What It Takes to Win Is Simple (But Not Easy)

What does Hall of Fame football coach Marv Levy have to teach insurance agents? As it turns out, quite a bit. Inspired by the timeless wisdom of the Buffalo Bills legend, the IA Forward team explores how some of the greatest leadership lessons from the football field apply directly to building a successful agency. From embracing difficult challenges and staying persistent through setbacks to leading with character, adapting to change, and creating a winning culture, this episode is packed with practical insights every agency owner can use.

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

This is IA Forward, your playbook for sixth sense as an independent insurance agent. Now, here to help you knock it out of the ballpark are your hosts, Jay Tatum, Mike Basil and Tanya Leed. Welcome to IA Forward.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

And if you have listened to the podcast in the last few months since Mike has joined us, you probably know that he is a huge Buffalo Bills fan. And he always fusses that we're bringing up the SEC and we never talk about anything having to do with the Buffalo Bills. And in our last episode, he requested that I come up with a quote from their former coach, Marv Levy. So I did more than that. I actually pulled up a group of his quotes, and we're going to talk about how his inspiration is not only was not only sadastic on the field, but how it really makes a lot of sense inside our agencies. So Mike, this one's on you.

SPEAKER_03 1:08

This is awesome. This is awesome. Here we go.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

So I I really loved this first one. And uh this is huge to me with what's going on inside our industry. And that is when it's too hard for them, it's just right for us.

SPEAKER_03 1:29

This is a great start. I love this. If I remember correctly, I believe that had to do with weather, uh, what he was talking about at that time. Like if it's you know, if the weather is terrible here, that's just perfect for us. That plays into uh, you know, our strengths and knowing our stadium. But that is very that's that's a great start. So we yeah, if if it's too hard for other people, it's just rife for us. But that's a lot, that's a direction we've often gone in a lot of different things we've done, uh, not even within insurance, but in our in our old business that we had also going, which was technology, it was a similar thing. If it was something other people didn't want to try to accomplish, um we always gave it a go to see if it was something we could make work. So that is a great start.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Yeah, my uh that actually is something my dad talked about, you know, finding something that people don't want to do, people don't like messing with, and then figuring out a way to build a business around that. Um it's kind of a an interesting approach because sometimes those things are harder to automate. And we've kind of entered this age in the insurance industry, insurance agency segment of the industry, where obviously automation, AI, um being more efficient is a big part of really what what agents are trying to do to be more successful, to do more with what they have. And historically, automating and being efficient around things that you know are a little bit messy, uh, has has been difficult. Um, but I think that's where niche plays or niche plays, as Tanya would say, um really kind of come in. And you know, if you can be really good at messy stuff, it's a pretty pretty good opportunity.

SPEAKER_03 3:38

You know, this may be a little hot taky, but to piggyback off what you were just saying about technology just used the word takey.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Yeah, you did takey.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

Okay, you've been around Shane too long.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

I like it, I like it. That's definitely in the Shane voha vocabulary. I don't know if I've ever actually heard you say that. Yeah, um it's not, I'm adding it. I'm adding it to the Shane vocabulary take it.

SPEAKER_03 3:59

Um but coming from technology originally, it was always my belief that insurance has been behind within the technology sector. In my opinion, really behind, actually, at points. But it feels like we're entering into an age within technology where it's really easy for every industry to get on the same plane. And it feels like a little bit of a golden age right now that we're coming into for technology within insurance, which is only going to be extremely helpful if you leverage it properly to you being more efficient in getting things accomplished.

SPEAKER_00 4:49

I think that has to do with being digital natives, the the people that are starting agencies now, where in the past, uh, you know, technology was one of those things that a lot of agency owners found really scary. And so they had to add and layer the technology in as time went by. But most people, most people starting agencies today are so technology native that they can't really imagine doing it any other way. They can't imagine doing it without a CRM and you know, running their agency on paper.

