On this week’s America’s Got Talent (July 13, 2011) the judges were very lukewarm on their comments for the arial act. The judges said that the performers didn’t step it up in this performance. They said the performers actually took a step back. One judge told them that they were very disappointed as they had shown such promise previously.
After their performance, Nick Cannon (the host) asked them how they thought they did. The young man said he thought they did “pretty good”. I think that is the point the judges were trying to make. You just did pretty good, not great. They are competing for a million dollars. The act that wins that has to be great, not pretty good. What does this have to do with an insurance agency?
The attitude of the young man made me think about this subject. Always interesting what will trigger the thought for a blog or article.
In the book “Good to Great” the author states that “good is the enemy of great”.
We get complacent with what we do and think we are doing pretty good. If you think you are doing pretty good, you may not actually being do that good. Have you looked at what is happening in your agency? Is it:
- Struggling to stay up with demand and processes and constantly putting out fires?
- Barely staying up with demand and processes?
- Able to maintain a consistent workflow?
- Cruising right along?
- Exceeding your clients’ expectations?
Have you recently lost a valuable client and your not sure why? Could it be that you were “Pretty Good” and not Great? I have been involved in several evaluations of why a client left an agency. In each case one of the main reasons why clients left was that the agency did not keep its promises. I have seen clients hang on several years never getting all of the services promised. As I audit these files I am often appalled at the lack of staff and producer response. I am also shocked by the tone of and some of the actual comments in some communications.
When I review my findings with the agency owner they are always surprised. They usually have a different picture of what is going on in agency than the reality. What is going on in your agency? Have you checked in and checked up lately? Do you have questions about how to check in and check up? Let me know.
