Change. The reasons for change. How change is communicated, led, and measured.
Ultimately, how did we know if we focused on the right changes for the right reasons?
After all, change for change's sake is more often than not counterproductive
if not downright damaging.
All of these are fascinating to me and though intimately woven together and critical for success, each sub component here elicits a number of thoughts. To be honest, I even pondered a while on the word “promoting" in the title of the article. But, that's just the way my brain works.
There is no arguing that change is necessary and inevitable in almost literally every facet of life. And while every generation through each of society's most significant transformations will attest that their cycle of change was the most dynamic, I think there is an objective case to be made that right now is the fastest and most significant amount of change humankind has ever seen…and with AI still in its infancy it will likely only get faster.
Please don't mistake this statement as any discrediting of other seismic changes over time… the discovery of fire, the wheel, the industrial revolution, to the dot com phase to now. ALL of them changed how we did the things we do. And, in many ways they changed what we do…and why.
As I have already alluded, it's powerful if not critical to think about each when considering change and your role in the change. Again, though they are intricately connected, we need to assess each and address each in their own unique ways. Some thoughts to ponder.
The Why: Many will posit that we must change in our industry to keep up with the consumer expectation set by Amazon. We've heard it, and likely agree with much of it… 24/7, anywhere and anyhow, immediate shipping, free returns, maybe even some recommendations for other items we might like. Huge stuff, hard to argue, and we must learn from all of this. In fact, we can all name insurance entrants who aim to displace agents, carriers, and tenured tech all through the Amazonian lens. Let's save that debate for another time, but I think many would agree that their experience and learning has pointed back to the value offered from within the very model they were looking to disrupt. Thus, the “why".
Viewing an insurance product through the lens of an identical, repeatable, and predictable product like a blender, they are right. But insurance is not a blender. In fact, every single customer is different. Though there are some that will absolutely buy our product as though it was a blender, when considering the change(s) you want or need to make in your firm (agency, insurer, vendor partner), it's critical to assess if that is your customer. This is your “why".
Consider that most everyone reading this has an accountant, attorney, and a doctor. Each are highly trained and licensed professionals who offer tailored advice and council to meet the individual needs of the customer. Sound familiar? In fact, to be bold, let's ponder… has anyone reading this bought any legal, accounting, or critical medical advice from an online source they've never met or discussed their needs with? Likely no or rarely.
The point here isn't to discourage change or learning how consumer demands are changing and being shaped within and outside our industry. Rather, it is to start your change and transformation journey with a solid why…an understanding of your target customer, what they need and how that is changing with time, how you will staff accordingly, how you'll build your capabilities to meet/exceed those needs, and how you'll manage keeping up with them. The point is that even with a very defined and targeted “why", nothing stays stagnant. And if we are not at least working to keep pace with what our target customers need, we are by default falling behind.
The What: In my mind, “what" is like saying “the fundamentals". And while it is not always a popular thing to say, this is a fundamentals heavy industry. And I'd be so bold to say that some of the challenges we face, or even create, happen by losing some focus on these fundamentals. Afterall, doesn't everything that all of us do every day ultimately lead to making certain that there is a financially sound insurer available to uphold its contractual obligation to indemnify a policyholder at the time of a covered loss? Everything. Yes, a lot goes into that, but that is why our industry exists and what makes it complex. Afterall, if we cannot uphold our policyholder obligations, we don't exist…for long.
These are not excuses to dismiss innovation and change. Rather they are a challenge to make sure we are focused on what needs to change and why. Some may not agree initially, but I submit that even over 100's of years in our industry (in which a lot really has changed!), many fundaments, many “what's" do and will remain. Though not intended to be an exhaustive list, since day one hasn't the industry needed to prospect, quote, underwrite, price, sell, transfer risk, service, bill, settle claims, and you could argue compliance? There are certainly others, but many are captured within the spirt of this abbreviated list.
But, why mention all of this in the first place? Though it may seem simplistic and perhaps a bit blind to change, this is a reminder to consider the fundamentals first when beginning a change or transformation initiative in your firm. Afterall, if you remotely buy in to the notion that we all must still do these fundamental tasks in our industry, it makes sense to focus your change/improvement/innovation efforts here first.
There are two primary reasons why. First, you must do these things regardless. Doing them as efficiently and accurately as possible is a huge opportunity, dare say a need, in many businesses. And this is where we can learn from the Amazons of the world and look for new and better ways to do the fundamental to make an overall better experience for our team and our customers…your target customers. Secondly, it makes sense to get your fundamentals dialed as efficiently as possible prior to looking at any net new capabilities. Afterall, would you put a beautiful new and modern addition on an old out-of-date home with dated treatments, electric, roofing, etc. Or would you get the core property updated and stabilized first?
The How: This is where we explore the notion that “We've always done it that way" isn't working. Afterall without alignment about what you are doing and why you are doing (and how you are measuring it), it's very difficult to assess if how you are doing it is working or not.
All that said, I do believe most would agree that one of the more harmful expressions in business and life is “We've always done it that way." Hearing it shuts down dialog, stifles creativity, and is a barrier for any form of meaningful innovation. And, in reality, it's also usually wrong. Afterall, if we are honest and set hyperbole aside, our industry has gone through a continuous cycle of changes in how we do things… in nearly every facet of every role for as long as any of us have been involved. In other words, let's give ourselves some credit. Any remotely successful business that has been around for a while hasn't “always done it that way"… or at least not most things.
Aging myself here, I can recall being a carrier field rep delivering rates on floppy disks. Some agents loved, some hated the change, as it wasn't much earlier that agents and carriers were rating with pencils. Then carriers built quoting portals. Then the portals underwrote and ultimately allowed submissions and binding. Comparative rating grew. We had “real time". And we are getting to more direct integrations. At each point, the role of the agent, underwriter, processor, IT professional, actuary, etc.… changed as did how they did the thing. Some resisted and others asserted we weren't moving fast enough. We can debate the pace and effectiveness of this journey, but using this fairly broad scale example, we can honestly say we haven't always done it the same way. Perhaps it's naïve or optimistic, but I think we can use this example as an illustration to support the notion that saying “We've always done it that way" is not only counter to progress, but it is often incorrect.
If something is wrong and counter to moving forward, it's hard to fathom why people say it. I believe when people say this, it is largely rooted in fear of uncertainty and change. And we can address that by recognizing progress and impact that has already been made and use that to build upon with new concepts, tools, capabilities, and… results. In fact, we don't recognize progress enough and we should…if just as a mechanism to inspire future innovation and thought, believing we can and have is very powerful. So, it's not entirely clear why (or motivating) to dismiss the past and what can be learned about how and why we are where we are on any change curve. Afterall, where we are is not likely to be where we were even just a few years ago…again, we haven't always done it that way and we should continue to embrace not doing it the same way in the future.
Whether someone appears to be reluctant to change OR is pushing change very hard they may feel compelled to reference the “We've always done it" sentiment. Though those are very different starting points in your change management efforts, it's a very powerful opportunity to remind the fearful or the optimistic that we need to always assess our “why", our “what", and our “how" and remind them that we really haven't always done it the same way…and that we cannot continue to do it the way you are today.
Chris Cline is the Executive Director of The Big "I" Agents Council for Technology.