SPEAKER_03 5:26

I mean, so I used to have this daily uh calendar that was about duct tape, like all the different things you could do with it. That was the insurance agency up until fairly recently. Well, I managed to Shane and I have these conversations all the time. I managed to make this system do this thing by doing this. Um, yeah, and how long did you take trying to figure that out? And now no one else can no one else knows how you got to that point, and it has to be explained to everyone from now until eternity because you did it just in this way to manipulate the system you had. It is insane, or was, I guess I should say.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

I always wanted my dad to write a book called How to Do Everything the Wrong Way because he was masterful at figuring out how to make things work in a way that they were never designed to work. So, yeah, how to do everything the wrong way.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

Well, that I mean, in defense of my peers um and all the Xers listening out there, we were forced to manipulate the management systems that were provided to us, right? Because uh what happened in the late 90s through the most of the 2000s is we were dealing with what we were given, right? Like there was just this is what it is, this is what you get. You know, there was no such thing as building integrations or custom fields or just things like that. Like there was just no way to do it. And so to Mike's point, I'm guilty of this as much as anyone, maybe more than anyone, is taking a system, a management system traditionally, and manipulating it, right? Well, we're not gonna call it it. I know it says policy, but we're gonna call it something else, right? We're gonna use it for this other this other reason. And you know, so really what you end up with in some uh multi-generational You end up with this lunacy. Yeah, you end up with this thing where you need a definitions document, terms and terms and definitions over here that says, you know, this is what all the fields really mean within the management system. That's 100%. Yeah, that's exactly right. Yeah, that's right. And it worked for us, right? It it worked for us, it it it helped us be successful. Um and you know, that's that's something that it's just part of our story. It doesn't have to continue today because it's a different world, to Mike's point, which I do love. I do think we're kind of entering this golden age potentially, and uh that that does get excited, and it's it's also helpful when you're hiring Gen Z, um that you're not really hiring them and hopefully sitting them down in front of some stuff that maybe I was initiated on. Like that's not good. Like, you know, if that's where you are from a system standpoint, technology standpoint, that that's a problem.

SPEAKER_03 9:02

Anytime Shane tries to explain anything to me from one of these old systems, I'm like a toddler. What's this? What's this? What's this?

SPEAKER_00 9:14

Well, let's go to our next quote, and I really like this one. And it's where else would you rather be than right here, right now? And within our partner network, that's just I mean, that's why would you want to be anywhere else, right?

SPEAKER_03 9:29

That is his signature quote. Yes. Yeah, that's the one. Well, I think there's a few different layers to that. I'll start with, you know, stay within the moment is important. Right. You you can you can of course make plans to be at, I want to be at this spot in 12 months from now, I want to be in this spot at 24 months from now. But it's really important to stay in the day you're in and work on the things that are immediately important to get to those goals later. And I think this is the most important part. Enjoy the process, right? Enjoy what you're doing, enjoy the fact that you're making progress, getting to your goals. If you have a tough day, you know, rebound and get ready for the next day. But don't be miserable.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

Yeah, I think, you know, I think we're always that isn't that isn't that kind of the whole thing about the grass is greener. Like, what is it about? I mean, the people, some people have bad situations, like I get it. But why not make the best of where you are first? Right? Before and I think I think kind of going back to the technology thing for a second, like that's what I always encourage agents to do is hey, why don't you why don't you look at the thing you have that you've invested all this time and energy in and try to see if it'll do what you need it to do and get you there instead of jumping from thing to thing every six months? Like that's extremely disruptive. I think that goes for um, I think that goes for marketing strategy. I think that goes for sales strategy, for carrier relationships. I mean, where are you right now? Like what does that look like? You know, squeeze the turnip, so to speak, right? We got to get some cliches going on this podcast again. So, you know, let's let's squeeze everything out. Were we devoid of them? I don't recall us missing a day. Well, I mean, I just want to make sure we don't miss cliches uh and one line one-line zingers, right? We got to make sure we keep that flow going. But I I think that's a really good um I think it's really good thing for insurance agents to hear is like where where you are, let's get as good as we can get there before we start looking at where we're gonna go next.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

To quote Coach McFall's from um KU uh be where your feet are.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

Be where your feet are. It's a very good one.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

Yes, yes. So okay, our next quote is persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.

SPEAKER_03 12:32

Yeah, I that one I don't recall the context of, but it's interesting. So an interesting thing about him is he wasn't so much an X's and O's coach as he was really a psychologist or a psychiatrist. I mean, he it's the mental aspect of the game. I I always talk about that with with the kids I coach in baseball. It's the it's the mental approach of how you get from where you are to where you're trying to get to, and not to get too high with the highs and too low with the lows, which we this is something we've talked about before in the past. Um, you know, you cannot let your successes and failures change who you are and change how you move forward. And the most important thing is it cannot change your mood, right? Because at the end of the day, you need to go home to your family and leave all that behind.

