NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2015 - (Page 7)

chairman's corner Education is the Transmission of Civilization -Will Durant R DAVID LONG NAILBA CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD ecognize that quote? I'd be impressed if you did. We used it a little over 8 years ago when we first rolled out NAILBA University. I'm using it again, even though I'm still not all that clear on who Will Durant is, because it's still true. To that end, education is a critical component to any industry, and moreover, a cornerstone of our business. As I've mentioned at the annual meeting and in this column, education is a major focus of our current strategic plan. Based on feedback from membership, face-to-face educational opportunities are desirable, however, we've proven time and again that we're all too busy to get together more than once a year. It's just the way it is, so we are planning accordingly. That means taking full advantage of the time we spend together at the NAILBA Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting section of the Professional Development Committee (PDC) will continue to provide breakout sessions tailored to feedback from you, the NAILBA member agencies. This includes an expanded focus on best practices for running a business. We will still provide industry specific content related to product trends, underwriting, sales strategies, etc. Also look for programs related to government affairs as we partner with AALU to advocate on behalf of our industry and clients. We all know about one major educational opportunity available at the Annual Meeting that isn't held during any of the general sessions or in the break out programs-but I'll remind you anyway-each other. In addition to all the great content every year at the Annual Meeting, I still find one of the best reasons to attend is the ability to talk to other members. It's really amazing that we are all in pretty fierce competition with one another, yet I can't tell you the last time I asked a question of another BGA and was told "that's confidential," or "can you sign a non-disclosure agreement before I answer that?" So much knowledge in one place and my experience has been everybody wants everybody to be successful. It's kind of like golf-it's hard enough to beat the course, we can worry about the competition when we figure out what we're doing! Now I realize as Chairman I'm drinking a healthy portion of the NAILBA Kool-Aid (maybe I'm compensating for no longer drinking the Northwestern Mutual Kool-Aid??), but I get excited every year when they first swing the doors open to the exhibit hall. It could be because I want to see what the latest innovation in tchotchkes (there's a word I've never typed before!) will be, but let's face it, the educational opportunities in this room are limitless. With nearly 100 carriers, vendors, associations, and other exhibitors represented-there is no single place on earth housing as much information about what we do than that room. Take your time, go down every aisle, take a picture with an albino boa constrictor, grab an extra cookie-but also get serious, dig in, and reap the harvest of information before you that could hold the next great idea that takes your agency to the next level. Since we need to continue to learn after the Annual Meeting, the next best thing to being there is the webinar. NAILBA will offer quarterly webi- nars to start, and increase the frequency over time based on demand. Both NAILBA staff and the PDC are currently developing web based programs that will help membership run successful agencies and stay ahead of the curve on industry developments. The NAILBA website is also a valuable resource for our membership-24/7. The aforementioned NAILBA University resides at NAILBA. org. NAILBA University's mission is to serve the educational and training needs of NAILBA member agencies and the supporting brokerage community by increasing the number and value of professional development options available. You may not know about these programs if you haven't been to the website, but there are ten of them! At our agency, all new staff members take the BGA Training Series when they are hired. This accomplishes two things: 1) It gives the new team member a basic foundation of what we do in this industry; and 2) It gives the trainee something productive to do when I'm constantly taking phone calls during training! That's just one example. Take a look at the NAILBA University page after you've read this issue of Perspectives cover to cover; you'll be impressed. By the end of the year, further improvements will be made to NAILBA.org to provide additional member benefits and enhance the ease of use of the site. I hope I gave you some things to look into as well as some things to look forward to as they relate to your continuing education. Take advantage of these opportunities and keep that transmission humming! Thanks for your membership, and your time. www.nailba.org 7 http://www.NAILBA.org http://www.nailba.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2015

NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2015
Contents
Chairman’s Corner
CEO Insights
Basic Staff Training: Onboarding Should be Longer than One Day
NAILBA Charitable Foundation
Member Profiles
Mooers Award Nominations
Get Schooled! Ongoing employee Education and Producer Training are Key to a Brokerage Agency’s Success
Agency Successor Networking Group
Life Happens
Reading Ahead
Government Affairs
Calendar of Events
Index of Advertisers

NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2015