As is usually the case in these instances, the majority of these open items have been received but not closed or posted in the agency management system. This should be a one-time project. It involved each of these items being opened and researched to determine that.

1. Yes – the item has been received and the PCR should be posted.
2. No – the items has not been received and needs to be resolved.

The operations manager advised that the agency would be willing to pay overtime for this project to be handled outside of regular business hours. The lady that advised she would like to take on this project named it the “Outstanding PCR Clean-Up Challenge.” What a great attitude! This is how things get done. Everyone else saw it as a problem. This individual sees it as a challenge and an opportunity to move forward.

How to you instill this attitude in your staff?

I was first introduced to Mike’s website/blog a number of years ago by a mutual friend of our Steve Anderson. In a presentation Steve was telling his audience the importance of a blog and if you would like to see how it is done you should subscribe to Michael Hyatt. So I did. I was just getting started in the blogging world and in the process of converting my static site into a blog.

I have learned much from Mike. I am sure my website technical lady is really sick and tired of me emailing her – “I want so and so to act the same way as [blank] does at http://michaelhyatt.com.” Anytime, to this day, someone wants to know why or how to Twitter, I refer them to Mike’s site. I will often refer them there for other reasons as well.

It has been a struggle the past two weeks to fit in reading this book. There was the meeting I was attending, travel and a full week on-site with a client. However, as we all know, if something is important to us we will fit it into our schedules. I began the book before arriving at my client’s office on Monday morning for a “Web Presence Planning Meeting.” How timely was this?

During our meeting we would be having discussion about the firm’s elevator speech. I have had an elevator speech for a number of years, but I didn’t have a structure to share with the client before reading Mike’s book. Right there on Sunday evening in Chapter 9 was the information I needed for that meeting. A couple of other points came up during our meeting that I could draw on the book for answers.

As I read this book, I used the highlighting and notes tool in my Kindle app on my iPad. I have highlighted and made more notes in this book than any other I have ever read. I have a list for me of actions to take, and I am in the process of making a list for 3 of my clients that need to be reviewed and addressed to move them forward in their development of their web presence.

I don’t do many book reviews. A business book must have real value to me in order for me to spend my time on it. I don’t really look at PLATFORM as a book. I look at it a one the tools in my toolbox to improve my business as well as the businesses of my clients.

Thank you Mike for this great tool.

BONUS OFFER: To celebrate the launch of the book this week, Michael is giving away $375.98 worth of free bonus content for those who purchase the book between May 21 and May 25. Complete details are available at http://michaelhyatt.com/platform 

Bonuses include: Platform Video Jumpstart Program (six sessions), How to Write a Winning Book Proposal (two e-books and two audio sessions), Why NOW is the Best Time Ever to Be an Author (hour-long video), Digital Versions of Platform (audio and eBook), and more!

Do yourself and your future a favor, get this book today, take advantage of Michael’s bonus content and start building or expanding your platform right away! 

http://michaelhyatt.com/platform 

In one agency I worked in for a number of years I saw two things happen that so defines such differences and discussions. The time period 1970 – 1974. A lifetime ago right? I think you will recognize that similar issues exist today.

The Nonconformist Son – The owner’s middle son joined the firm after returning from his time in the military. The middle son had a great education, life experiences, a wide range of connections and many friends. Actually not so different from the Dad. Yet their work visions and habits were very different. The three of us actually shared a workspace so I heard almost all of their conversations. Many were very uncomfortable. The Dad was very successful. A diligent task master. Ethics beyond reproach. A great teacher. A really great mentor to his staff. However, not all of that transferred to his son. He somehow expected his son to understand how things were done and just get too it.

The son’s approach was much more his own style. Having lunch with his prospects and clients. Playing golf and tennis with them, etc. I’ve learned over the years that some of these great differences come from the Dad being influenced by the Great Depression and WWII and the son being living in a much different time period. Ultimately, the son left the firm and moved onto a very successful career outside the insurance industry.

The Loss of a Major Account – Same agency owner here. Of course the agency owner was personal friends with the owners of his major accounts. In the early 70s most of the business in our area were family owned instead of being corporations with boards of directors and owners located elsewhere. This particular account had many family members involved in the ownership and daily operation of the business. We also wrote the personal lines business of almost this entire family along with numerous employees of the firm.