unknown 13:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:37

I I think you know, to kind of pick up on a little bit of the uh I love this old hitting coach's statement that that I knew. And his, you know, a lot of times you kids talk about my swing, you know, what's wrong with my swing? Why am I struggling? I need to go change my swing. And you know, sometimes swings need to be adjusted and they're bad, but most of the time, it, you know, once kids start getting older and their swings kind of maybe become consistent, you know, his statement was, you know, did you swing at a strike? Like it was really just that simple. Like did the did you actually, you know, do you really have a swing problem or did you just are you just swinging at balls? Like if you swing at strikes, that's that's like number one. That's step number one, right? Like, did you get into a position to hit and swing at a strike, give yourself a best chance? And you know, I think the persistency thing is um is real, right? Like that, it's the little things, uh, it's that persistent pressure um leads to bigger results. Uh, you know, and I I kind of use it in conjunction with consistency. Like you have to do something for a while. You have to be patient with it, you have to be willing to stick with it for you to get the result that you're looking for. And that is really hard in the instant gratification society that we live in today. I mean, really hard. Um, we we do not, and I say I've said this before, but we do not understand that in 1980 something, Starbucks had like seven locations. Like that just is mind-boggling to the 24-year-old, right? Or the the young Gen Z Starbucks, you know, coffee drinking, just connoisseur. Like the fact that there wasn't Starbucks on every corner at one time. Like that, they didn't just boom, we're here, right? I mean, there was a persistence over time that got them from point A to point B. And that's the same thing for agencies. They I I've I've said this, I've talked about this. A lot of times, you know, newer agencies are in those first five years and they're looking across across town, across the marketplace, at that agency that's been around for three or four generations, and they're going, man, I'm just not being successful. I want to be like that. Well, that agency's been around for 60 years. Like there was a lot of persistency that has gone into building that agency. And so I I love that. I love that quote. I think that we we need more of that in our agency lives.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

But I have a young lady that I am very blessed to mentor um in Delaware, and she set a goal for herself 20 years ago. She's like 28. So she set this goal as a little girl and has worked and worked and worked. And of course, over time, things have developed and she's developed different skills, and she finally reached her goal last month. And I to see that kind of persistence for anyone, but especially setting a goal as a child and staying with it through your late 20s and finally achieving it, I think that's absolutely amazing. And I and uh, you know, my the cute boy and I were talking about it recently, and he's he said, you know, there's no way that if I had failed year after year after year, like I would have given up before two decades. He just said that you know, there's no way that I would have continued on this path. I would have decided to do something else. And um, the the fact that she had that persistence to do that did make that an extraordinary achievement for her. And it was a huge inspiration to a lot of us because of that. So I to me, that is something to think about. If you're in your late 20s, early 30s, late 30s, and you're starting an agency. It takes persistence in that first year, 18 months. It just does because you're eating macaroni and cheese, and it's probably the Walmart brand, as opposed to like the Velveeta brand, right? I mean, that that you know, financially, that time is rough, especially if you've been very successful as a producer or someone else.

SPEAKER_03 18:30

Just to pick go back and piggyback on something Shane was just talking about, the other thing I think people need to be careful about is this perception of where other people are at, because that isn't always the reality. You know, there is that third generation agency down the street. Just because they're third generation doesn't mean that person's making a quarter of a million dollars a year, right? I mean, you may feel that way for some reason, you may think that, but that doesn't necessarily have to be true. So you just have to be a little bit careful when putting yourself up against others because there's always different factors involved in how they got to where they are or and if they even are where you think they are.

SPEAKER_00 19:21

Or if they're a third-generation business and they really didn't have much choice or they didn't feel like they had a choice, it may be that they do they're not happy, they do not have serenity, they're having to run this huge agency, and they would rather be doing something else.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Yeah, that's a all of that is is a real issue, right? And um I it it yeah, they may not want to be there, they may be feeling like they're forced to be there, but the could the the whole social media or comparison game is it's just not always accurate, right? Like you it's it's one of those things that I believe it's a reason why we should just flat out ignore at times, right? Just the whole social media piece is um it's causing, I I think it's causing some uh some mental issues for people. I think it's getting documented. There's some, you know, this is kind of getting to different stretches of of the world that I do not really have the expertise in, uh, except I do think I have expertise in common sense, you know, so I think you don't need a degree for common sense. Um, but there are a lot of psychologists that say that we're we are not only struggling today in society because of, you know, the comparables that are being made that that that people are seeing, and it's young and old alike, right? It's like, what did I do with my life? And then it's like, why can't I be where they are? And I mean, there's so many things that have led us through that social media lens to this place. And it's easy to pick on, right? It's really easy to pick on, but I think there's some logical things that we're starting to see that we've maybe been seeing that we're now admitting to um that says that you need to at a minimum uh take some social media fast. Uh you need to, you need to take some time out, you need to stop paying attention to some people for a little while.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

Our next one reminds me very much of our core values. And that is our goal is to develop our team, to own what we get, to learn, to develop unselfish attitudes. And if we achieve that, the results. Is that we'll win.

