IN-the-Know

Christopher McDaniel is the President of the RiskStream Collaborative, the first global cross-insurance sector consortium focused on innovation in the insurance space. Christopher shares his thoughts on the future, why blockchain will be an essential part of the insurance industry, and why now is the time to act on, and learn, these new technologies if you want to gain a competitive edge.

Key Takeaways

• A little bit of Christopher and how he found himself in this field.
• How does blockchain work?
• How has blockchain evolved from when it first got started to where it is today?
• GDPR and blockchain? There might be some conflicts happening.
• Fast-forward to the future, how will blockchain be used in the insurance industry?
• The insurance industry has a talent gap. Can AI and blockchain help fill some of these needs or at least upskill more people?
• AI will help more professionals shift into new roles, and it will be able to automate some tedious ones. For example, underwriting.
• Christopher shares some of the biggest challenges we’re facing in the industry right now and how they will affect our ability to perform our work in the future.
• Don’t wait to see how “things go.” Take action now or else you’ll be at a competitive disadvantage.
• This is not just about learning new technologies, it’s about keeping up-to-date with the latest in the insurance landscape.
• What does Christopher wish he’d learned sooner?

Keep Getting Better

Web.theinstitutes.org/riskstream-collaborative

Christopher on LinkedIn

Quotes

“Blockchain allows for the sharing of information in a very secured way.”

“The biggest challenge now is to just get folks comfortable with these new technologies.”

“If you sit on the sidelines and wait until everybody does this, you’re not just going to be playing catch up in four to five years, you’re going to be at a competitive disadvantage.”

Megan Stewart Hodge is an executive, public speaker, and advocate for diversity, equity & inclusion. She strives for whole-person success in her interwoven career and personal journey, prioritizing authenticity in life and as a leader in the insurance industry. Megan is also the Founder of Cultiver LLC, an advisory practice focused on fostering cultures of inclusion. She shares how the insurance industry can become more inclusive for a wide set of diverse individuals in this week’s episode!

Key Takeaways

• A little bit about Megan and why she started Cultiver.
• Megan explains a time where she was able to see everyone show up in an organization as their full authentic selves. It was amazing. There was so much innovation.
• A lot of organizations haven't done the work necessary to make a culture inclusive.
• You have diverse talent, but now it’s time for promotions. Now what?
• So many people don’t feel like corporate America has a role for someone that looks like them.
• How has COVID-19 impacted diversity in the workplace?
• We need to recognize the challenges people of color are experiencing every day, not sweep them under the rug.
• As an employee, how can you protect and nurture your wellbeing?
• It’s so important to give people some grace. Everyone has been overwhelmed.
• Keep continuing the empathy for the people on your team.
• How can companies get better and be more supportive towards their employees’ well-being?
• Our old way of working wasn’t perfect, but we have an opportunity right now to be better.
• Burnout is very real and boundaries need to be established.

Keep Getting Better

Cultiveradvisors.com

Megan on LinkedIn

Quotes

“At some point, if you put your head down and assimilate, you look in the mirror one day and you don’t recognize yourself. You don’t hear your own voice, and that’s when you lose people from the workforce.”

“Diverse hires don’t feel supported. They don’t feel like they have a voice or a career path that’s sustainable.”

“Give ourselves grace. There are still a lot of circumstances that haven’t changed.”

Grace Judson is a leadership geek and has over 25 years of experience in the corporate world. Passionate about neuroscience, Grace found her calling when she was just two years old, and always knew she wanted people to just stop and see each other. Today, Grace shares how we can introduce better change leadership initiatives into an organization and actually see it through completion.

Key Takeaways

• How did Grace get her start at the age of two?
• How did Grace get into software development and how did this journey lead her to insurance?
• When it comes to leadership, Grace wanted to know what made someone really excel in this area.
• Change leadership is not as well taught or understood in a lot of organizations.
• How can you leverage neuroscience to help everyone in an organization get on the same page?
• There are tools for us to understand our reptilian brain and get us doing good work without resistance.
• Grace shares a tool that helps people get out of an emotionally reactive state.
• People aren’t going to respond well if you just tell them, “This is your job. Get over it.”
• When does it make sense to become a professional speaker?
• Grace is passionate about making the workplace more fun and she shares what the three principles of work are.
• What permission are your words and your actions giving to other people? No matter what, people are watching.
• Grace shares her thoughts on what the impact of the pandemic will be and how leadership roles will be shifting.
• Grace’s change leadership program was developed before the pandemic, and the timing couldn’t have been better.
• What does Grace wish she’d known earlier about her career?

