Agents: What's That Spot on Your Face?

In December 2008, a spot appeared on my face. It looked like a large freckle. I ignored it. In March 2009, Floyd and I were having breakfast. He asked, “What’s that spot on your face?” I answered, “A freckle.” He then responded, “What are you going to do about it?” My reply, “Not a thing – it’s just a freckle.” We debated the issue for a few minutes longer, but I’ll save you the details. The next day, Floyd called to announce my appointment with Dr. Patout (a local dermatologist) in a few weeks. He had called another doctor, but she couldn’t see me until August. Dr. Patout had been booked up until August, as well, but Floyd intervened with her husband (Floyd’s tennis partner) and got me in earlier. I agreed to the appointment more to shut Floyd up than as a concern for my health. The next week, Dr. Patout removed the “freckle” and sent it to the lab to test. I still felt this was much ado about nothing. At 1:30 p.m. on April 20, I was walking out of the Regions Insurance Office in Baton Rouge. My phone rang, and I heard a statement I’ll never forget. “Mike, this is Dr. Patout. The test results are in; it’s melanoma.” I took a breath and said, “That’s the kind of cancer I don’t want – right?” She answered: “That’s right. Come see me tomorrow.” Dr. Patout reassured me that we had gotten it early. She sent me to Dr. Walker, who cut a double-quarter-sized hole in my face and sent this specimen off for more tests. Two weeks later, I got the good news I had prayed for – “Mike, we got it all.” Come see me every three months. Suddenly, my attitude changed. Going to the doctor and listening to her recommendations were now a priority, not a pain in the butt. On the third visit, Dr. Patout explained, “Mike, understand that if we had waited until August, you’d be dead.” This was (and still is) a sobering thought…. Floyd saved my life. He didn’t find the cancer, and he didn’t cure it. Floyd’s role was more important than that – he was the gadfly who motivated me (read: nagged me) to do what needed to be done. Now I want to ask you two most important questions – “Is there a spot on the face of your organization?” and “What are you going to do about it?” In March 2009, I felt good. I looked good (except for a little spot on my face). I was one admonition away from a quick and painful death! THANKS, FLOYD! The good news is that you don’t have to die, either! The bad news is that to avoid dying you must change. Change is difficult – the excerpts from the article “Change or Die” by Alan Deutschman from Fast Company Magazine (www.fastcompany.com) explain the challenge of change: “What if you were given that choice? For real. What if it weren't just the hyperbolic rhetoric that conflates corporate performance with life and death? Not the overblown exhortations of a rabid boss, or a slick motivational speaker, or a self-dramatizing CEO. We're talking actual life or death now. Your own life or death. What if a well-informed, trusted authority figure said you had to make difficult and enduring changes in the way you think and act? If you didn't, your time would end soon -- a lot sooner than it had to. Could you change when change really mattered? When it mattered most? Yes, you say? Try again. Yes? You're probably deluding yourself. You wouldn't change. Don't believe it? You want odds? Here are the odds, the scientifically studied odds: nine to one. That's nine to one against you. How do you like those odds?” I say this in particular for independent agents. What matters with independent agencies is INDEPENDENCE, the entrepreneurial spirit of this group and its members. You as individuals and operating entities have been declared dead or dying by the experts for decades. You’re prospering – so why change now? The answer is simple – the marketplace you serve is changing. This is all about people and culture – not products and services. If you haven’t noticed, the Gen Y and whatever follows are much different than their older siblings, parents and grandparents. They are taking charge of the market as we are forced to relinquish control. Address that "freckle" or die.