SPEAKER_03 22:01

Just another gem. I don't know what to say. I mean, it's just one right after another. Yeah. Be true to who you are, right? And impress that upon the people that are in your organization. Eventually, if that is not the philosophy that they hold true, that'll get weeded out. And then you will have a group of people that you don't need them to think the same way you do. That's that's not good. You don't want people just saying yes to everything, right? But that have the same values you do, it will show through. It will show through to your customer base. And I I honestly believe your attention will go up because of that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

I had a discussion this morning with one of one of our team members, and she had a question on whether or not she felt good about doing something. And um it it felt uh a little bit morally questionable to her. And we actually went through the idea of, okay, well, let's take a look at our core values. And I introduced that concept and said, okay, well, let's look at our core values. Where does it fit? Where does it not fit? Let's talk through it. Um, but having that specific group of core values and always going back to them. And after the conversation, she goes, Okay, well, I get that now. I get what we're doing. She just didn't quite have the understanding of what it was we were trying to achieve. But I loved that she didn't just put her head down and do it anyway, that she wanted to have that conversation. And when we went through those core values, it made sense to her. And that we were able to say, you know, anytime you have a question or anytime you're faced with a situation that you're unsure of, go to your core values first. And then let's have, you know, let's have that talk. And having those core values in place um is so imperative. And, you know, at Integra, ours, of course, are honesty wins, dependability, earn your way, some serve others, and make it personal. Which when I saw this quote, so many of the things in this quote were similar to our core values.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

So what you're saying is I could have just went right side by side with Marv Levy all these years.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

We were we were really just y'all were y'all were just tight. We were just tight, you know. Uh that I could easily be an NFL Hall of Fame coach is what I think is what you were trying to say.

SPEAKER_00 24:57

Absolutely, yes, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 25:00

You know, um I really're so much about Marv Levy that um in in in non success on the field and and maybe and correct me if I'm wrong, did did he ever get the Super Bowl? Was there ever he didn't at Buffalo, right? I mean, he was there many, many, many times. He just never got that that final Super Bowl victory. I don't know if he got that elsewhere. We might want to look that up. Um, but I you know, my coach in college at Oklahoma State, Gary Ward, was very similar, like went to Omaha like 10 or 12 times, never got the national championship, right? Um there there are some there are some fantastic examples of coaches that maybe just didn't win that final victory, right? And um, you know, I'll pick on kind of where we'll we'll take this down a dark road for a second for Mike. You know, you got the you got the Belichics of the world, right? Um, before he, you know, he's gonna he's gonna crash out on us for a second. And just stay with me, hear me out. You you got the Belichics of the world with you know all the Super Bowl rings and all the success. But a huge character question in my mind, right? Like he's his his colors have shown. His there was there was the deflate gate, there was, you know, there's now just the college game and some personal decisions and things that he's he's just really created some brand maybe devaluation in his later years. You know, I would have never, I've never seen that or heard that from a Marv Levy, right? And I would much rather have my character intact than have a few Super Bowl rings, right? To my, you know, I wouldn't trade that. And and and I think people with high character, um, like like a coach like that, um, I would put Dabo Sweeney in that uh category at the college level. You know, he's kind of making a little bit of news around not willing to do certain things. You know, I don't need another championship to prove that I'm a good. I mean, there's just some things that he's he's just standing ground, right? Like he's just keeping his character intact. He's not willing to go down a path that others maybe are willing to go down. Um, and I think that's a huge thing that's gonna keep coming out of these Marv Levy quotes is just you know, and I I I put it to the core values, right? Like those core values come from really who that person is, who you are. Because when you're tested, right, the reason you want those core values is because you're gonna get tested. Um, and you know, the definition of characters, you know, doing what you do when no one else is watching, right? And so, very similarly, being able to lean on your core values and know, oh, I'm not doing that. Because in that moment of emotion, it's very easy, very easy to get, you know, backed into a corner, go off course, off the rails, so to speak, and end up doing some things that you regret.