The senior member and personal friend of my boss passed away after a short illness. The line of succession in the firm had been decided a number of years and the Dad of that firm had been grooming the son so that such a transition would mean no interruption in the business. About three months after the passing of the firm’s owner the son walked into the agency with all of their firm’s insurance policies in his hand. He sat at my boss’s desk and signed the front of each policy with his name, a request to cancel and the date. It was a very somber day in our office.

A few weeks later when I was processing the return premium invoices my boss and I had a conversation about this. I asked what he thought had happened. We had always made sure that anyone connected with the firm was well taken care of. There had been no negative claim issues. No apparent problems. His reply to me was that he had not taken the time or thought it necessary to build a relationship with the son that was now in the senior position. He thought that would automatically transfer from Dad to Son.

The Son had a friend also in the insurance agency business. The friend had solicited their business for several years. Once the Son was in the senior position he found that he preferred doing business with his peer and friend instead of someone he didn’t know all that well.

Senior agency owners and managers. Take note here. While these examples are from the 70s, I think there are many similar stories today. The only difference, more tools with which to engage prospects and clients. Maybe the young people in your firm should be your mentors.

Help them set goals, be sure they know your agency’s core beliefs and ethics and get out of their way.

What challenges are you facing one either side of this issue?

The only issue I have with OnLive Desktop is that I must select which documents I want to upload to the cloud provided to me online. Updates to a file on your iPad will sync with your cloud upload. However, my experience with this and uploading revised versions of a document to the cloud were not quick and seamless. Your free cloud storage amount is 2GB.

In contrast the CloudOn app will sync with my DropBox account where I store all of my documents; along with automated backups from my website using a WordPress Plugin, my NeatReceipts backup, etc. I can also sync a number of my other iPad apps with my DropBox and have access to all of my document through a number of different resources.

Any app that has DropBox sync gets automatic consideration. The app does have to meet my needs and perform, but if two apps are equal or really close, the one that syncs with DropBox wins. For those of you that might not know, when I make a change to a document in the app it updates to the dropbox and the current version available on my Mac or anywhere else I want to retrieve it and visa versa.

If you must access and use Microsoft Office documents I encourage you to try these two apps. They are both free. Do you know of other Microsoft friendly apps for the iPad? Please share with us.

• iPad2
• ZaggKeys Solo Keyboard
• LiveScribe Pen
• Samsung Android Phone
• Verizon MiFi

This was the very 1st time I have gone to a client’s office without my laptop. I have been preparing for this for several months. I have traveled a couple of times on personal business and one conference with these tools in order to become comfortable with relying on these tools. It also has taken a good deal of research and testing to find the Apps that allow me to do this.

I put off buying an iPad for a very long time. I didn’t think I would find enough of a use for it to justify the cost. Was I wrong on this call. It has become my constant companion. So, if you are going to fully embrace such a tool then it should be properly equipped to answer as many of your needs as possible. As most of my friends and business associates know I am a software junkie. I am always trying new programs to see how they improve my productivity as well as that of my clients.

While I love my MacBook Pro and I have access to a lot of Mac software, my clients all use Microsoft products as that is what their agency management systems integrate with and support. Thus, I have a virtual PC on my MacBook Pro to facilitate this. In the last few weeks two new apps have been released that aid in editing Microsoft documents. These are CloudOn and OnLive Desktop. I have downloaded both and am working with them to see which functions the best. I will keep you posted on this.

But I hear a whole bunch of you asking what is a LiveScribe Pen and why. A LiveScribe pen is a tool for capturing your notes by writing, drawing, etc. on special paper. The pen also has a recorder function. As to the why? Years ago when I started consulting I was taught and required by my employer to take notes while talking to an agency’s employees by typing them on my laptop during the interview process. An open laptop is actually a barrier between you and the individual or group that you are wanting to have an interactive conversation with.

To combat this problem for a number of years I used a tablet laptop so that I could write my notes on the laptop in its tablet configuration. Not only was this an icebreaker, but it solved the problem with an open laptop. But when it had to be replaced there was not a similar laptop in the market place that was reliable. So I invested in the LiveScribe Pen. Not only does the pen and its paper take care of my note taking, the recorder had proven invaluable.

