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Transcript

Casey Combest: [00:00:00] Hello everyone and welcome back to the Insurance Leadership Podcast. I'm here today with Ben Markland and Ryan and thank you guys for being here today.

Ben Markland: Hi man. Glad to be here.

Casey Combest: Absolutely. We just returned from ICMG in Miami. A great conference down there. We got some awesome episodes recorded, and we're gonna be unpacking a little bit about what we talked about down there and what we learned.

So, Ryan, you weren't micd up for any of these interviews. Ben took the full brunt of all the interviews.

Ryan Eaton: Ben took it man. What'd it go, Ben?

Casey Combest: You did a fantastic job, but you did hear a lot of what's happening across the industry. What are people focusing on right now? What stood out to you?

Ryan Eaton: Well, Casey, you, ICMG is a great place 'cause you have 400 different companies all in one spot. That's what Ben and I have loved it. A lot of people use it as a time to check the box, to meet with a lot of people, get a lot of face-to-face type stuff in you hear different people's strategies for the year. One of the things that I heard, everyone's trying to [00:01:00] pitch you different ideas and everyone's trying to tell you different stuff and you're kind of trying to do the same thing to a degree. But one of the things that I saw was focus, and you talk about leadership focus and different things along those lines. One of the big things I saw was focus down there. People knew what they were going after. And I think that's a big thing for companies to remember is make sure they have a clear focus for their company.

I always think about Steve Jobs and he had, when he came on as CEO in 1997 of Apple, one of the things he said was, Hey, we do 12 things. Good. We're gonna do four things. Great. And I thought that was a great point. Always stuck out to me. But I saw that with the different people we met with and you meet with TPAs, you meet with carriers, meet with brokerages, all enrollment shops, all types of people. But the ones who were doing really, really good in their industry and you knew they were doing good. They had clear focus and that was one of the biggest things I got. It wasn't necessarily a product, it wasn't necessarily a new idea, a new design. A lot of stuff is similar to how it was last year, there's a few new channels and new distribution models, but [00:02:00] overall what I saw was the people who were being really successful were really focused, and that was one of the biggest things I got out of the conference as well.

Casey Combest: Yeah. As leaders are listening right now and they're saying, yeah, that makes sense. I've seen these strides that my business makes and it does reflect a time where myself and my team were focused. Yeah. How do they refine as we're going into 2026, their focus? How do we know what to shift and say, Hey, this is most important.

Ryan Eaton: We live in a different age than we did 20 years ago, right? And I remember when I first, I've been in the business 20 years now, a little over 20 years, and when I first came in emails, you'd get some emails, maybe 10 a day, 15 a day, something along those lines, now we're all at a spot where we might be getting 200 emails a day, and everyone, once your time, everyone wants to call, everyone wants to maybe message you on LinkedIn or message you through another different social media platform. And everyone wants an answer real quick and they'll keep ping you and then there's automated type stuff. Sometimes you just gotta cut it off all of it and realize what you have to go after as a company, because [00:03:00] everyone else is trying to get you to do what they want you to do. And sometimes you have to really sit down and sit back and figure out, Hey, what are we going after? And I think that's a big thing for leaders to look at and think about from a company standpoint is, hey. What are our targets? What are our goals? We can't get distracted every time we hear something. You hear people say that the.

Casey Combest: Bright shiny objects.

Ryan Eaton: Yeah, the bright shiny objects, the squirrels, whatever it may be. There's a leadership speaker I like to listen to, and he kinda goes into, he says, when you're successful, distractions will show up as your door strapp, dressed like opportunities, and I think that's a big one for all of us because the bigger you get, the more people want to be in with your shop so they can touch more things too. And so I think that's a big thing for all leaders to remember that just because something may be a good thing doesn't mean it's a great thing for you. And so that's a big thing for me right now is trying to analyze that and squish down what we're trying to work on.

Ben Markland: And Ryan, you say a lot here, I mean no is not a bad word all the time. Right? There's so many people that come to us with deals and opportunities and man, you [00:04:00] take on every one of them what gets lost, your focus, right? And I mean, these guys, like you said, I think just the fact that they're at ICMG. Shows that they're focused on what they're doing usually. I mean, they have a thing or two they're trying to pitch. It may not be for everybody, but it is for them, it's their focus. And we've had, this year a lot of things show up at our doorstep, and if we try to do every one of 'em, I don't think we would've succeeded in any of 'em. So, that's the same thing with focus is just being able to know when to say no. And you know, it doesn't mean you can't ever do anything with this person, you might like 'em just, Hey, this isn't our time, this isn't the right deal for us so.