SPEAKER_03 28:41

I think one thing to keep in mind is you always end up getting God. If you you you can't just go into some situation and say, all right, this may not be the right way to handle this, but this one time, never start with that. This one time. I'm just gonna this one time I'm gonna do this thing, and but I won't do it again. Okay, a you're gonna do it again, and B, somewhere down the line, this will bite you. So just stay true to what you think is right and just do it that way to begin with, and don't get caught. Don't get caught doing something you know was wrong because it helped you in the short term or it was more beneficial to you than someone else. Just be careful.

SPEAKER_00 29:38

Our next our next quote is one of my favorites, and is what it takes to win is simple, but not easy.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

I like that. And I'm gonna go where my mind immediately goes on that doing all the little things, right? Like uh again, I know we're talking about a uh I know we're talking about a uh Hall of Fame football coach here, but you know, for me, the little things really show up in in the game of baseball. Um you know, the things that make the really successful teams are the teams that do the little things right all the time, every time, over and over and over again. They never get tired of the little things, right? And you see, you see big league infielders doing the most simple drills, you know, during the season, before the games, in their warm-ups, they're just doing the the short hop drills, the the little things, right? All these little things come out. Um, and I I interpret that immediately as winning is simple. What winning is simple in the sense that if you do all the little things right, then more times than not, you're gonna it's gonna add up to a victory.

SPEAKER_03 31:03

I think you know, in the little things, it's doing the same things for everyone. What I mean by that is you talk to someone who has come to you with a single car auto policy, you take the time to explain everything within that the same way you would take the time and explain someone coming to you with four drivers, six vehicles, and a and a million-dollar home. Right, you don't treat those people differently. Have the process of always treating everyone the same way, taking the same time with each person. Because at the end of the day, what you don't know is who those people are going to talk to.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

Yeah, or who they're gonna turn out to be. You know, we I I I would I always tell the story, um, and and I don't think today it's anything that I can't share uh in detail. I used to share this without naming names, but now since it's they were they've been sold and you know they're now owned by private equity, I think I can even get the details. Um the founder of uh Easy Links, a guy named Nog Ryo, uh came to me because we were an early adopter on the rating side of Easy Links and uh came to me in 2004. And uh I maybe just out of us being an early adopter and being an active user, and he felt comfortable calling me up and saying, Hey, um, I need to get some insurance, like I need to think about our insurance strategy here at Easy Links. And um, you know, he had a little policy, but he really just didn't understand what he had. And at the time, um, his insurance premium altogether was about $1,500. Like it was just not a big account, it was really small account. And we wrote um wrote his original BOP and then over time, you know, ended up writing uh his cyber, his uh employment practices, his work comp. We end up you know growing with him from four employees to over 250 employees. And when he sold, uh a little bit of the dagger for us when he sold uh to applied, and uh ultimately the easy links became you know private like private equity owned. At the at the at the end of that, almost 20 years later, probably about 17 or 18 years later, the Easy Links account was almost a $400,000 a year account. Now, we could have said, as many agencies do, uh, many broker, middle market brokers, you know, we don't write accounts that are going to generate less than X thousands of dollars worth of commission. Um, our strategy has been different on that. Our strategy has been that we have a lot of examples of a couple of thousand dollar bops turning into six-figure premiums over the course of time, growing, growing with that customer. Um, we have that example on the personal line side. And so, uh, to your point, Mike, you just don't know, right? Like there's no crystal ball to know uh which of your clients are gonna turn into the big clients versus you know be this small client.

SPEAKER_00 34:51

Okay, so next quote, I like this one a lot. Um the age factor means nothing to me. I'm old enough to know my limitations and I'm young enough to exceed them.

SPEAKER_03 35:05

He obviously did not have that quote last year.

SPEAKER_01 35:11

For those who don't know, he's a hundred years old. Yeah, wow, did not know that actually. Um, but I actually love that today as I'm getting older. I love this quote immediately. I'm like, you know, numbers.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

We're more seasoned, Shane. Yeah, not getting older.

