THOUGHTS OF CHAIRMAN MAC

  Recently John Hilton of Insurance News Net posted an articulate summary of sessions at the Annuity Distribution Summit hosted by the National Association for Fixed Annuities. While not specifically mentioned, it was clear from the remarks of the participants that “change” was the elephant in the room. Hilton wrote, “The panel promised an inside look at the future of (annuity) distribution and covered a variety of threats and disruptions to the industry.” Various panelists offered their strategy to resist the changes that are challenging the tenets of the primary annuity distribution system; the Independent Marketing Organization working with independent agents. The problem with this approach – as the life insurance industry learned in the late 20 th century – is that any strategy intended to resist change will fail. Change is a constant and the only workable strategy to deal with it is to recognize, accept and leverage it. THE LIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRY LEARNED THE HARD WAY WHE

    It has been perplexing for me to understand how intelligent, informed and well-educated people, can support Trump. For me, it is just so obvious that Trump is the diametric antithesis of the type of person who should be elected to lead our country. This dichotomy remained unresolved until it came to me that it’s all about one thing: CHANGE . Change is a constant force of nature. At first blush, most of us are naturally suspicious and leery of change, but it is ever present, and it is something we have to recognize, confront and adjust to.       We are wary of change because it requires us to move from the known to the unknown. For many, from all walks of life, the impact of change conjures up a fear of the future, insecurities and uncertainty. This apprehension over change creates in many a desire to go back to what they knew and were comfortable with in the past. But one thing to understand is that once fundamental change is inculcated into society, as much as we may want

If you have a true, passionate desire to become an entrepreneurial leader, it may seem contradictory, but the best path to exceptional success is to either reinvigorate a failing company or start a new one in a business sector currently dominated by established companies. At first blush such an approach may seem like business suicide, but this strategy offers the most potential for success and because so few are willing to try it, there is little competition. Here are a few tips on rebuilding or starting a company in a business sector dominated by established companies: 1.   Make sure you understand and have experience in the selected industry. 2.   Understand that success will come easier by actually changing the industry rather than trying to compete in it. 3.   Position your company to compete against rather then with the established companies. Make sure you understand the difference. 4.   Strive to become a disrupter of the industry’s status quo by calling out what th

    Rules are something we have to deal with all our lives. We are forever being admonished that the only way forward is to follow. If we don’t follow the rules, we are reprimanded with the equivalent of personal fire and brimstone. Despite this, there are times (more times than you might imagine) when breaking the rules is the best path to success. This is especially true when it comes to rules that rule your activities and future in the corporate world. Over time, corporate rules have become more about containment and control than accomplishment and achievement. Follow these rules at your own risk. The trick is to know why, when and how to break rules that should be broken.     To Become An Effective Leader – Make Your Own Rules We could pick a passel of questionable rules from virtually any endeavor, but for this discussion let’s assume that you have a desire to become an effective corporate leader. What are some of the established and accepted corporate rules and mores that

  Like me, are you disenchanted with and discouraged by the body politic of our country now? Are you weary of the self-serving conniving machinations exhibited by the political leaders of both parties? Are you frustrated that we can’t seem to come together and agree on any idea or action that will impact the future of our country in a positive way? Does it feel like this is something new that is causing our once unified country to come apart at the seams, spawning what seems to be a bleak future? If so, think again. As published in “American History” magazine, here is an excerpt from a letter written by Benjamin Franklin to a friend in France, just after participating in the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It seems as though Franklin could be living today when he wrote: “We must not expect that our new government may be formed as a game of chess played by a skillful hand, without fault. The players of our game are so many, their ideas so different, their prejudices so strong and so

  One of the most often espoused strategies in business management is called “best practices.” The hypothesis of “best practices” is if the executives of a company research, understand and then mimic the “best practices” of their most successful competitors, then their own success will be assured and come with less effort. In reality, fealty to the idea of studying and copying the “best practices” of the competition is, for a variety of reasons, often more destructive than constructive. But that does not stop many from pushing the idea as a panacea for management. Some business consulting firms even specialize in the area of “best practices” and offer ready-made templates to standardize business processes. These templates are sold as a map for management to adopt the best practices of other companies and they encompass virtually every process and procedure of the company. The allure of adopting a “best practices” management strategy is obvious, but the efficacy of this approach i