No matter how good a note taker your are, when working with a group sometimes multiple people are talking and you miss something. I have found some really important points made while listening to the recording of a session.

So why don’t I ditch the pen and just take notes on the iPad? I have identified three great note Apps. However, I have yet to find a really good stylus for note taking. All that I have found are too fat on the tip and are not responsive enough. However, I believe that one is on the horizon. I will report back on that soon.

I am always researching and moving forward with my technology and in being able to advise my clients in their options?

What are your best tools? What questions can I answer about the tools I use?

• Shrinking businesses in their town and surrounding area = less clients and prospects.
• Businesses and families struggling to make ends meet. Insurance needs my come last and be bare bones.
• Insurance carriers cutting agencies that can’t meet production standards.
• The continuing soft market.
• Difficulty finding qualified employees.

Frequently I often find everyone from the owner to the receptionist depressed or pessimistic or both.

So how does an agency remain above the fray, survive, thrive and keep up that positive, optimistic attitude?

I can usually tell within a few minutes of entering an office if there is a positive vibe or not. I always really happy when it is positive. It is such a struggle to work with a firm that doesn’t have this. So I was very pleased to find that everyone seemed to be happy or even excited that I was there.

This agency as most agencies has their challenges. But this agency really knows most of their challenges and are rolling out a plan to address and eliminate those challenges. Everyone I met with has an upbeat attitude and in addition to talking about problems also put forth some great ideas and solutions. This group is truly a team.

Our plate is overflowing as we move forward over the next few months. They have more than one initiative going on simultaneously. We had really honest discussions about the time needed to work through each of this initiatives and the time commitment required. There were a few deep breaths but the response was “We trust you to keep us on track and moving forward”.

Oh my! I rarely work with a firm with this much commitment. Their great positive attitudes will serve them greatly in getting through many changes throughout this year.

What is the culture in your agency? How can it be improved or is everyone on the same positive wavelength?

• Budget constraints.
• We need to work and write business and not make improvements or changes.
• Nothing new happening with our systems so no updates or changes needed.

I get the budget constraints. But the other “reasons” are not valid in my opinion. If you are sitting still you are falling behind.

I find that often in agencies that do a budget, update the marketing plan for the new year and plan for other capital expenditures, updates in operations is frequently given the boot. I remember a time with systems didn’t change very often or the changes were so small that revisions to processes didn’t seem as important. But in today’s world this just isn’t the case.

I follow several agency management system vendors on social media and work directly with others. I see changes posted by one system or another every day. Such things as:

• A new carrier that is doing download with a particular system or a new line of business.
• The addition of claims downloads.
• The addition of accounting downloads.
• The states and or lines of business added to rating systems.
• Improvements to functionalities in one or more systems that you might be using.

Most vendors do at least one major update release to their system each year. A number of vendors do two or more a year.

If you are not looking at your operations standards, procedures and workflows throughout each year and updating, you are falling behind.

Your staff is not as efficient as they could be and you are losing money. Wasted time is wasted money.

What has changed that you have overlooked and not updated?

This is my first post using only Blogsy. I am still learning what all can be done, but I do think it is possible that this can be the best tool to available to manage my blogs while moving about. My previous process was very involved which was frustrating. It seemed better to just wait until I was back at my laptop.

However, as many of you know I am a software junkie. If you have other suggestions I all ears. How are you using your iPad to improve your mobile business life?

On this particular Friday morning the only thing I need from the produce department is mushrooms. However, while getting my plastic bag for the mushrooms I see fresh okra out of the corner of my eyes. WooHoo!!! It is way past fresh okra season so this is a pleasant surprise.

While I am putting okra in my plastic bag my mind is immediately busy deciding what we are having with it for dinner. I had left the house mulling over the “what to have for dinner” question and I was coming up totally blank. Oh wow, fresh okra! I need blackeyed peas. The freezer case of fresh frozen beans hand none. But there were cream peas. Okay, we’ll give these a try. Make meatloaf and cornbread and you will have a great meal.

It has been cold and rainy for two days and this will fit the bill.

So how many of us use an instant inspiration? Do we think through how to use something we find unexpectedly; or do we just jump off and do something in haste because it is new and different. Inspiration is a great tool. It is what you do with it that matters.

Oh and by the way, the meal was really good and perfect for a cold, rainy, dreary night.

What do you do with inspiration?