SPEAKER_01 35:29

We're definitely seasoned, uh getting in the vintage realm, I think. Um starting to get there. But you know, I think it's different. Like, I don't know why this is popping into my head, but if you the the old uh 80s show, I think it was 80s show, Golden Girls, uh the Golden Girls. Um, I mean, the ages of the Golden Girls when they were playing the Golden Girls was not that old, were younger than me today. Like the the look of society as we are aging, I am so thankful for. I am so thankful. You know, uh, we just watched a show. Um, we just watched a show that had Michelle Pfeiffer in it. Michelle Pfeiffer's like 65, 60, I don't know, whatever she is. Um it's like, my goodness, you know, Kurt Russell's uh 70, he was also in the show. Kurt Russell's 75, he was playing a 65-year-old, and he looked 55. Like, I I just I like I love it. I like I want I want that to be me as I continue to age. Like thank you.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

Well, Michelle Pfeiff is 68, and I will take I will take what she looks like any day of the week.

SPEAKER_01 36:53

Kurt Russell is 75. I hope, I hope I look like Kurt Russell when I'm 75, if I make it to 75. I I I do. I, you know, I I just I do not see age any anymore, you know. I I just feel like my energy today, especially around our business and around the insurance industry and the agency business, kind of back to the golden age of where we're going with technology, like I feel so much energy around our business. Like 10 years doesn't even come close to the runway that I feel, right? Like I hope it's true, but I just I see so much opportunity that the age factor is just not there anymore.

SPEAKER_03 37:44

I feel like I'm contributed contributing to that. Like my juvenile antics helps you stay young and trying to under wraps.

SPEAKER_01 37:55

Yeah, are you helping you're helping me stay young? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is that what it is? I mean, that's what I'm going, right?

SPEAKER_00 38:07

The cute boy did a staycation because he gets like 11 weeks of vacation a year in, you know, I don't. Um, so anyway, he just took the whole week off to to fish basically, and then it rained most of the week. So he was doing projects around our house, um, which involved digging up our yard and and all of these things. And I but I realized like after a week that retirement is not an option for him. Like it our marriage probably cannot handle retirement.

SPEAKER_01 38:44

I get it. I I relate.

SPEAKER_00 38:47

Yeah, but and I think that's the idea is we didn't grow up in this society talking about the golden girls, that you went to work for a company, you worked for the same company for 30 years, you got a gold watch when you retired, and then you traveled in your home or you sat home and watched whatever, right? Like that's not what society looks like, that's not what business looks like, it's not what we look like. And I I was talking to a friend of mine a few months ago in Georgia. Um, and Georgia is one of our um expansion states for the general partner network, and talking with him about what we were doing. And this is someone that I went to high school with, uh, someone he's he's three years older than me. So um, about our age range, right? And he was like, he was just like, this sounds so fantastic. He goes, but I've you know, I'm just too old to start over. And I just remember thinking about that, and I still think about that. I'm like, no, it's not. Like it's not too late to do what you want to do. It's never too late to do what you want to do. And you know, when we're talking to people that are state farm agents or farmers agents or all state agents, and they're in their 40s or 50s, and they're just saying, yes, but I've already built this, I've got to give this up, you know, and they're they're on the fence about making a decision to go independent, and then the age factor comes in. And I will that's one of those things that I just don't understand, and and maybe I am delusional about what I can do at my age. In fact, I probably know that, but age being a number has changed so much in the last 20 years.

SPEAKER_03 40:47

Yeah, yeah. One thing I will say though, um that is a little off the comment. When we're talking about, you know, he said, I have enough experience. One thing I would just caution anyone on if they're in a career change idea, is not to worry about experience too much. I think you can definitely overthink that when we're talking about insurance or trying to break into insurance, you can put a little too much stock in that, especially if you join, I mean, self-serving, if you're joining a group like Integra, there's plenty of opportunities to learn all the things that you need to learn and get that experience in a pretty quick fashion. So just be careful and not putting too much stock in that and saying, I can't do it because I don't know anything about that right at this moment. So that's scary. Yes, it is scary. I I would never say it isn't, but groups, Integra, they can help you get to where you need to be.

