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.”