Ryan Eaton: And every time you say yes, you are saying no to something else.

Ben Markland: You are.

Ryan Eaton: And that's, we all know that. We all hear that. We all think, oh, this won't take up much time. Man.

Ben Markland: There's no doubt.

Ryan Eaton: That's the biggest lie you can tell yourself, so.

Casey Combest: Absolutely. Projects creep, that's for sure.

Ryan Eaton: Project creep.

Casey Combest: Well, Ben, we don't wanna give away everything, but you had some great conversations. Tell listeners a little bit about what they'll be expecting in the coming months as we roll out these episodes.

Ben Markland: [00:05:00] Yeah, I was able to meet with some brokers, some business leaders, some carriers. Even an executive coach, which I thought was extremely interesting from the leadership standpoint and, one of the common themes across all those different types of people was technology. I mean, we can't escape it. I don't think most of them are now starting to embrace it. I'm seeing, we talked with the brokers about how AI might affect what they're doing and their processes, and then from the leadership standpoint, just hybrid and remote work. How do you maintain a company culture and how do you lead people that you don't get to stand next to and talk to each day? So, I think that the technology, artificial intelligence, these are all things everyone knows are kind of creeping in on us so you can fight it if you want to, but it's here to stay. And I think, both on the insurance side and on the leadership side that was a lot of our conversations. It always tended to lean in that direction.

Casey Combest: Know that there were some great conversations. Ben, one thing [00:06:00] I'm curious about, did you see any threads, you're talking to people who are in insurance, but they're in diverse sectors of insurance. Were there any threads you saw kind of running through there?

Ben Markland: Yeah, I think, along the same lines of what I just was referring to with technology and everybody, it's the shiny object if we use that analogy that everybody's kind of chasing. One of the things that a lot of these leaders are making sure that they don't lose is the basic blocking and tackling the 1 0 1. Hey, when you tell someone you're gonna do something, do it. You know, follow up. Just the being able to sit at a table and look someone in the eye and talk to them. Those are things that technology is eventually gonna take away from people that have never done it. And, we're dealing with now a younger generation of people that have never not had technology, and I mean even the young ones that have recently gone to college and might have attended high school or college during COVID sitting in their bedroom, I mean there's important life skills that we gotta make [00:07:00] sure we continue to kind of foster and the older guard does really well at that, where they may not be as good at technology. So I think we're at a place where somebody that can do it all will become extremely valuable and will likely rise as a leader. Right? I mean, we're talking to people that are older and have done a little bit of both and to them, they're not even thinking twice about the, Hey, can I have a conversation with someone? Hey, can I follow? That's natural to them. They've always done it, so their fear is technology. Whereas I think the up and comers, they're so comfortable with technology, but their fear might be the one-on-one stuff so well.

Ryan Eaton: They don't know.

Ben Markland: It is, it's the things they don't know. We even see it here, I mean, cold calling used to be that's what you did. And now we have so much data involved with everything we do. It's like cold calling like why would anyone in the world ever do that? I mean, I should call someone that already knows I'm calling them and they're gonna answer it this time. So I think that the common thread was. Yes, technology is looming and it's gonna be something we all have to embrace and use to make [00:08:00] us better, but we can't lose track of what has worked for centuries of people connecting with each other.

Ryan Eaton: And relationship.

Ben Markland: And relationships. Absolutely.

Casey Combest: Well, this is not an ad for us, ICMG or any other conference, but I think it's important to talk about why conferences are important. I'd love to hear y'all say, why should people listening consider going to some type of conference for their industry?

