Rick Morgan - Talking Head

ACT (Agents Council for Technology) recently published my article “Web 2.0: Empowering a Cultural Transformation”.

Article Synopsis: Many independent agency owners are wary of the hype around online social media, but they should think about them as today’s business-building tools. Younger producers will want to take advantage of them to grow their books. This ACT article outlines some new social media tools and how they are transforming our world. - Here is the link…  Web 2.0: Empowering a Cultural Transformation - Rick Morgan

I recently listened in on a Webinar sponsored by A.M. Best where the question, “What the heck is social media and why should anyone in the insurance industry care?”, was  tackled head on by Charles Wasilewski of The van Aartrijk Group and Michael T. Wise of IdeaStar. Click here to access a transcript and video of the Webinar. - Rick Morgan

Communique from Eddie:
Rick, I have had a wonderful time visiting with Lisa Parry Becker at the William B. Parry & Son agency in Langhorn, PA. As you know, this agency has been a real advocate for the Real Time Campaign. Lisa gave me a tour of the agency and I learned how Real Time processing has really helped the agency become more efficient. The agency went paperless a year ago.  Thanks to Real Time, new accounts in personal lines and small commercial are totally paperless.  They have been have been bar coding existing accounts and scanning them.  After scanning, existing accounts are archived in a downstairs file room.  Here I am inspecting the retired paper files. All very cool!

A great deal of personal and informal business Web 2.0 usage is taking place today. More than likely, youand/or your agency staff are already watching video on You Tube, reading blogs, and joining social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Unfortunately, many independent agency owners just haven’t been able to get their heads around the concept—at least not as a business strategy. Yet, making the Web 2.0 culture part of your agency’s business plan may very well be a matter of survival.

People’s desire to connect is not new. Historically, people have depended on each other for strength and support. The front porch of the general store was a place where the community gathered to share stories and trade goods. However, during the era of mass production and mass communication institutions subjugated the value of individual. Now, the social and interactive technologies of Web 2.0 are ushering in a new era of relationship and community—there is a power shift from the institutions back to the people.

Web 2.0 culture in not a passing fad. It’s a long-term hard trend that has significant implications on how your agency can most effectively interact and communicate with your prospects, customers and employees. Only by understanding Web 2.0 culture (technology and trends) will you be armed with the knowledge necessary to create and implement appropriate strategies to tap into and profit from the Web 2.0
Culture.

Has your Company implemented a Web 2.0 Strategy? What has been your experience? I invite you to share your thoughts by adding your comments to this post.

Thanks……

Rick Morgan

When there is a discussion about Web 2.0 it typically centers on Blogs, Social Networks, Flickr, Wikis, Second Life, YouTube, Twitter and the like. To be sure there is an entire universe of very cool technology making up the Web 2.0 landscape. Yet, technology just for technology’s sake makes little sense and if Web 2.0 were just about the technology it would be far less compelling. Technologies are neither good nor bad. Rather, it is how they are used that defines them. So, you might ask, “What’s the big deal about Web 2.0?” Web 2.0 technologies are the enablers to a set of social and cultural trends that are transforming our world. Peers coming together and tapping into a collective intelligence to create value characterize this new world. It is a culture where by drawing strength from each other, individuals collectively gain control, influence and power. In the coming weeks I will be posting more about Web 2.0 and its relevance in the insurance industry. - Rick Morgan

OK, so I am a little slow. I have just now gotten around to working with and really understanding Groupsites. Groupsites are a new class of websites that basically allow any group the ability to create their own unique social network and collaboration site. Groupsites combine the features of traditional websites, blogs, collaboration software and social networks. Groupsites can be either public or private and provide a meeting place that typically provides members with a shared calendar, discussion forums, group blog member profiles, photo gallery, and file storage.

ACORD and IIABA have already begun to make use of this powerful productivity and collaboration tool.

If you are an agent who has the need to communicate, network, or share information with employees and/or customers you owe it to yourself to check into Groupsites - this is very cool stuff.

Check out CollectiveX or Ning. Both companies provide free software to set up your on-line Groupsite.

Over the past 25 years, I have attended hundreds of industry conventions, seminars, user group meetings, educational convocations and forums.  While most provide good networking opportunities, the programs are too many times un-inspired (that is being kind). My version of hell is sitting through “yet another power point” presentation that is being read by a self-proclaimed expert and is a shameless self-promotion for his or her company. Rarely, is there any chance for dialogue and are any creative, unique or original ideas presented at these events. You get the idea…. BORING!

