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Looking back … looking ahead

Agent entrepreneurship has continued to thrive, relationships are more important than ever, and technology opens new frontiers almost daily

By Thomas A. McCoy

After 44 years at The Rough Notes Company I will be retiring at the end of this month. Many insurance agents and brokers of my generation will be doing the same within the next few years—or at least undertaking some version of retirement. If that is your situation, I hope you make that transition with the same sense of fulfillment and gratitude for your career that I have for mine.

The world of independent agencies is much healthier now than it was in 1969. Oh, I know, there are serious challenges today. There's increased concentration of marketing clout among a few gigantic brokers. Personal lines and small commercial lines products are increasingly commoditized. Successful agency owners struggle with how to transfer ownership to younger employees … and the list goes on.

But look back a few decades and ask if you'd want to be doing business in an atmosphere where so much time was spent pushing paper from one desk to another; where women and minorities held so few positions of responsibility; and where the exciting perspective of today's Gen-Xers and Millennials was missing.

Some of the competitive threats that agents feared in prior decades have subsided. What will happen, they asked in the '80s, if banks get into the agency business? During that same period agents worried about the severe effects of a hard market. There are some well-established young agents in the business today who have never seen a hard market. The current soft market, however, presents its own problems.

Agents in past decades worried a lot about the effects of insurance company mergers and their volume requirements. They complained most vociferously when companies usurped traditional independent agent responsibilities—setting up association marketing alliances such as The Hartford's AARP auto program, or personal lines service centers.

But through it all, agent entrepreneurship has continued to thrive, relationships are more important than ever, and technology opens new frontiers almost daily. Some farsighted agencies have overcome the challenges of the soft market by establishing a strong presence in employee benefits. It's going to be a great ride ahead for those agency owners who recognize new opportunities and build their organizations with creative and energetic people.

I've learned so much from the men and women associated with independent agencies. From Chris McVicker, CEO of The Flanders Group in Pittsford, New York, I learned that every person in an organization matters. When Flanders won our Marketing Agency of the Year award in 1997, Chris brought his entire staff of 20 employees to the award presentation in Indianapolis. They were all dressed alike in black tuxedos with red bow ties and cummerbunds and white tennis shoes emblazoned with the crimson agency logo.

From the principals of Gillis, Ellis & Baker in New Orleans, last year's winner of the same award, I learned that preparation and perseverance go a long way in beating back adversity. They were forced to evacuate their agency headquarters when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 and set up shop 90 miles away in whatever space they could find, including a trailer for two-and-a-half months. Since then they have posted an annual growth rate of 15%.

From the agent members of the Rough Notes magazine editorial advisory board I've learned that when you put a diverse group of successful agency owners in a room, you discover one reason they are successful: No one person thinks he or she has all the answers. Continual willingness to learn and try new ideas is a trait of a true leader.

I am just as confident about the future of this publication as I am about the future of the independent agency system. In the digital age, agents have a proliferation of sources to turn to for marketing and management information—too many, in fact. What's rare, and what Rough Notes provides, is writers who filter the subject matter, identify trends and present insights that agency owners and managers can use. Our graphics team makes both the print and online versions even more appealing.

All that anyone can ask for from an employer is an opportunity to make an impact, to contribute to a good product in a unique way. I've had that opportunity on this magazine for a long time, and I'm thankful to many people—especially the CEO of The Rough Notes Company, Walt Gdowski, and the editors and writers who have shared my journey.

Agency owners, when they are ready to reduce their day-to-day involvement in their organization, often express a deep satisfaction that they are leaving their organization in strong hands. I know exactly how they feel

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