SPEAKER_01 41:57

Yeah, that that barrier, um, you know, one of the things that go way back, basic business principles, you know, is this a good business to start? You know, that barrier to entry today is much different than it was 20 years ago. You know, agency networks didn't exist in its in its current stat status and really just kind of like the way that it works. Um that is not the barrier to entry when it comes to starting a new independent agency today. And there's so much there's so much opportunity and technology advancements that the training is better. Um the ability to do training is is just at a different place, right, than it was even 20 years ago. And it is a technical industry, but it's a technical set of skills that can be taught, that can be learned. And um I think that's the part that I'm always telling people, like, hey, if you're willing to bet on yourself, if you're if you're willing to uh keep learning, uh, then this is great for you. I think I think that's the part that scares people. Um either it scares them, you know, makes them question can they do it? Um, but more than that, do they want to put that energy into doing it? I think that's another that's another factor. Here's my thing on that. It it makes you feel alive. Like every time I'm doing something new that I don't know anything about, I get rejuvenated by that. Like even in failure, it's like, man, this is this is something that I want to understand. I want to know more. I want and and and so you know, you may have been. You may have been sitting in a semi-dormant state in an exclusive agency ownership for the last 10 or 15 years and lost all of your passion and you don't feel alive. And starting an independent agency and going at it again may actually extend your life. Like I hate to be that dramatic about it, but like, you know, if you're retired in place with your exclusive organization, um your health may not be great, right? Like, there's just a lot of things in there. And that's probably pretty dramatic to go that far, but I just you hear that old saying, like, some people don't want to retire because the people they knew that retired died within three years. You know, there's a real statistic on that, something in that range. And I don't want to be that guy either, right? I think that's a big part of what's increasing our longevity and making our longevity even more active, right? And so it's a it's an interesting time, a golden age of maybe even um what I would call uh working retirement in a way, right? We have more flexibility. Um, we're either earning more, have the ability to travel, do things on our own, or we have uh a shifting from the boomer generation. So there's a lot of wealth transfer that's happening or going to happen over the next 10 to 15 years, maybe 20 years even. Um, and so there's just a really interesting combination that's as the economy, right, as as we've watched things happen in housing markets and interest rates, and yet more people keep going to Italy or you know, uh Mexico or cruises or whatever, right? And so uh it's really interesting. It's really interesting. I keep seeing people ask this question on LinkedIn like, are we in the same type of economy? Has it shifted? Like, we've only had one recession like in the last 10 years or something like that, um, compared to the previous 10-year stretches where we would have you know four to six recessions during that same time frame. And so it's a it's different. Things have changed. It's really interesting. Tanya put that one.

SPEAKER_03 46:41

Sorry, go ahead and put that in the shinisms, semi-dormant state. Write that down.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

Um our next quote would be if you don't change with the times, the times are going to change you.

SPEAKER_03 46:59

I think we've we've kind of hit that one a few different ways already. Yeah, I think a lot of that's around technology, right? Currently, a lot of that is around technology in that uh it is shifting so quickly. So we won't spend a lot of time here, but it is shifting so quickly right now with AI and the things that you can do. Don't get left behind in that. Um, and it's not even one thing I would caution people on is it's not to replace employees or get rid of employees. That's I don't think a direction people want to go. That doesn't feel good, right? I'm gonna implement this tool so that I can get rid of a person. That's not what we're advocating at all. But you can have people doing different things that are more beneficial to the growth of the agency instead of remedial things, which should definitely be done by a computer. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:59

No, I I I think that's right. And I I I immediately went to in my brain, I mean, we this is a form of technology, right? Um, one of the things that Julie and I have talked about, um, and you know, if you're a first-time listener, that's my wife. Um, and so as we as we've traveled more over the last four or five years and been in a place where we could travel more, one of our things was to travel earlier in life, right? And that was something that my parents talked a lot about, um and and really has have encouraged us, uh, my siblings and I, um, you know, that you know, we always talk about like we're gonna do this and we're gonna we're gonna save up and we're gonna retire and then we're gonna travel. And then you get to that place. One, you don't know how to travel at that point from a technology standpoint. You don't know how to use, you know, TSA pre-check or even what TSA Precheck is, or how to use um the the rental, the rental car environment. Like what's the best way to do that, or the airline, like how to use an app. I mean, there's just things like I have um an older gentleman, uh, it's a friend of the family, has not traveled since before 9-11. So, you know, 25 years plus since when you throw the gate with people and stick with them then, yeah, yeah. It's a like he could he can't, he can't travel today. He won't. It scares him to death, and so we don't want to become that, and the only way to do that is to keep putting yourself out there in that realm. You know, don't worry about being embarrassed, like let that go. Like, you're gonna look like a fool at times because you're gonna be doing something new. Um, Julie, my wife and I went on a 30-year anniversary trip last fall, and um we went to Italy, we went to Rome, and it was incredible. And we're we're going to forever, we're going to compare every future trip to that trip. We figured that out because it was such a good trip. Um, and when we were getting off the plane, and I may have thought this getting on the plane, but when we were getting off the plane in Rome, we literally looked at each other and said, I can't feel my legs. I can't feel that. I we literally said, I don't know. Are we old enough to travel to another foreign country by ourselves? Like we literally said that to each other. Like I said, I don't know. And I'm responsible for you. And so this is really scary. Like, I don't know. And of course, it was wonderful. And but like you go through all of those emotions, which makes you feel alive. Like, that's what was so exciting about it. And I don't know, and now we've done it a couple of times in different places, and we continue to and have plans to keep doing it until we either financially or physically can't, right? Because we don't want to get to that place one day and go, okay, we've arrived, let's do it. And then we look at each other and go, we physically can't do it. We literally can't physically do this. Um, and so I have friends of mine that we talk about this a lot. There, they travel, like that's just kind of becoming the new thing in my life. That's the stage I'm in. But I think it fits into the technology in our agencies. I think it's the same emotion. Like it's fear or or fear of feeling dumb or stupid or feeling like we can't do it. And um, you know, I I really don't think it's fear of death. I don't think that's it. I think it's I think it's fear of something else, right? But it is a fear emotion that comes into play.