OK, so you know my mindset as I packed and headed to the airport to attend the ACORD Implementation Forum, which also included both the Agents Council for Technology (ACT) and AUGIE meetings.

SURPRISE! This conference was different. This was a new event for ACORD, although in many ways it reminded me of the early ACORD Conferences of the 1990’s. There was an energy generated by the 300 plus attendees that I had not experienced in years. The sessions were designed to encourage interaction, participation and discussion -  and it worked. This conference was ACORD living the “We is Smarter Than Me” philosophy.

In further support of that philosophy ACORD also officially launched the ACORD Community social network for ACORD members.

The forum ended with a Town Hall meeting where Greg Maciag, ACORD President and CEO  and Rick Gilman, Vice President, Communications and Insustry/Governement Affairs solicited input and evaluation from the attendees in and interactive and social dialogue.

Kudos to Greg, Rick and the rest of the ACORD team. - Rick Morgan

Wikis, YouTube, Blogs, Social Networking, Second Life……

Confused? Threatened? Wondering how this is all relevant to you and your business?

The Web 2.0 Culture is creating a permanent shift in the way the world works. There is a great opportunity being created but in order to take advantage of it you must first educate yourself.

If your want to better understand the transformation taking place and how every aspect of our personal and professional lives are being infiltrated by these second generation technologies I would like to recommend two books.

The first is, “We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash The Power of Crowds in Your Business” by Barry Libert and Jon Spector and 4000 Contributors. Basically, the book is about mass collaboration or “crowdsourcing”. It is the concept that the collective “WE” is more powerful and smarter than any singular “ME”. In fact, “the crowd” wrote the book. Enabled by today’s technology we can act in mass collaboration and leverage the crowd’s collective intelligence. According to the authors, “The result is a quantum increase in the world’s ability to conceive, create, compute, and connect.”

This book is not only about how businesses can profit from the wisdom of crowds but it also describes what works and what doesn’t. Several case studies are sited in product development, manufacturing, marketing, customer service, finance and management that demonstrate the value of tapping into and leveraging the power of the “WE”.

The Second book is “Groundswell:Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies” by Forrester Research analysts Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.

I think this is a must read for anyone wanting to gain a full understanding of the social transformation taking place and the processes necessary to profit from it.

The authors define groundswell as, “a spontaneous movement of people using online tools to connect, take charge of their own experience and get what they need – information, support, ideas, products, and bargaining power – from each other.”

The book uses twenty-five case studies from around the world to show how leading companies are using “groundswell” to gain insights, generate revenue, save money, and energize their customers.

I was recently interviewed by Insurance Journal - Here is the introduction to the interview and a link to the full article.

“Real time technology is giving agencies immediate access to carrier information on their clients, allowing agencies to quickly and efficiently transact quotes, billing inquiries, endorsements, loss runs, policy views, and information requests with a single workflow.

As real time agency technology gains more and more acceptance, and improves agency workflow and efficiency, agents are freed to explore other Web 2.0 social technologies such as blogs, podcasts, instant messaging, text messaging, customer online accounts, and chat features that facilitate online collaboration with customers and others.

If agents want to be where their future customers are, they may have no choice but to adopt some of the new social technologies. One of the easiest and potentially most effective tools for agents from the Web 2.0 bag is a blog.” Click here for access to the full article.  Insurance Journal

While reading over the agenda and session descriptions for an insurance technology conference I was struck by seeing several courses that had titles like  “Tips and Tricks for Better Use of Your Agency Management System” or “10 Tricks for Effective Implementation of your Agency Management System”. These titles seemed to suggest that all that was required for a best practice implementation and effective use of agency technology was the wave of a magician’s wand. Technology cannot magically transform an underperforming agency into a high performing one. Sure, I realize that most of us know that it takes a lot more than magic to make sure an agency is getting the best return on its investment in technology. Yet, perhaps there is a danger in promoting the idea that something less than good business practices, a solid implementation plan, involved management, and adequate resources can lead to successful implementation of technology. World class implementation is implementation that allows the agency to redefine its processes, communication, and customer relationships to take advantage of emerging trends and turn them into opportunities for growth That kind of implementation requires a leap of faith, vision, creativity – OK and perhaps a little magic.