Ryan Eaton: Well, I'll add onto what Ben was just kind of finishing his point with is relationships. I mean, we are in a relationship Business insurance is a relationship business, period. We get into groups, we meet individuals. It's all relationship, relationship with a carrier if things go wrong, you wanna make sure you get a good relationship with your TPA, whatever the case may be. I even remember in probably 25 years ago now, I went and did a study abroad at Lloyd's of London, and it's where insurance was first started and I went over there and I was able to go around. They have different boxes in Lloyd's of London, and so it's where all the syndicates, there's about 69 syndicates I believe. Inside, which are basically [00:09:00] carriers that are inside Lloyd's of London. And the brokers would go around each syndicate and they'd pitch a different idea. Maybe it's ensuring a vessel that's going from here to there around the Somalian coast or whatever the case may be. You go get all the different syndicates, you want 'em to trust you. You have to have a relationship with 'em, and you get 'em to write off and they'd write off, I'll take 15% of the risk, I'll take 10%, they'd go till they got a hundred percent or more, and if they got over a hundred percent, they'd shrink it down to where everyone would be at that a hundred percent. And then they would go across the street to the lam, which is the pub in London, and they'd go celebrate the deal right afterwards. And that's what it was, but it was all about relationship. One guy wasn't coming around these certain underwriters there at over at London, in Lloyds of London. He wasn't coming by him. I said, why is that guy circle? And then kind of go around, they're like, 'cause we won't work with him anymore. He brought us a bad deal. And I think that's a big thing still in this thing. Your word is so important and who you are and doing what you say you're going to do. Even if it ends up costing you money, even if it didn't work out like it is, and making sure [00:10:00] you don't burn bridges. And we see it all the time. People say something just to be able to try to make a deal work and then you find out it's not true and it hurts. And I know that kinds a long way around about the relationships with conferences, but going to places like that, going able to have coffee with someone, going grab lunch with someone, going to grab dinner with someone and not having to fly from Mississippi to California to go build that relationship but going to one conference where there's 400 people there and we have what, 20 meetings and 48 hours, something along those lines.

Casey Combest: It's a bit of a blitz. Watching you guys.

Ryan Eaton: It is a lot, but at the same time it's really good 'cause you can touch those relationship points and that to me is the best thing about it. Sometimes it might feel like you're checking a box, but if it's already a relationship you have, it just kind of freshens everything up so that's my favorite thing about the culture.

Ben Markland: Yeah. No, I think I agree that's one of my favorite parts of it, but I also think it's important, when you get really good at something, which I think we're good at a lot of things, but you get really good. Sometimes you end up with blinders on, right? And this is how we do it because we do it the best [00:11:00] and nobody else could possibly do what we do. And I think when you open up your eyes to what other people are doing, there can be a lot you learn even from your competitors. And, I think why industry conferences are important because it allows you to kind of get your finger on the pulse of what other people are doing. And ones like ICMG, they're willing to share. I mean, we sit across the table with some people, we directly compete with. And we're just bouncing ideas off of each other and

Ryan Eaton: That's right.

Ben Markland: It can make everyone better and maybe because you fostered that relationship one day, that turns into an opportunity. If not, maybe it just turns into something you bring back home and you say, you know what? This thing that we've done for so long and we think we're the only people that can do it good. Someone else showed us another way to do it. And maybe we look at that. So I think it's just about finding out really what your colleagues or competitors are doing in your space. So and, fostering the relationships is part of that and that's what gets people to open up to you.

Casey Combest: Then going back to the conversations we had on and the podcast that people are gonna hear in the coming months, what things [00:12:00] stood out to you as timely pieces of advice to things that were practical and actionable that listeners can look forward to?

Ben Markland: Yeah, I think really talking about leading in a world that is much more remote. That was one that I see as very timely because, let's be honest, I mean, people now come into interviews and they have zero expectation of coming into the office every day. They will choose their job based on, whether or not they can work at home and, hey, look, I'm not an opposition to it. I think work-life balance is important, but I think the expectation that I never sit next to the people I work with, that's a tough one. Because the buzz word of what people work for this company because of its culture. I feel like that word gets thrown out way too often. And look a zoom happy hour with people so you can cheers 'em or a hey, a ping pong table, that's not culture. Culture is getting behind something and believing in what you're doing each day. And I think as a [00:13:00] leader, that becomes a lot more difficult to portray through.

Ryan Eaton: The screen.