SPEAKER_00 52:16

The way I took this one was slightly different from technology, and that is working with people of a different generation than you. And you know, if you don't change with the times, that the times are going to change you. And um, the idea of learning from someone younger or hiring someone that is one generation or two generations younger than you, and stepping back and saying, okay, how would you do this? And then not saying, Hey, that's wrong, you've got to do it this way, but looking at it and saying, Okay, so tell me why you did it, because that way you get to learn. Or what do you think of this? Or asking those questions to make sure that you end up having an extremely successful symbiotic relationship with your team members rather than telling your team members what to do and not allowing them to use what they know to grow, right?

SPEAKER_03 53:27

Yeah, that you cannot, you will fail if you're closed-minded. So if you always operate under the assumption that your thought is the correct thought, you you have no chance.

SPEAKER_00 53:44

Ask questions. Ask lots of questions. Shane loves that about me.

SPEAKER_01 53:48

Yeah, and I will I will say this from my you know, my position, it's easier to get here from an ownership, CEO, founder level uh mindset. Um, you know, I this is one of those areas where I I try to constantly stay aware, you know, am I listening enough? Uh, because at the same time, as you know, as a as a business owner and agency owners that are listening to this, there are times when you got to say, no, we're gonna do it this way, right? Like there are times that you have to do that. And and guess what? You're the risk, you're the one that put up the money, you're the one that took the risk and has the sweat equity, and you have that right to do it that way. I think where we have to balance ourselves is making sure that that's not the only way, the the the every time way, right? Um, and and it's an area that you know you have to kind of check yourself in um what everyone needs in their life, they need a Julie in their life. And uh my lovely bride is my best kind of like uh checks and balances around this, like, you know, hey, that feels a little off. Hey, you know, are you sure? Like, you know, not all the time, but when it hits the cliff level, like about to jump off the cliff type stuff with a decision, um, you know, the EF Hutton in her to age myself, you know, kind of comes up and it's like, are you sure you want to do that? Are you sure this is the right direction? It's not Shane, you can't take us down this path. It's Shane, are you sure? And if it's like, no, I'm sure we got to go down this path, well then she gets on the train, right? She she's ready to go. But um, everyone needs that that checks and balances, that accountability. Um, but it's really something that agency owners can kind of get in a vacuum on and go and stop listening to people at all, and you know, start thinking that their way is the only way. And that'll that'll be a surefire way to to to struggle with new and younger staff and and new hires.

SPEAKER_00 56:23

I'm gonna leave us today with one last quote from Marv Levy. To know the game is great, to play the game is greater, but to love the game is the greatest of them all.

SPEAKER_01 56:36

Attitude to choice, make a great one.

SPEAKER_02 56:38

Bye, y'all. At the Integra Partner Network, we understand that carrier access is the key to your agency's success. That's why Integra offers direct access to top-rated personal and commercial carriers, ensuring your agency thrives in today's intelligent market and with our comprehensive resources, profit sharing, and bonus opportunities, technology, and peer support, all of our viewers made 100% of your books with no families to exit. Integrator is ready to empower you and your agency to find sustained growth. Find your way to integral. This is an integral partner network.com today, that's an integral partner network.com.