My dad died in 2006. Although my dad had many flaws, to me and my brother he walked on water. He was incredibly good to me and my brother growing up and taught us how to hunt, fish, cuss, deal with life’s ups and downs, and taught us a relentless work ethic. He owned an underground construction (water, drainage, sewer), and concrete business and was one of the toughest guys that I’ve ever known. He worked every day until he died at age 62, which was in 2006.
Anyway, if you know his blue-collar hard headed type, you know that sometimes evolving with the times can be difficult. For instance, I was telling my wife the other day that if dad was still alive during the height of the Covid pandemic where there were vaccine mandates, mask mandates, etc., that I’d be very curious how he would have fit in. You know what I’m talking about. That’s not a political statement; it’s just me saying that he probably would not have “complied” very well because he had strong and independent beliefs, but you always knew where you stood. You know the type of person I am talking about.
This type of person often gets stuck in their own ways. Again, he had his flaws as many of us do! However, as I grew older, I realized that my dad was a much smarter and a much more complex guy than what meets the eye. For instance, I was immensely proud of him when I learned that he had actually bought a laptop computer as well as a sewer pipe camera, where instead of having to dig up sewer lines to see what the issue was, he used technology! Go figure. It was actually a fairly sophisticated set-up 20 years ago, whereas today you just buy something and “Bluetooth” it to your phone. He bought a van where the TV, laptop, electrical wiring, etc. were housed. It looked like an FBI surveillance vehicle, not that I know what that looks like. As a guy who dropped out of high school to start his own business, he was now using computers and fairly sophisticated equipment! It was crazy to me that somebody as hard headed as him would get out of his comfort zone to learn modern technology when before this his giant calloused fingers had never even touched a computer keyboard. But he understood that he had to adapt with the times or be a victim of “creative destruction.”
I’m writing this article because I was reminded of this with the East Coast “Port strike” that took place in early September. It has been “sidelined” for 90 days while they negotiate. I’m not going to give my opinion on anything other than the “automation component” of the strike.
One of the items that the union is requesting is that the port employers do not automate the docking/undocking functions. Naturally, by automating this would mean that computers and machines would replace the jobs of the employees. Well, if using computers and machines is the more cost effective and efficient way to do it, then I find the demand of not automating very far-fetched. In a capitalist society, for somebody to request that employers turn a blind eye to automation—which is equivalent to attempting to halt aging—is a crazy request.
Automation is inevitable. If the employers do not automate, then there will be other similar businesses that will open up, they will automate, and because their pricing will be better (because of a more efficient business) the non-automated companies will subsequently go out of business. At that point everybody at the obsolete company loses their jobs! Again, automation is inevitable and keeping out automation is like trying to keep my head dry with my hand in a rainstorm. The rain eventually seeps through. Automation will happen and it must happen.
How does this relate to our business? It very much relates to our business. I say this lovingly, but if you are very much “hard headed”—like me and like my dad—you might find yourself sticking to what has always worked. We hear this all the time; people stick to “what they are comfortable with and familiar with.” But is the “familiar” the most efficient? I try to force myself to get out of my comfort zone every day.
Simple example, if you are an agent that still prefers paper applications, electronic applications can shave off 75 percent of the time it takes to complete the application. That’s right, instead of an hour to complete an application, maybe it’s only 15 minutes. Go through the learning pains on the front end to be efficient over the long run.
Or what about a CRM system? Do you just have your clients stored in your memory bank? Or, are you using a CRM system that not only stores their information but also alerts you when special dates arrive? That is innovation/automation.
What about new products and product lines? Are you “stuck” with old products that you are comfortable with, or do you look to what the latest and greatest is? Annuities are better than they have ever been. Linked Benefit/Hybrid LTC products are better than they have ever been. Partner with an IMO where you can continue to learn about these new developments.
Efficiency and automation can also include leveraging what other people are doing. For instance, I have 400 agents that I work with across the country. I do monthly client webinars on long-term care planning, Social Security planning, estate planning, retirement planning, etc. I invite agents to invite their clients to my webinars where the agents are almost guaranteed appointments by the end of it, because the clients connect with what I say. If I’m already doing the webinar, why would the agents not take advantage of that? That is a form of automation/efficiency.
There are many other examples in our business that I could cite where we need to get out of our “comfort zone” so we are not victims of evolution, or on the bad side of “creative destruction.”
It’s important that we run businesses as efficient as our competitors so that we are not “automated” out of existence. I myself know how hard this is, as somebody that is “old school” in many different ways. I still read the Wall Street Journal via the paper version versus the tablet/phone version. And, of course, I love my “Print Version” of Broker World!
