“When the legends die, the dreams end; there is no more greatness.”—Tecumseh
The Paths We Follow
Recently I have been reading about the history of Indiana and Ohio. In particular, I am studying the process by which the land was surveyed, divided into land parcels for purchase, and how the Native American traces, trails, and pathways became our modern-day roads and highways.
For thousands of years, herds of bison passed through the forests of Ohio and Indiana during their seasonal migrations. Thousands of buffalo, each weighing 1,000 pounds or more, made innumerable passes through the forest and created thoroughfares that were wide, pounded hard, and without question the easiest way to get through the dense forest. The indigenous peoples used these trails as conduits of trade, communication, hunting, war, diplomacy, and cultural interaction.
When surveyors and map makers were defining the Indiana and Ohio geography in the early 1800s in advance of the settlers, every Indian trail they drew was originally a bison trail.
In Southern Indiana the most prominent early line of travel was called the “Buffalo Trace.” It entered Indiana at the Falls of the Ohio River (modern day Louisville, KY) and progressed Northwesterly to Vincennes, IN.
“The buffalo was a large, heavy animal with a comparatively small foot. He could not cross low, swampy, marshy land, and being gregarious, he could not remain long in one place, for hundreds and sometimes thousands of them ranged together. Their pastures vanished rapidly, and they had to move frequently. Their small feet and heavy bodies necessitated their roads followed the highlands–indeed the ridges, or watersheds…. He was a good civil engineer and pathfinder. In fact, he found the road and man followed in his footsteps.”1
As time marched on, the bison disappeared. The death of the last documented bison in Ohio took place in 1802. Meanwhile, many Native American routes evolved to became bridle paths, wagon roads, paved roads, and even highways, some of which survive today, at least in part, along their original courses.
In 1914, an archaeologist named William C. Mills, published a work entitled Archeological Atlas of Ohio. In this book he wrote, “The importance of the aboriginal trails of Ohio to the settlement and development of the state, can hardly be overestimated.”2
Many American Indian trails and traces crisscrossed the landscape prior to the arrival of European settlers. One such North-South path passed directly through the heart of what is now the city of Columbus, Ohio. What is now known as U.S. Route 23 was once the Scioto Trail, the great pathway of the Shawnee tribe. Tecumseh himself frequently traveled it. This trail connected the fishing waters of Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie, to the hunting grounds of Kentucky. Much of the Southern portion of the Scioto Trail paralleled the Scioto River.
“In the 1820s, Colonel James Kilborne, the founder of Worthington and a representative in the Ohio General Assembly, lobbied heavily for a proper road to connect Columbus to Lake Erie. The legislature approved the creation of the Columbus & Sandusky Turnpike Company to build a highway in 1826.”3
The 106-mile-long turnpike was open for business in 1834. In the early 1900s Ohio was forced to invest in paving the well-used gravel road due to the emergence of the automobile. In 1926, the road was incorporated into the United States Numbered Highway System and became U.S. Highway 23.
“US-23 is nearly identical to the trail American Indians blazed centuries ago.”4
Following the Path of Legends
In many respects, the processes, products, procedures, and methods used today in the financial services industry have their roots in history. The steps of the industry’s legendary progenitors proved successful, attracted followers, and created norms, which led to training, and resulted in how thousands of independent financial professionals conduct business today.
I have been blessed in my career to have met some of the true legends in financial services. Some of these men and women have since passed on. I began this article with a quote from Tecumseh: “When the legends die, the dreams end; there is no more greatness.” With all due respect to this great Shawnee chief and warrior, I disagree.
Point: The greatness of legends is what they do and say which other successful people emulate, and so the greatness continues.
Example:
Lester Albert Rosen was born on November 19, 1912, in Brooklyn, New York.
“He graduated high school from Adelphi Academy in 1929. He immediately entered Wharton School of Finance and Commerce of the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics in 1933. Mr. Rosen entered the life insurance business in 1933 with Union Central Life Insurance Company and remained an active agent for this company until his death.”5
Lester served the country he loved for five years in the Armed Forces during World War II and attained the rank of Major. At Kennedy General Hospital he met Patricia Jefferson, a dietician, who he always described as the “most beautiful woman in the world.” They began a marriage in 1945 that lasted all the rest of his life–61 years.
