goals—and succeeded! Registrants can learn about Branch's and Appel's strategies to help shape their own.

Building a career in insurance can be a different experience for women than men. Kim Beach, founder & CEO of InsureWomen, led the discussion with Kat Ternes, vice president of revenue at AgencyZoom, and Michelle Rupp, owner of NRG Insurance—who was recently featured in Independent Agent magazine. From personal branding to career paths, registrants can learn from these insurance trailblazers. 

To close out the event, Danielle Guzman, global head of social media at Mercer, shared how to build an agency culture to promote employee engagement. Learn how to align staff interests with their work, provide the right tools to build engagement, and more by watching the recording.

Check out Agency Nation to get the latest on these issues and many other agency culture and leadership topics

AnneMarie McPherson is IA news editor.