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Make Time to Think and Be Accepting of New Ideas - Lessons from Virtual CONVO Keynote
Keynote Wrap-Up
Make Time to Think and Be Accepting of New Ideas By Rachel Romines
Duncan Wardle opened Virtual CONVO 2020 with a presentation I, personally, will not forget. Having spent 30 years with the Walt Disney Company, Wardle started as a barman at Rose and Crown Pub at Epcot. Moving into various positions with Disney, twenty years into his career, he was charged with the role of “Innovation and Creativity.” Wardle had no idea what that was or what it entailed, but for 10 years, he learned, listened, innovated, and created.
After introducing himself, Wardle asked attendees what the biggest barriers to being innovative at work were. What would your answer be? Here are the attendee’s answers: Top barrier: no time to think. He went into detail on this a bit later in the presentation. Second barrier: we’re risk-averse. Being risk-averse will continue to be a barrier, like it has for 100 years, as Wall Street continues to dominate the way we do business. But… Wall Street dominating is coming to an end with Generation Z. As Wardle explained it, Gen Z cares more about purpose than profit. Not only will they not want to buy your products and services if they don’t believe in what you stand for, they won’t want to work for you either. How will you be relevant 10 years from now if a generation of new employees choose not to work for you because they don’t believe in what you stand for? But why is purpose so important? Wardle taught us that it is not necessarily philanthropic. It’s more about what you stand for and what you believe in. We should each be asking ourselves these questions: Why would someone want to be my client? Why would someone want to work for me? Wardle gave a perfect example of purpose, explaining to viewers that he recently spoke for the world’s largest tool manufacturer. In preparing for his speech, he studied consumers at the hardware store. What he found out was that people didn’t come to the store to buy tools. They came to build or fix. That was their purpose for entering the store. Not one consumer went in saying, “I’m buying this brand of hammer, and I’m paying this price.” They came in to find tools to assist with their purpose – building or fixing something. So that’s what he told his audience at that conference. Don’t figure out new ways to sell your tools. Figure out ways to help people build or fix things. Don’t sell a hammer. Sell the children’s playhouse they are building. While watching Wardle’s session, I thought, “Insurance agents are not selling something tangible.” So, I paused my recording and thought deeply about this. It clicked. Insurance agents are selling peace of mind. Their purpose is to make their clients feel safe, feel like they have something to fall back on in times of distress. The agent’s job is to make their client understand this – to make them recognize they are buying peace of mind, not just a policy. But on with the presentation… Duncan showed the following quote: “The habit of continually doing things in new ways to make a positive difference in our working lives.” He then asked what word stuck out the most. Viewers responded with “habit.” Nailed it. Wardle stated that “Creativity is a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it gets.” No matter your age, you can always learn NEW habits. Creativity and innovation may feel awkward... but it should! It’s something new to you, and you are unsure of the results you will get. But, it could lead to something big! Don’t be scared of “That’s not the way we do it.” Going back to the top barrier at work, Wardle polled the audience to find out when and where they do their best thinking and when the best ideas come to mind. The top two answers were “while commuting” and “while showering.” The bottom answer was, wait for it… at work. Your best work ideas do not happen while at work. Say what? I equate it to the “heat of the moment.” Wardle’s example was an argument. During the argument, in the heat of the moment, your brain is spinning and only thinking about those seconds in the moment. But five minutes after the argument is over, you start really thinking about it – what you should have said, what you shouldn’t have said. You understand what they meant, etc. So, transferring this thought to the office, during work hours, you are constantly in the heat of the moment: phone calls, emails, policy revisions, and more. You have work in front of you that needs to be done, and there is no time for any extra creative thinking!
Rivers of Thinking: Your Knowledge, Expertise, and Experience.
The longer you’re in business, the more you know why ideas won’t work. Your own “River of Thinking,” as Wardle calls it, may allow you to make quicker decisions, but we are being challenged to get out of our own river… branch out, disrupt, and change the way we think. One solution may be diversity. Wardle said, “Diversity is innovation. If someone doesn’t look like you, they don’t think like you, and they can help you think differently.” He encouraged viewers to seek out people that do not look like us or have different experiences than us and invite them to our next thinking session. What if you asked your college-age son or daughter to brainstorm with you? Can you imagine how many different ideas they would have that you would have never thought of? Or, if you typically work with the ‘man of the house’ for a particular policy,
how about reaching out to the ‘woman of the house.’ Will she look at things differently than the man? Wardle gave a perfect example with technology. Veteran agents typically see things the same way – in their own river of thinking. But bring in a young agent who knows technology, and they could make you see things in a completely different way. What if they could streamline your processes using technology? But if you never bring them to the table, you will never know that. Or how about your CSR that is in the weeds of policies and working with clients day in and day out? They are the ones talking to your clients. They hear their complaints, praises, needs, and wants. Are you bringing them to the table?
