Last year, we ended 2021 with tips to make your 2022 even better – and we’re back with more for 2023.
We asked our team members to share their best advice on staying positive, connecting with remote team members, trying new technology, and more. As we wrap up 2022, take a moment to think about your goals for 2023…and more specifically, how you can reach those goals. What attitudes and behaviors will help you get there?
This fall, we brought back the Pinney Insurance Book Club and read Atomic Habits by James Clear, on Kim Sewell’s recommendation (thanks, Kim!). Every couple of weeks, we met for an hour over Zoom to talk about the strategies described. We’ll share some of our specific thoughts and favorite quotes below.
Going the Extra Mile: It Matters
It’s easy to get stuck in the daily grind. But here are a few reminders of why it matters to be kind, persistent, thorough, and empathetic.
| Katie Cumalat, VP Sales |
"I think being nice and treating others how you would like to be treated and receive service goes a long way. We had a somewhat challenging agent earlier this year that was frustrated with a few things and had a large case he was trying to get assistance with. Ultimately, I was nice, responsive, and worked with him to eventually get a $33k case placed." Your take-away? When you stay positive and professional no matter what, everyone wins. |
| Mary Ellen Meteer, New Business Manager on Case Manager Kim Sewell |
Kim “did a great job keeping the client updated throughout the process and worked hard to get this policy placed in force! She does everything she can for her agents and clients, including walking on water.” That’s taken straight from this compliment Kim received from one of our agents: “I gave you excellent scores across the board and was clear you were a water walker! You did great and I *really* appreciate the superior communications.” Your take-away? What you do matters. Every interaction and every phone call is for a client who needs to protect someone or something they love. And when you do it well, everyone is going to notice, from clients to partners to brokers. |
| Joshua Herrington, Associate Brokerage Manager on Dev Team members Maurice Ferguson and Prashant Inamti: |
“The dev team is absolutely killing it. It's so great to work with a team that is accessible and patient as they work with us, even if we don't speak tech well. They are also handling HUGE initiatives for the organization behind the scenes and are always making us and Insureio better. Thank you both for who you are, how hard you work, and what you have built.” Your take-away? There’s always someone working behind the scenes who doesn’t get a lot of recognition, but deserves it. None of us exist in a bubble. We need each other to do our best work. Be kind and grateful to everyone who has helped you get where you are today. |
Staying Positive
How do you stay in a positive mood during turbulent times?
| Mary Ellen Meteer, New Business Manager |
Prayer/meditation, surrounding myself with positive people, getting outside to be in the sunshine and nature, and finding ways to uplift others, like sending a hand-written note, a text, or helping someone in need. |
| Katie Cumalat, VP Sales |
I try to focus on what I can control. |
| Tanja Pederson, L&C and Commissions Supervisor |
I would like to recommend the 40-day Mindfulness Meditation course which is offered on the Radical Compassion Institute site created by Tara Brach, a Psychologist, and Buddhist. It’s free and the course is put on by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, both authors and Buddhist practitioners. Each day’s guided meditation is generally about 10 minutes long. It’s nice because each day builds on the day before. I have completed this course a couple of times because the advice and guidance given are practical and easy to use throughout the day. Plus the 40-day course helps establish a daily mindfulness practice: https://courses.tarabrach.com/courses/mindfulness-daily In addition to this 40-day course, I find the Tara Brach site in general a wonderful resource full of guided meditations and talks about building compassion and more heart-centered life. It is the place I go when I need some real self-love and care: https://www.tarabrach.com/ |
| Jenni Wiltz, Copywriter |
Try to get away from the desk and the phone. Taking a walk is great, even if it’s just around the block. I’ve been surprised how much working out can help, too. I never look forward to it, and sometimes I try to weasel out of it, but once I get started, the endorphins take over and I come away feeling uplifted and energetic. |
| Joshua Herrington, Associate Brokerage Manager |
(1) Check-ins with my spouse, friends, and mentors. Speaking up about my stress and sharing what I am working on. The support of others carries us forward. (2) Caffeine. (3) My dogs. |
Staying Connected
How can remote and hybrid teams stay connected to co-workers in the office?
| Michael Berenis, PPC/Lead Generation |
I’ve always thought that virtual reality meetings could be very effective and fun. By staying connected through the meta space and virtual reality, teams can gain skills though use of games, puzzles, and virtual social interaction. Meetings can be held, and opinions or ideas can be expressed though avatars. Those with social anxieties will be more open to sharing their talent since they aren’t physically interacting with other people. There is also an element of fun when using VR that can raise spirits and in turn improve the results of brainstorming sessions. |
| Tracy Meier, VP Operations |
The implementation of our Fun Committee has allowed us to stay better connected. They have come up with ideas throughout the year like our Book Club, Netflix Watch Party, Spirit Week, Fantasy Football League, Secret Santa, etc. There is something for everyone! |
| Candi Brundage, A-Team Manager |
I think the best way to stay connected while working remotely is to reach out via chat or phone call to check in throughout the day. We are chatting all day long and we know if someone isn’t feeling good, needs our help, or is just super excited about the day ahead. Our team also does a weekly zoom huddle meeting to hear about each other’s exciting news face-to-face. It’s a way to keep up with each other’s lives outside of the office and share in life’s big and little moments. |
| Mary Ellen Meteer, New Business Manager |
I think our RocketChat groups have been very instrumental in our teams feeling connected. We share pics of our pets on Fur Baby Friday, Spirit Week: Pajama Day, Crazy Hair Day, etc. We started our Have Fun Committee to come up with fun ideas for our All Employee Meetings - from company-wide typing tests to BINGO to Scavenger Hunts - all have met with great success. Love our Gratitude Calendar in November and the teams sharing their experiences in RocketChat. |
| Katie Cumalat, VP Sales |
Utilize chat, zoom calls, team contests/games. |
Book & Podcast Recommendations
What business/personal development podcasts & books can you recommend?