I first met Lester in 1985, my initial year working for Union Central as an Advanced Sales Specialist in the home office. He was 73 years old and going strong. I assisted him on a few business and estate planning cases with product selection and case design. This was similar to providing Bill Gates with computer advice.
Question: What made Lester, the man, a legend?
- As a leader in the civil rights movement, Lester Rosen was president of the Memphis Human Relations Council.
- He served on the Urban League Board and received the J. E. McDaniel Community Service award in 1985.
- He served on the board of the National Conference for Community and Justice.
- He was a past vice-chairman of the Memphis and Shelby County Human Relations Commission.
- He was a member of the President’s Council of Christian Brothers University.
- He served the B’nai B’rith Home and Hospital for the Aged.
- His service to humanity was recognized by a life membership on the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army.
Question: What made Lester a legend in financial services?
- Rosen served as past president of the Memphis Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.
- Rosen served as past president of Tennessee Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors;
- Rosen served as past president of the Memphis Chapter Society of Financial Service Professionals;
- Rosen served as past president of the Memphis Estate Planning Council;
- He was past president of the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table;
- Rosen served as past president of the National Association of Life Underwriters; and,
- Rosen served as Past President of the Life Underwriter Training Council.
The American College of Financial Services was founded in 1927 by Solomon S. Huebner. “The College’s Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®) program graduated its first 21 designees in 1928.”6 Lester earned his CLU designation shortly thereafter.
The first meeting of the Million Dollar Round Table took place during the 1927 National Associate of Life Underwriters meeting at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. Lester Rosen was an early recipient of the MDRT® distinction. He served as president of the Million Dollar Round Table in 1962.7
The Legend Lives
One way for a legendary person’s influence to continue is by creating an award in that person’s name. The Lester A. Rosen Humanitarian and Achievement Award was created in 1996 to honor Rosen’s lifetime of service to the insurance industry, to Ameritas (Union Central Life, at the time) and to his community of Memphis, Tennessee. Recipients of the award must exemplify great professional success while maintaining a high level of commitment to community service.
In my career I have personally known these Lester A. Rosen Humanitarian and Achievement Award recipients:
- C. Robert “Bobby” Brown, Sr. CLU LUTCF
- Juan Elias Calles
- John B. Tickle
- Mitchell Wm. Ostrove, CLU, ChFC, AEP, LACP
Each of these professionals exemplifies the commitment and others-mindedness of Lester Rosen. For instance, Mitch Ostrove once invited me into his home, blessed me with a round of golf at his club, and has always treated me with kindness and respect even though he is truly a man of accomplishments and singular success! He is dignified, gracious and humble, just like Lester.
I also count it a singular blessing to call Jack Dewald my friend. Jack is a living legend. Jack has received numerous awards and achieved many remarkable achievements, including:
- Member, MDRT, Top of the Table;
- Past Chairman of The LIFE Foundation;
- Board Chairman of The Marketing Alliance;
- Past Chairman of NAILBA;
- 2013 Recipient of NAILBA’s Douglas H Mooers Award for Excellence; and,
- Member, Walton College of Business Alumni Advisory Board.
Jack also lives in Memphis, Tennessee, and was mentored by Lester Rosen over the course of many years. “Mr. Rosen,” as Jack always refers to him.
Jack kindly gave me a copy of Mr. Rosen’s book that he wrote for LIMRA in 1991, entitled Talk Life Before You Talk Life Insurance.
From the Forward:
“The year was 1929. In September I matriculated at the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce of the University of Pennsylvania. In October the stock market crashed. In November my roommate had to quit school to go to work in order to help his father support the family. Men were committing suicide by jumping off bridges and turning on the gas. Bank after bank closed, bankrupting depositors. Insurance companies invoked the contractual right to delay six months in processing cash-value loans. Story has it that a man walked into the home office of one of the giant New York companies and said, ‘Gentlemen, it is now ten o’clock. I need a $50,000 cash loan by two o’clock. If I don’t receive it, you will have a death claim for $250,000 by four o’clock.’ He got the loan.”8
In 2012 Jack Dewald, following Mr. Rosen’s example, wrote his own book entitled Ten Sales Concepts to Relish, Remember, Repeat. In the Introduction Jack quotes a story that Mr. Rosen once shared with him.
“Seems a grandfather was speaking with his young grandson and asked, ‘I’ll give you $10. Would you rather have a ten-dollar bill or ten one-dollar bills?’
