When Hiscox talk about credibility others should listen

This is a topic that I have been going on about for AGES and I could have (but didn’t) write the article I have included below. I have oft quoted the Annual Edelman Trust Barometer. But, as Annabel reiterates, the industry’s understanding of their own marketplace is so poor that they would rather SPEND on telling you that they care rather than INVESTING to demonstrate it: RHETORIC WILL NOT RESTORE TRUST, for it does not facilitate transparency!!!

If ever you wanted evidence that an industry doesn’t listen to those that fund it, this is it. Insurers and brokers clearly understand competition and their prevailing model but struggle with the concept of how to move to a new (better) model that is fit for the Digital Age and future financial landscape. One that offers demonstrable customer value: NOT ambiguous strategies, unsustainable pricing and unjustified commission levels.

“It is easier to understand that you face competition than obsolescence”

CHANGE WILL HAPPEN. Business systems that, for whatever reason, fail to adapt to a rapidly changing environment are extremely vulnerable. Those that aren’t embracing and benefiting from meaningful two-way interaction across their business ecosystem, will make it easier for new models to gain the foothold they need to, initially, survive and to thrive in the coming years.

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General ignorance:: accident or design?

The PROFESSIONAL-NOVICE DIVIDE is something that I have touched upon before, when dealing with “Hierarchies of Understanding” and “The difference between knowledge and understanding”. But, from the evidence of what I have seen in my own industry [insurance] – like wider Society – the gap between the haves and the have-nots, is, if not widening, then certainly not closing! This isn’t only detrimental to current stakeholders and shareholders…

• job satisfaction
• employee retention
• effectiveness and efficiency
• errors and omissions
• management and performance
• governance and compliance
• profitability
• resilience and sustainability

…but to those that follow.

I’m sure that there are those conspiracy theorists who would suggest that this is no accident. But I’m not so sure. Although I could be easily persuaded that leaders of the prevailing culture – some of whom view technology, like financial rewards, only in terms of what short term benefits it brings them and their business – still view humans and technology within organisations as separate entities.

How can they be? They are interdependent components in the processes of a business system that has been created to perform a range of functions from which the organisation generates revenue, the means to sustain the enterprise and (hopefully) profit.

This kind of thinking is holding many organisations back!

Legal & Professional services:: re-connecting pricing to cost, profit & value

Whilst the article from which this extract is taken relates specifically to the legal profession, the truth of the matter is that this isn’t just an issue for lawyers…it’s a fact of life, the new norm for service industries!

The graphic on the right was aimed at Insurance Brokers but these are common issues.

I remember some of my earliest Economics lessons dealing with “elasticity of supply and demand”. We are now in the trough that, inevitably, followed an artificially prolonged series of peaks. As a result, the ‘Supply’ created to serve in the good times, when the revenue was there to sustain it, is now a surplus (excess capacity). The market has contracted, demand or, at least, budgets have fallen. Value and cost is under close scrutiny.

Suddenly “how well you know your client” is back at the top of the agenda. So are a few other questions:

Bob Dylan and the evolving role of Social Business in the redistribution of “absolute power”

You can’t fail to have noticed the sorry demise of some major High Street brands in recent years. It’s true that a lot of the “tales of woe” are as a result of the, immediate impact, of the global financial crisis but that is only part of the story. Because, there have probably been more casualties, large and small, as a result of the far-reaching “aftershocks” and resultant recession.

Social business:: an outward sign of "inner well-being"

In case any aspiring business leaders are still in any doubt about the merits of integrating a social media presence into their Corporate strategy, hopefully, these few words will prompt some further thought. Not because I am trying to sell anything to anyone but because it isn’t every firm can afford to offer the TRANSPARENCY that stakeholders increasingly demand: competitors weaknesses can be your strength!