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Axcoinfo.com

Dan on LinkedIn

Quotes

“Change leadership and change management are two different things. They’re both necessary, but neither are sufficient on their own.”

“Without the people aspect, which does include neuroscience, without that, change initiatives fail at an alarming rate.”

“How we show up as leaders, we’re setting an example for people who you may not even realize are watching us.”

Dan Ridler is the Head of Global Risk Intelligence and Data at Axco Insurance Information. He is an experienced analyst that specializes in country risk, geopolitics, political economy, and intelligence analysis. In this week’s episode, he shares the ripple effects the pandemic is going to have on risk management, what are some of the trends and patterns he’s seeing occurring, and how Brexit will be shaping the way things work in the region.

Key Takeaways

• How did Dan get involved in risk management?
• Dan is fascinated by looking ahead and seeing how the world’s landscape will be different in 10-plus years.
• Dan shares some of the surprising encounters he’s had in this industry and some recent learnings he’s had.
• What are clients concerned about or thinking about these days?
• Bad data is just as bad as no data!
• Where does Axco see where we’re headed and how are they adapting to the changes in the environment due to the pandemic?
• The pandemic has completely changed the way we work and Dan doesn’t see us going back to “the way things were.”
• Where are the next big opportunities or trends happening right now?
• Dan shares his thoughts on Brexit and how it’ll affect the region.
• What does Dan wish he’d known sooner about his career?

Keep Getting Better

Axcoinfo.com

Dan on LinkedIn

Quotes

“This is a ripple effect that’s going to go down for years and years, and the effects of the pandemic are certainly going to be far-reaching.”

“Every day a new challenge presents itself and companies have an awful lot to think about.”

“Clearly, some businesses and some people haven’t been prepared for Brexit and the harshness of it wasn’t entirely clear.”

Robert Cartwright Jr. is the Division Manager of Environmental, Health, Safety, and Sustainability for Bridgestone Retail Operations. He is also the past chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council and served as the first African American President for RIMS. Robert shares his passion for diversity and how companies can think differently about bringing new talent into their organization and how they can cultivate that talent so they grow into higher leadership roles.

Key Takeaways

• How did Robert get involved in risk management?
• What information do people in the risk management community really crave?
• Robert became the first African American to have the President title at RIMS. He shares what that experience was like.
• There’s a generation of students coming in who have the technical knowledge, but not the working knowledge. As leaders, we need to help bridge that gap.
• We can talk about diversity and inclusion all we want, but it’s just a noun. It needs to be a verb. There needs to be action backed behind it.
• Lack of diversity is not just a U.S. thing, it’s a global problem.
• What have companies been doing well to attract unique talent?
• How can companies make room to have more diverse people get a seat at the table?
• Do you want to become Netflix or Blockbuster? You’ve gotta make tough changes if you want to move forward.
• What should people come into the insurance industry?
• What does Robert wish he learned sooner about his career?
• No matter what happens, no matter the color of your skin, the one thing people can’t take away is your work ethic.
• You can’t be afraid of your own success.
• What’s your plan to get to where you want to go?

Keep Getting Better

Rims.org

Bridgestoneamericas.com

Robert on LinkedIn

Quotes

“A diverse organization is a profitable organization. As a risk manager and professional, I wanted to carry that forward.”

“Companies don’t exist in a silo anymore. Everything is globally connected, so it’s a disadvantage if you don’t tap into a market that’s out there.”

“You can challenge me because you don’t like me, but is that a personal issue or you don’t like my work ethic?”

Judy Agnew is the Senior Vice President of Safety Solutions at Aubrey Daniels International. Judy takes a unique approach to safety and uses her background in behavioral science to better adapt safety protocols that work with human nature, not against it. Judy explains how a lot of organizations get safety wrong and why there’s a much better way to reward an employee for practicing good safety.

