"Your Job Is Change!"

I recently saw this headline on one of my favorite magazines, Fast Company. Immediately I thought, this issue is a must read. It reminded me of that great book, "Who Moved My Cheese," by Spencer Johnson, a book I highly recommend taking some time to read. It's an insightful little book on how to deal with change in your work and day-to-day life.Change is the one thing in my life I can count on being a constant. Many of us feel that way about the insurance/financial services industry, and our lives in general. The greatest thing about change is that it keeps us on our toes. Throughout my career, I've noticed that people who are really good at what they do seem to do things a bit different from the rest of the pack. They work smarter, not necessarily harder, and get to their desired final result by ignoring the typical "it's always been done this way" attitude. Thank goodness for change agents. If we didn't have them, our society as a whole would be in a sorry state. All those rebels, renegades and hot shots who thought they could do it better-they made change their job.

Speaking of change agents, I'd like to tell you about a few new things of our own. Starting with the December issue, Frank Cerne, the editor of Insurance Networking, will start sharing his insights, fears and dreams with you on this page. Frank is a passionate editor; you'll enjoy reading his commentaries. Feel free to share your thoughts with him. Tell him what you think of all the new marketing efforts within the industry.

Have you noticed the increasing number of insurance company and agent ads that have been popping up on TV and the radio? I remember the first time I heard a radio ad promoting buying your insurance online. I was amazed-and excited. Carriers have been marketing to agents for centuries. Marketing direct to the consumer is not as familiar. From the TV ads airing during the Olympics, and print ads in consumer business publications, carriers are marketing to niche customers like never before.

Marketing and distribution of insurance products have always been challenging for our industry-agents not able to get information on the products available for them to sell, and carriers not having easy access to customer data to promote and cross-sell the products they have. Soon this too will be made easier for both carriers and agents. Stay tuned for the most recent addition to the Thomson family, coming in the the first quarter of next year.

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