Dave Rivell, CIC, CRM

Element Risk Management | West Chester, PA

Partner

Age: 40 | Years in Industry: 17

How did you get your start in the insurance industry?

I answered a call from a recruiter. At the time I was selling software to government entities. I’m not super tech savvy, so I was open to opportunities. I flew out to Chicago, interviewed with FirstComp Insurance, and got the job as a marketing rep helping them open Pennsylvania. I liked the idea of being a part of something from the ground floor, getting to know new towns, and building long-term relationships with agents from across the state. Both the job and the insurance industry were a perfect fit for me right from the beginning.

What does your typical workday look like?

Honestly, I do not have one, and it truly depends on the day. Because of this, I am big into time blocking and building consistent rhythms into days, weeks, quarters, and years. It has been a game changer. For example, I do everything in my power to spend every day from 9-10 AM on proactive, big-picture projects. I treat this window of time like it’s just as important as any other appointment and work hard to protect that time. Other than that, early mornings, mid-day, and late nights are often where I work on email to try and keep up, and then a majority of the rest of the day is spent with current and potential clients, different members of our team, and our carrier partners.

One priority is traveling around within our company. I love seeing our team face to face and simply spending time together where possible. I try to make sure I visit each office once a quarter. [Element Risk Management currently has 17 offices.] I have asked everyone who reports to me what would make them feel valued and cared for. It’s interesting because I get a lot of different responses, and I feel like an important part of leadership is meeting people where they are and in ways that are meaningful to them, versus a one-size-fits-all model.

Some people are good if we’re talking on the regular and then set aside time once a month to take a deep dive; while others like to meet once a quarter to talk about career goals and personal development. Whatever cadence they prefer and topics they want to review, we build those into a standing meeting schedule. I make sure to do that – it’s something I have been lucky to experience myself through great coaches, bosses, and mentors over the years. Sure, I want to find out what we can be doing better as an organization and learn where the friction points are so we can help to remove them, but more importantly, I want our team to feel heard and know that we have their back.

Someone told me once, “Show me your checkbook and your calendar, and I will show you what your priorities are,” and that always stuck with me. I hope my calendar today reflects to our team that they are truly a priority.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

Developing people, hands down. I love helping people realize what their natural gifts and talents are, and then helping them lean in on those to find ways to apply them to their life, their role, and our goals as an organization. This is very important to me because I believe it can serve people in many areas of their life and can even turn their “job” into a career that they are passionate about.

When people are free to operate in their natural gifting, I have seen them be better teammates, feel generally more confident, and have a deeper motivation to grow their insurance knowledge. Seeing people take ownership of their own development and connecting that to where they fit into our industry and our vision as an organization is rewarding on a way deeper level than just work.

Tell us about your professional role model or mentor.

For me it’s a little complicated because I called on so many agents over the years that consistently gave me great advice and were so generous with their time. There is almost an “in the aggregate” concept for me of getting to know so many great agents and getting a diverse view of our industry from them as a group. Individually, Tom Kolongowski, Tony McIntyre … there were just so many people who leaned in with me over the years who I’m super thankful for.

The industry itself seems to breed that. Not only was I blessed to have some great mentors, but I also have some incredible colleagues who believe it’s part of your job to serve this industry and pay it forward. I want to reflect those same values for people here within our own organization and for the industry itself.

What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?

I think it’s that we [Element Risk Management] have proven, on a small scale thus far, that you can be personal and professional without becoming robotic or corporate. Yes, all of our offices are owned by one company, and yes, we have a team of 80. But, I hope that even if we have a team of 500 someday, it still looks and feels the same way it does today, just on a larger scale.

Our team is on a path of proving that we are better together, and you can do the right things for the right reasons while still growing into a larger professional organization. I have heard people say, “Show me your friends, and I will show you your future.” In this setting I would say, “Show me your team…” and the future looks very bright for Element. We have a team that I am both proud of and thankful for.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In the next 10 years, we want to be on the Insurance Journal’s list of the top 100 privately owned agencies in the country, while still having a great culture and operating on the same principles that we stand for today.

If we simply keep our heads down and keep doing what we are doing, that will most certainly put us on that list. Our team is as good as it has ever been, and looking at them, I have no doubt that we are going to get there on our way to even larger goals as an organization … and they all know what those goals are. But that said, I cannot wait to celebrate that particular milestone together. That is going to be one epic party!

How can our industry attract new talent?

For some reason it feels like we have an image problem, and in many ways, I do not understand it. Insurance is an incredible industry that provides what so many people are looking for in a career. It is incredibly stable through changing economies, has unlimited career paths and opportunities, and allows you to build lifelong relationships around industries that you enjoy with people that you respect.

I may take some heat for this, but I am not a fan of the branding around being an “insurance nerd.” I have never once felt that way about what we do, as I feel like I have been working at a complex craft that is worthy of the effort and understanding. We are advisors to our clients. Lawyers, accountants, and financial planners do not seem to market themselves in this way, so I do not think we should either. I believe this is a major opportunity for us an industry. We need to be better storytellers and do a better job of communicating what it is we do and where we add value to our clients as part of their advisory team.

Lastly, I think there is a huge opportunity to expand where it is that we look for talent. People have not been banging down our doors, so I think it’s up to us to expand our horizons to pursue the best and the brightest in untraditional places. You can teach insurance. There are other things about being a good teammate and serving others that you can’t teach. And for those that are already doing this, we need to have them out front leading the charge.

If you weren’t working in insurance, what would be your dream job?

I would restore classic muscle cars and have a hot rod shop. Or I’d run a smoothie bar on a beach in Mexico, where I’m a surf instructor or smoothie barista when there are no waves.