Key Takeaways

• What does Judy do for Aubrey Daniels?
• Judy shares why being in the safety department keeps her engaged and ready for a new day.
• Judy breaks down what safety solutions look like applied to an organization.
• What do people get wrong about safety in the workplace?
• The number one solution to correct an error is re-training, but it doesn’t work as well as you think it might.
• We need to look at the work environment and see what pulls people towards safe actions vs. non-safe actions.
• People only hear about safety when they’ve done something wrong. They don’t hear any positive reinforcements.
• How do you determine whether a safety program is lucky or actually good?
• Judy has a Ph.D. in behavioral science. How has the application of science impacted her work for the better?
• How can safety protocols backfire on their employees?
• How does a company measure safety?
• The real obstacle is how to create accountability around safety with your team.
• What has Judy learned over the years when it comes to creating profound safety changes within an organization?
• The best writing is when you write the way you speak. Don’t try to class it up. People like straight-to-the-point messages.
• How has COVID-19 impacted Judy’s clients?
• What does Judy wish she’d learned sooner in her career?

Keep Getting Better

Aubreydaniels.com

Judy on Aubrey Daniels

Quotes

“There is a belief that if we just train people and put up safety signs, that everyone is going to do the right thing. That’s not true!”

“The number one solution to correct a human error is retraining and that’s almost never the answer.”

“If an organization continues to only measure just lagging indicators that can be an obstacle because what that drives is reactive management and that gets in the way of building good accountability.”

Peter Miller is the President and CEO of The Institutes and the Chair of the Board at RiskStream Collaborative. Peter sits down to discuss what exciting new things are happening in the world of insurance education at both The Institutes and the CPCU Society. He also shares why he’s passionate about insurance and where he believes the future of insurance is headed right now.

Key Takeaways

• Peter shares a little bit about his IT and programming background.
• What’s the difference between The Institutes vs. the CPCU Society?
• How did Peter go from programming to insurance?
• Peter shares how insurance has made a positive impact on developing countries.
• If you have any sort of catastrophe, insurance can help you. This has allowed people to accelerate in their business and their quality of life.
• The Institutes is over 100 years old! Peter shares how they’ve brought testing online.
• Human judgment is still a key factor when trying to underwrite insurance claims.
• The CPCU Society has updated their designation and certification.
• Where is the future of insurance education headed?
• How will data help the industry and what role will data play when underwriting insurance claims?
• Peter shares where he thinks the future of insurance is headed.
• How will the world be permanently changed as a result of the pandemic?

Keep Getting Better

Cpcusociety.org

Theinstitutes.org

Peter on LinkedIn

Quotes

“Especially in developing countries, you can see the value in the risk management and insurance industry. They realize that no single person can take all the risk that’s encapsulated in a modern economy without some form of financial backstop.”

“If you think about it, we help people at some of the worst times in their lives, and how awesome that we get a chance to do that. I got into this industry because it’s a noble industry with a great purpose.”

“People will always be first in our industry, but the tools that people use will be more integrated and more data-driven than they have been in the past.”

Paul Carroll spent 17 years at the Wall Street Journal as an editor and reporter. The paper nominated him twice for Pulitzer Prizes. In 1996, he founded Context, a thought-leadership magazine on the strategic importance of information technology that was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for General Excellence. He is a co-founder of the Devil’s Advocate Group consulting firm. He is also a co-author of several books including, The New Killer Apps, Billion Dollar Lessons, and the author of Big Blues.

Key Takeaways

• How did Paul get his start in insurance?
• Paul's mantra is to have smart people in safe projects.
• What do people get wrong about innovation?
• Paul shares what it means to have a “Devil's Advocate” idea.
• Before you make a big leap (and investment) on an innovative project, make sure everyone in leadership is first on the same page and you have a devil's advocate asking smart questions.
• What happens when an industry digitalizes?
• Remember, with the introduction of readily accessible cameras in our phones, Kodak ended up disappearing overnight.
• What sections of the insurance industry are on the verge of being disrupted? Paul thinks it’s going to be insurance claims.
• When CEOs get to a certain stage of their career, they’re worried about how to keep things status quo (and not disrupt) until they can safely retire.
• How can technology companies best drive change in the insurance industry today?
• What does the world of insurance look like 10–15 years from now?
• What does Paul wish he’d known sooner in his career?
• Paul shares a message on why young talent should join the industry.
• AI is going to find its way into insurance.