| Paulette Wolfe, Internal Wholesaler |
The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn. Here’s the book description: “Motivational speaker Mark Sanborn recounts the true story of Fred, the mail carrier who passionately loves his job and who genuinely cares about the people he serves. Because of that, he is constantly going the extra mile handling the mail - and sometimes watching over the houses - of the people on his route, treating everyone he meets as a friend. Where others might see delivering mail as monotonous drudgery, Fred sees an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those he serves. We've all encountered people like Fred in our lives. In The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn illuminates the simple steps each of us can take to transform our own lives from the ordinary - into the extraordinary. Sanborn, through stories about Fred and others like him, reveals the four basic principles that will help us bring fresh energy and creativity to our life and work: how to make a real difference everyday, how to become more successful by building strong relationships, how to create real value for others without spending a penny, and how to constantly reinvent yourself.” |
| Tracy Meier, VP Operations |
Live Happy Now is a podcast that I enjoy. It has tips for finding happiness at work and home. The guests have amazing insights! |
| Candi Brundage, A-Team Manager |
A business podcast that I enjoyed this last year is How to be Awesome at Your Job, recommended by Katie. A personal development podcast I’m loving is The Brooke Snow Podcast. I also love any true crime podcast out there! |
| Mary Ellen Meteer, New Business Manager |
Live Happy Now and How to Be Awesome at Your Job |
| Katie Cumalat, VP Sales |
How to be Awesome at Your Job has been my favorite podcast for the past 2-3 years and one I listen to almost every weekday while walking my dog in the morning. |
Asking for Help
How do you know when it’s time to ask for help vs. struggling with a task or workload on your own?
| Katie Cumalat, VP Sales |
I try to focus on what my time is worth and what other responsibilities I have. A personal example would be cleaning my house: is my time more valuable or is it worth the extra cost? Often times with how busy I am, 4-6 hours of my time can be worth more than spending the money on a house cleaner. |
| Jenni Wiltz, Copywriter |
When I don't think I have enough time to get everything done, I look at each item on my to-do list and ask myself: what has a firm deadline and cannot be pushed back? Which tasks need my input or contribution before other people or departments can move forward? Which tasks am I waiting for someone else's input on? I prioritize things with a firm deadline and things that other people are waiting on me for. If breaking up the list according to these categories doesn't help make the list more do-able, then I know it's time to ask for help reprioritizing or rescheduling what's on that list. |
Industry Predictions
What has changed in our industry over the past year? What changes do you see coming in our industry in the next 5 years?
| Tracy Meier, VP Operations |
We are seeing more companies transition to technology solutions to allow employees to stay remote - which has the bonus result of more effective business processing. Some of our insurance carriers have made significant progress on their tech enhancements that were previously decade-long projects. |
| Katie Cumalat, VP Sales |
In the past year, so many more carriers have offered accelerated underwriting than ever before. In the future, there will be lots more technology to make applying for life insurance easier for the consumer. |
Atomic Habits: Our Pinney Book Club Selection
The main idea behind Atomic Habits by James Clear is this: Good habits are the “compound interest” of self-improvement – you don’t rise to the level of your goals; you sink to the level of your systems. If you can create a system that rewards good habits, you can break bad ones and get 1% better every day. As of this writing, we're through chapter 6 - and everyone is really enjoying the book.
Imagine what you could do at work or at home if you got 1% better at something every day. It’s inspiring, isn’t it? Our fearless leader, Ryan Pinney, challenged us at our first book club meeting to choose a habit to commit to and share it with the group in our second meeting. After all, one of the book’s key mindset shifts is to focus less on creating goals and more on creating habits that help you achieve those goals.
For example, it’s not enough to say you want to boost sales by 20% in 2023 – you have to re-envision your life and your workspace to create habits that help you do it. That might mean making 10 more calls per week, spending an extra 2 hours on marketing per week, or touching base with your 10 best clients on a monthly basis. So how do you add that time into the day? Remove something that’s an obstacle (cut an hour of TV viewing each night), systematize the process (queue up relevant client files as your new first-thing-at-your-desk habit), and create a reward system that triggers you to want to perform the good habit.
If you’re looking to build the groundwork for better habits in 2023, we recommend taking a look at this book.
Here are just a few of our favorite quotes from the chapters we've read so far:
- "Goal setting suffers from a serious case of survivorship bias. We concentrate on the people who end up winning — the survivors — and mistakenly assume that ambitious goals led to their success while overlooking all of the people who had the same objective but didn’t succeed. Every Olympian wants to win a gold medal. Every candidate wants to get the job. And if successful and unsuccessful people share the same goals, then the goal cannot be what differentiates the winners from the losers." (page 24-25)
- "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity." (page 38)
- "Habits do not restrict freedom. They create it." (page 46)
- "Over time, the cues that spark out habits become so common that they're essentially invisible. Change behavior with awareness. So get a handle on your current habits. As Carl Jung said, "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." (page 61)
- "Most people live in a world others have created for them. But you can alter the spaces where you live and work to increase your exposure to positive cues and reduce your exposure to negative ones. Environment design allows you to take back control and become the architect of your life. Be the designer of your world and not merely the consumer of it." (page 87)
We hope these tips help give you some perspective, ideas, and motivation heading into 2023. Feel free to share your ideas and tips in the comments!