Ben Markland: The internet and the screen, right? I mean, yes, people come to do a job and I use the job I've always just heard this, I don't even know who told it to me, as opposed to being a JOB, right? It's somewhere where I come and I get a paycheck, and let's be honest, I mean, with inflation, everything, paychecks are extremely important to people, but there's probably always someone that'll pay you a little bit more. And if you have no connection to your company, other than I log in on Tuesday afternoons for a meeting, I do what I'm told. And then, maybe once a year I'll meet my boss at a holiday party if they fly me in or something, that becomes difficult. That's a challenge for a leader to hold onto those people. So I think some of these conversations are timely and like you said, I don't wanna give away a whole lot of, you're gonna have to watch the podcast to see that, but we talked to some great leaders that are trying to face those challenges right now and I don't think it's gonna get any easier for 'em. Because, once again, I mean, real estate's going away. [00:14:00] People are working remotely. And I think, as a culture, as humanity, it's probably a good thing. But as a leader trying to hold together a company or a department, those are challenges they're gonna have to face and they're gonna have to figure it out. And once again, I don't know that, a Zoom Happy hour or a Harry and David gift box that is gonna really solve all those problems. I mean, the relationships are still important and getting people to buy into what you're doing and coming into work and feeling like, Hey, I serve a purpose here, as opposed to I'm another guy typing into a spreadsheet, or I'm the guy on the other end of the phone when someone calls angry. There is a greater purpose for me and for this company. And to me that's culture and I think, you gotta sit in it to really get that.

Ryan Eaton: Alright. Agree with, when it comes to culture standpoint. I saw it this week, we had people come in for interviews. One wanted to work full-time remote. They didn't like the fact that they were expected to come to the office some, and we had some that wanted to come full-time. Didn't wanna work remote at all. And so I think [00:15:00] it's interesting to see the spread of the people that you get. But I agree with Ben when it comes to culture. I mean, if I never saw Ben, if we never went hunting together or we never went on trips together, had lunch for birthdays and type stuff, I mean, he'd just be a Ben out there. Right? And versus being a friend, versus being someone I work with, being, Hey, I wanna bounce this off of you. Or, Hey, what do you think about this? And I think when you know somebody and you have that culture and you've had those experiences with somebody. As well, you can trust them and that's something I think that if you're working pure remote. It is hard and I think there's a hybrid out there that works good for people. I mean, I sent an email out today. I'm starting to work on Wednesdays from eight to 12 at the house heading do not disturb just so I can get stuff done 'cause stuff's starting to stack a little bit. And so I do understand the privacy where you can't be disturbed, where you can get your stuff done, that makes a whole lot of sense. But full-time I think it's a culture killer really, to me. That's my opinion. Some of our speakers may have said something different. I'm sorry if they did, but [00:16:00] at the same time, I do think you've gotta have interaction to have culture. It's tough not to, and you could try to supplement it different ways. But at the end of the day, cheers. Happy hour over Zoom. Not the same, so.

Ben Markland: You got someone coming in, they wanna come into work every day nowadays that you almost like. Is there somewhere at their house they don't like or what's going on? They in their spouse.

Ryan Eaton: Yes.

Ben Markland: For their job to become their safe place. I mean, that's gonna build culture immediately.

Casey Combest: But that is true for a lot of people. They look at their job as that place where they can go and contribute.

Ben Markland: Yeah, that's right.

Ryan Eaton: That's right. And some people look at it, say, Hey, it gives me a break from the kids. It gives me a separation from the house. Gives me separate. And like, they can go and they're focused on a project, they're focused on a task, they're focused on a purpose versus we're at home, they may feel like it's just chaotic at times. And so hopefully it's not like that for people, but sometimes it is.

Casey Combest: Yeah. And kind of going what Ben said earlier, if we don't have that cultural element, it really becomes a commodity. It's who can pay me a little bit more. Who can gimme a little more benefits.

Ben Markland: Yep.

Casey Combest: And so, for leaders that's certainly something to keep their thumb on. Well, guys, great conversation today and we are so looking forward [00:17:00] to the rest of these episodes this year. We have some great ones coming to you guys. Stay tuned for those in the coming months. Well, Ben, let's wrap it up for the day. Why don't you close us out?

Ben Markland: Yeah, thanks guys, and thanks everyone for joining us, and remember simple solutions, real results. That's leadership.