Keep Getting Better

Paul on LinkedIn

The New Killer Apps: How Large Companies Can Out-Innovate Start-Ups 

Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn From the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years 

Big Blues: The Unmaking of IBM

Quotes

“The biggest problem with strategy is people don’t have a devil's advocate who is poking holes in strategies.”

“Nothing really innovative can happen unless the CEO drives it, and the CEO can only focus on so many things at a time.”

“Insurance is as inefficient of an industry I’ve ever come across in my travels. Way too much paper involved, way too much process, things that could happen quickly wind up taking a long time.”

Kristen Bakalar is the Interim Chief People Officer at Mendix and is passionate about all things culture, engagement, leadership, and more. As more insurance professionals retire from the workforce, we need to be conscious about our culture, who we’re letting in, and how to bring more diversity and inclusion into the fold. Kristen shares that, as leaders, we might not always know the right response to a diversity challenge, but imperfect action is better than no action.

Key Takeaways

• How did Kristen get started in this career field?
• There is a huge talent gap about to happen as more people retire in insurance.
• How are diversity and inclusion changing the landscape for the insurance industry?
• Diversity and inclusion are much more than checking a box and bringing someone of a different background in. We need to also cultivate that talent and promote that talent.
• People want to do things that are meaningful to them. The good news is, insurance is meaningful and that’s what we need to plug into.
• People see insurance as a “need to get” thing, but they don’t see how it has impacted and helped people’s lives during a tragedy.
• How can we be aware of our unconscious bias?
• People don’t know what the right thing to do is, but they also don’t want to do the wrong thing either, which leads to inaction.
• The most important thing is to take action and if you screw up, learn from it, apologize, and be better next time.
• Kristen, as a white woman, is excited to have a POC in the White House, but she’s hearing from her POC friends that they aren’t. They aren’t as hopeful things will change in the day-to-day.
• Is the war for talent over?
• What does Kristen wish she knew sooner about her career?

Keep Getting Better

Mendix.com

Kristen on LinkedIn

Quotes

“To me, culture is how we make decisions. It’s how we talk to each other. Culture is the worst behavior that we tolerate.”

“It doesn’t matter how many diverse people we bring into the organization, if we are not a culture that promotes diverse people, then we’re not an inclusive culture.”

“It’s having the courage to say something, having the humility to be wrong, and having the self-assuredness to own your mistakes and be better.”

Keyson Dingle is an Underwriter for Westchester, a Chubb company. He used his football scholarship to attend university and graduate with a BS in Business Administration from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania and considers himself an insurance nerd. Keyson details his career as a young insurance professional and why he is passionate about teaching others the different avenues and facets of insurance on this week’s episode! 

Key Takeaways

• Who is Keyson and how did he go from football to insurance?
• You don’t really realize how big the insurance industry is until you step out into your own bubble. 
• Keyson wants to make insurance cool. He really wants people to see what insurance has to offer. 
• Not many people know what an underwriter is, so it’s also Keyson's mission to educate the public on more than just car insurance. 
• If you’re only going to recruit from the risk management schools, you’re going to have a big gap in talent.
• How can the industry attract more diverse talent? 
• Mentoring is critical to attracting new talent and bringing more people under their wings to see the full extent of what insurance can offer. 
• What does Keyson look for in a mentor or in a leader? 
• What would the future of insurance look like in 5 years? 
• Keyson shares key lessons he wished he learned sooner. 

Keep Getting Better

Westchester.com

Keyson on LinkedIn

Quotes

“Wow, this industry is much more than I thought. Also, you’re helping people. Everybody needs insurance.”

“People think insurance is only for the car, but people really don’t know how big commercial insurance is.”

“Before in the office, we were so siloed and only talked to people in our office.Now, we’re really expanding globally the amount of connections that we have. That’s going to push the industry in a good direction forward.”