After thinking about the generous offer for a few minutes, the grandson replied, ‘I’ll take ten one-dollar bills.’
Granddad then asked the young lad why he wanted ten one-dollar bills instead of one crisp ten-dollar bill.
The young man wisely responded, ‘In case I lose one, I’ll have nine left.’”9
Point: Another way for people to become legendary is to so infect others with their model of behavior that other people cannot help but catch the imprint of that character, live it, and spread it to others.
It Starts with c’est moi
Most everyone is familiar with a very old, very common French idiomatic saying, C’est la vie, which means “That’s life” or “Such is life.” In short, it expresses a sort of restrained, slightly fatalistic lamentation that this is how life is and there’s not much you can do about it. There is nothing especially heroic about this.
On the other hand, the French expression c’est moi is an extremely important interpersonal phrase. French people use it when responding to expressions of gratitude. C’est moi literally means “It’s me” but this translation doesn’t really get to the heart of why people use it to respond to an expression of gratitude.
In fact, it is actually short for c’est moi qui vous remercie, literally “it’s me who thanks you.” In English, when responding to another person thanking us, we might say “No, thank you!” (stressing the “you”) or “You’re very welcome.”
Point: At the root of a legendary personality is gratitude. It is an extreme gratitude that deflects gratitude. It is a gratitude that looks for ways to give rather than receive, to serve rather than be served, and to give all one has in total commitment just because of the privilege of having and enjoying hard work.
The power of gratitude begins where our sense of entitlement ends. This is the stuff of legends.
Summary
When I met Lester Rosen, he humbly accepted the assistance of someone who knew next to nothing and had minimal experience. He was gracious towards me, and he expressed sincere gratitude for any little thing I did.
The same thing can be said of Bobby Brown, Juan Calles, John Tickle, Mitch Ostrove, and Jack Dewald. These men are legends because of their accomplishments in our industry, but they are also legends because they bear the imprint of greatness as exemplified by their gratitude. They always have the c’est moi attitude and response to people and circumstances.
Next Steps
If you aspire to become legendary, hope to achieve greatness, and want to accomplish your dreams, consider these various ways of expressing c’est moi:
- Keep a gratitude journal, and daily record three things you are grateful for.
- Practice the art of seeking reasons to be thankful for other people.
- Make gratitude a priority in your interactions.
- Thank your clients for every conversation, referral, or new product they purchase.
- Each day, respond with “No, seriously, thank you” to the gratitude expressed by at least one person.
- Appreciate where you are now, and remember how far you have come.
- Focus on the people in your life, rather than the tasks or material blessings.
Gratitude requires action, and a conscious effort to be grateful is a skill you must acquire. Legends make gratitude seem effortless because they formed the habit in their daily routines.
There is a positive relationship between gratitude and a sense of social or community responsibility. When you see your gratitude extend beyond your life so that you want good things to pour over into other people’s lives, you are on your way to greatness!
In a letter written to the early church in Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Give thanks in everything.”10
British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer, Oliver Sacks, achieved legendary status. As he approached his death in 2015, he published his last book entitled Gratitude.11 Here is the secret to his greatness:
“I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return; I have read and traveled and thought and written. I have had an intercourse with the world, the special intercourse of writers and readers.
Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”
To you, Lester, and to all the legends in our industry who received the Humanitarian and Achievement award in your honor, and to all the legendary people in the life insurance industry who refused to let the dream of greatness die, I say, c’est moi!
Footnotes:
- Early Indiana Trails and Surveys (Indiana Historical Society Publications, V. 6, No. 3.) Paperback – December 2, 2015, by George R. Wilson.
- https://news.wosu.org/news/2019-11-28/curious-cbus-are-ohios-highways-based-on-american-indian-trails.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/commercialappeal/name/lester-rosen-obituary?id=9655236.
- https://www.theamericancollege.edu/about-the-college/history.
- https://www.mdrt.org/about-MDRT/leadership/.
- “You Have To Talk Life Before You Can Talk Life Insurance,” by Lester A. Rosen, CLU, Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association, Hartford, CT, 1991.
- “Ten Sales Concepts to Relish, Remember, and Repeat,” Jack Dewald, CLU, RHU, 2012, ISBN: 1466412208.
- https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1-Thessalonians-5-18/.