“Diversity is innovation.”
Something that stuck out to me was the example Wardle gave of Disney, and how they title their employees and customers. Disney does not have customers in its theme parks; they have guests. They do not have employees; they have cast members. In agency office terms, do you have a staff, or do you have a team? It’s little things like this that can make a BIG difference in how you are making people feel.
The same way of thinking can be used to make more money. Instead of inflating theme park ticket prices or hotel room costs (which, let’s be honest, happens), Disney stopped asking how they can make more money. They instead asked how they can erase pain points for their guests. When Disney started focusing on that, it led to happier guests with more time to spare at the parks. That, in turn, led to more money. Disney is consumer-centric. If you ask, “How might I make more money,” you are product-centric.
“The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, it’s conformity.” – Robert Anthony
Typically, the only time a client reaches out to their agent is when there is something wrong. What if you reached out just to check in, just to see how they are, especially during this pandemic? You may not be able to actually DO anything for them. But, it’s a nice gesture to check in. You may even receive a complaint (i.e. I didn’t get a discount when I stopped commuting to work!), but this is your opportunity to gain their trust. “Let’s get you some quotes from some of the other carriers.”
Questions from Attendees
During Q&A, Wardle had several valuable pieces of advice.
What is something we could do as an office or a group to be more innovative and creative?
Wardle: 1. Go for a walk. Give yourself time to think. 2. When someone has a new idea, don’t let the first words out of your mouth be “No, because…” Remind yourself continued...
that when the idea is presented to you, it’s not presented for execution at that moment. It is presented to you to brainstorm on that idea. Wardle encourages you to say,
“Yes, and…” more.
What is it about buying insurance that you don’t like?
Wardle:
“Nobody cares.” He went on to say that it is so important to have the human touch with clients and prospects. We know everything is going digital these days. But it means a lot to consumers to feel human interaction. Consider picking up the phone and just ask how they are doing, even if you aren’t offering anything. This simple interaction goes a long way with your customers.
What is one thing an agency could do to get more engaged in the community?
Wardle’s surprising answer: Crowdsource. He explained that instead of you and your staff coming up with ideas, invite your community to come in and build it with you. Have your community come together, put them in breakout rooms or separate tables, and allow one person to talk at a time. This person talks about issues that bother them, problems they need help solving. The other people in the room or at the table may not be able to help that person, but most of the time, they know someone that CAN help. This positions your agency as a community leader, someone who lends a helping hand by bringing everyone together.
Why did you leave Disney?
We all hear, “You must innovate; you must be creative.” But how? Wardle left Disney because he wanted to create a toolkit that people can use that makes innovation easy, creativity tangible, and the process fun.
How would you draw an insurance agent’s face during a pandemic?
Since Wardle focused on drawings during his presentation as a way to help with the learning process, an attendee asked him how he would draw “an insurance face in the middle of a pandemic.” Wardle’s response was, “You would want me to draw a heart. Because that means I trust you.” Mind=Blown.
My mind immediately went to the emoji with the “oh no!” face. But when Wardle said a heart, he’s right! We want our consumers to trust us. To know that even in a pandemic, we want what is best for them. President George Daly wrapped up the session with these words of advice, “Everybody needs to challenge themselves: What if? How else can we do things? How can we stay connected to consumers, to our lifeblood? Duncan has given us some great tools to follow through on. Let’s
do it! Let’s change. Let’s roll up our sleeves and figure out
new ways to do things.“ If Duncan Wardle’s session inspired you and you are implementing some of his ideas, I want to know! What did you learn from this session? What changes are you making to be the best agency and agent you can be? Please email me at rromines@iiaofil.org and let me know. Rachel Romines is the Director of Communications for the IIA of IL. She can be reached at rromines@iiaofil.org or (217) 321-3024.
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