- https://www.oliversacks.com/oliver-sacks-books/gratitude/.
The Last Mile
CaringBridge,© a nonprofit organization, exists to help families keep their social networks informed when a family member is battling serious, life-threatening illness like cancer.
As I write this, a dear friend is battling metastatic brain cancer. His wife created a CaringBridge© Journal to share their journey with others.
The day of the surgery to remove a large tumor on his cerebellum, my friend’s wife posted her first entry:
“As a woman, I will not question my man’s statement:
‘I didn’t lose strength; I was just weak.’
It was just so macho, in a meek way.”
The day after his surgery, she posted this:
“He said quite quietly this morning, ‘I’ve been thinking about what the doctor said—It’s going to be a long marathon. A marathon is a very long run…in a very short time. Climb each hill, some easy, some hard. That creates a whole picture. You’ve just got to pace yourself.’”
Point: A marathon is a very long run…in a very short time.
The Life Insurance Industry Is in a Marathon
Like nearly every industry, the life insurance industry is in the throes of the digital revolution. Consumer expectations require that carriers invest in end-to-end IT solutions and comprehensive systems in order to keep pace with the consumers’ ever-changing requirements and demands.
A supply chain involves a series of steps involved to get a product or service to the customer. First Mile, Middle Mile, and Last Mile delivery phases are terms used within supply chain distribution specialties.
First Mile logistics: Simply put, once a good or service is manufactured, wherever it goes next is known as the First Mile.
Middle Mile logistics: Is when products or services are moved from a facility that holds the services or products briefly, and packages them into orders and gets them out to consumers. Fulfillment centers are significant players within the Middle Mile process.
Last Mile logistics: Is the transfer of goods or services to the final delivery destination. It is known alternatively as same-day delivery, next-day delivery, express delivery, or just standard delivery. Simply put, it’s the last step in the delivery process.
Within the life insurance industry, the digital revolution is changing everything, and impacting every supply chain phase, with great rapidity. Examples include automated underwriting, the use of Big Data in risk assessment, e-applications, e-policy delivery, and paperless processing.
Because life insurance consumers are not isolated buyers, but omni purchasers of products and services, everything that the life insurance industry does is instantly compared with every other purchasing experience.
Example: Amazon
What is Amazon’s First Mile? “The First Mile is the flow of materials within the supply chain to create a product before it’s delivered to the customer.”1
What is Amazon’s Last mile? “The Last Mile team helps get customer packages from delivery stations to a customer’s doorstep.”2
If the Last Mile is delivering one thing to one person by this time tomorrow, the First Mile represents the delivery of one component to one worker on an assembly line.
Point: The life insurance industry is in a marathon (along with every other industry) and needs to go a great distance in a short period of time.
The Last Mile
The Last Mile phase of supply chain management describes the short, final delivery and communications segment of distributing the services or products to customers. Last Mile logistics tend to be complex and costly to providers of goods and services who deliver to these customers.
“Some of the problems of Last Mile delivery include minimizing cost, ensuring transparency, increasing efficiency, and improving infrastructure.”3
Ecommerce sales are expected to reach $6.5 trillion by 2023. This will be accomplished “thanks largely to new fulfillment concepts including Dark Stores (shuttered stores opportunistically converted into fulfillment centers), warerooms and automated order facilities.”4
Dark Stores and Ghost Kitchens
(Is it just me or are those evil-sounding names?)
As online shopping booms (reaching nearly $100 billion in 2021), many retailers are struggling to meet the demand of customers for same-day delivery. To accomplish this Herculean task many retailers are turning to Dark Stores.
“A Dark Store is a micro-fulfillment center dedicated to rapid online order fulfillment. It is a kind of small, local store but without the customers. It has aisles with shelves and racks for groceries.”5
The name “Dark Stores” is derived from being dark—that is, closed to the public—since they are only used to fulfill online orders. Dark Stores are being utilized increasingly in the grocery and whole food sectors, fashion, big box retail, homewares, and furniture industries.
Many retailers are searching to find delivery-focused alternatives to traditional stores. Among these are Kroger, Wendy’s, and Chick-fil-A. They are among major U.S. chains that took over nearly 100 million square feet of industrial and warehouse space in 2021 (with an additional 376 million square feet of space under construction).
Dark Stores, through delivery, are enabling retailers to enter markets where they do not operate physical locations via ghosting. “Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A and other fast-food chains, for example, have introduced ‘ghost’ kitchens that operate expressly to serve delivery orders—no dining room or carryout.”6 Chick-fil-A, and other fast-food retailers, partner with a leading ghost-kitchen brand, Kitchen United, to offer delivery out of a shared commercial kitchen.
“The ghost kitchen craze is being driven by the explosion of delivery options in fast food.”7 Think UberEats, GrubHub and DoorDash.
From their website: “Kitchen United MIX’s mission is two-fold: Delivering delicious food options to hungry communities who crave variety; while also providing local restaurant businesses with streamlined operations support within clean, safe, state-of-the-art kitchen facilities.”8
Consider their value proposition:
Another firm is competing in this same space. Ocado makes their mission clear on their website:
Next for Life Insurance Distribution and the Last Mile
As recorded above, Last Mile decisions are based on these objectives:
Minimizing Cost
For as long as I have been in financial services, life insurance carrier distribution systems have included these parties:
Over the years I have witnessed carriers reducing their own costs by relegating more and more responsibility to the distribution system. The carriers quit doing things that are necessary and simply cast them off on their distributor partners. Examples:
Savings to the carrier only resulted in increased cost to the distributors.
Point: Digital solutions should reduce costs for carriers and their distribution partners.
Ensuring Transparency
The philosophy of business transparency requires the sharing of information freely in an effort to benefit the organization and its people, suppliers, distributors, customers, and the public. Transparency happens by implementing good processes and formalizing feedback.
Point: All parties need to understand and agree that the outcomes are worth the effort.
Increasing Efficiency
Efficiency is defined as “the ability to achieve an end goal with little to no waste, effort, or energy. Being efficient means you can achieve your results by using the resources you have in the best way possible.”
Efficiency is not achieved by simply eliminating steps in the process that yield unrecognized or undercelebrated benefits. Distribution partners know the activities they do that enhance relationships with customers, increase the likelihood of future sales, and lead to referrals and good will.
Point: Carriers would do well to listen and seek to understand these benefits.
Improving Infrastructure
One of the tension points between carriers and distribution partners is marketing, lead-generation, and prospecting. In the P&C world, carriers opted to go direct to consumers with national ad campaigns. Sure, the name recognition helped some distributors make additional sales, but they ended up in competition with their own carriers.
Point: Economies of scale can and should benefit all parties.
Last Mile Pivot Point
Underlying the entire debate about costs, speed to market, customer satisfaction, paths to increased sales, and product positioning is a simple question that is endlessly debated: “Is life insurance bought or sold?”
This debate points like a laser to the question of whether or not people want to buy life insurance from a person or if they are self-motivated enough to drive their own purchase decisions through web sites and digital or robot advisors.
My Personal Experience with The Last Mile
From the beginning of my career in life insurance, I have counted it the highest privilege to present life insurance solutions to families and businesses, to assist them in applying for coverage, and to deliver the actual policies they acquired. There is something magical about our products. They are the means by which love extends beyond the grave. I had the joy of seeing families cared for when the unexpected happens. It was inspiring to see business owners and families adopt the disciplines of saving and preparing for illness, disability, long term care, retirement, and death. It was in all these interactions, these Last Mile activities, that I found my greatest fulfillment.
Summary
The life insurance industry is in a marathon in adapting to the digital realities and has far to go in a short period of time.
I do not pretend to have the answers. I no longer have the responsibility to work actively on alternative means of delivering our products more effectively and satisfactorily to our end users.
In the life insurance industry, everything is headed in the direction of greater consolidation. Mergers are sensible when the objective is lower costs through scale and achieving greater efficiency by eliminating redundancy. Consolidation generally does little to improve end-user value, or to enhance the general public’s embrace of the industry.
At one time our industry was entirely built on relationships.
Final Point: In our efforts to gain efficiencies and cost-savings in the Last Mile, perhaps we can remember the importance of relationships.
Maybe we can create “Light Stores” and “Angel Centers.” As we “climb each hill, some easy, some hard,” maybe we can create an incredible combination of variety, safety, value, and effortless convenience for people needing our products.
Here is what I do know. I agree with Solomon Huebner: “There is nothing more uncertain than life, and nothing more certain than life insurance.”
Footnotes: