Ms. Christian A. Turner was the young lady who gave an outstanding and challenging response. For you see, Ms. Turner had her education at the university interrupted when she was called up for a one year tour of duty in Iraq. Now back in Akron, she had completed her bachelor’s degree and was planning to continue on for a master’s degree and law degree.

Ms. Turner used a quote that she said summarized her sense of being and doing, “We must do what we need to do, to get what we want to get.” She spoke about her experiences and her vision of her horizon. She talked about what she must do to fulfill her vision of her horizon. For Ms. Turner, her vision is one created of hope. Hope in and for herself, her community, her country, and the world. A vision balanced by the real world experience of Iraq and the idealism of the hope to touch people and make her corner of the world better.

I’m sure you have heard how the activity of a commencement ceremony is not the ending of a period of time, as in an education process, but really just the beginning. While commencement is “a ceremony at which academic degrees and/or diplomas are conferred”, to commence means “to have or make a beginning, to start.” So while the commencement ceremony is a celebration of achievement, it is also the celebration of the beginning, of the start on the journey toward the horizon, our vision, our hope.

As we begin this New Year, 2013, and I reflect on Ms. Turner’s challenge to each person that evening. I am reminded of a quote by Dr. Viktor Frankl. Dr. Frankl wrote a book, Man’s Search for Meaning about his experience while being incarcerated in four different Nazi concentration camps during WWII. His book tells us of the lessons learned from that experience and a common thread he found among those who survived. The trait essential to survival he said was that those who made it through had something significant yet to do in their future.

Dr. Frankl wrote, “It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future and this is his salvation in even the most difficult moments of his existence.” Man’s truest search for meaning may be in finding something significant yet to live for:  hope.

As you look forward into this New Year and beyond, my hope and prayer for you is that out there on your horizon you have for yourself, your family, your business, your church, your community, something significant yet to be done. As Ms. Turner reminded us during commencement, even while we are fully engaged in the realities of life there are reasons for us to remain idealistic and hopeful if we have something significant to which we have been called.

Hope is the energy that enables and powers our calling and our visions!

Blessing in the New Year, may your horizon contain a vision that generates hope!

Thanks for reading,

Dave

There is another perspective to the whole idea of personal or corporate governance principles. In that perspective a person or an organization feels a duty or obligation (with good intentions) to draft a Mission Statement, Values Statement, Vision Statement, perhaps even setting some goals. Unfortunately nothing happens, nothing is built, and no changes ever result despite the personal cost of time and energy to create these governance principles.

The “I don’t want to be disappointed” perspective is much less harmful than the second perspective for at the very least, it is honest. In the second perspective, not only have we lied to ourselves and to others, we have wasted some very valuable time, a lot of energy, and emptied the integrity bank account.

There are three insights I would like to share about establishing “Governance Principles”:

1. Without governing principles, a staff will never know the expected behaviors, how to connect the why with the what, or the expected outcomes.
2. Without governing principles, your customers will never know or understand your why or the what, both of which help the customer define their expectation.
3. Operating within your principles and fulfilling your vision will put you in the top 12%-15% of organizations.

Let me expand a bit on each of these insights. Not knowing for sure about your organization, humor me as I take a guess that the business and economic environment creates daily challenges to deliver consistent, high-quality products and services. Your competition is not only greater everyday but it comes at you from a whole variety of different levels and directions. Few organizations are truly looking for ways to differentiate themselves, their products and services. In our business, it seems that most are content focusing on commoditizing the products and competing primarily on price. It is a race to the bottom.

Unfortunately, as Daniel Burris reminds us, “There is no competitive advantage in being just like everyone else.” To truly differentiate ourselves and to make a difference in the marketplace we must take the time to articulate really meaningful governance principles, giving the time and energy necessary connecting for our staff the “why we do” with the “what we do”. My staff comes to work every day with the desire to do a really great job, help the organization succeed, and make a difference. I know they are aware of and experience daily the impact and influence of the competition and must make choices in how they will respond. With well defined, meaningful governance principles, they are better prepared and are able to focus on fulfilling rather than reacting. I have an obligation to be as clear and concise as possible.

Secondly, with a well-articulated set of governance principles, that is publicly shared and even promoted, we define and differentiate ourselves to the marketplace. At the same time, it establishes for our customers a benchmark against which they can measure their expectations and our delivery. Now this of course is a bit of a double-edged sword. If we should miss the mark, the customer can simply walk away and complain to their friends and acquaintances about the experience. Sometimes, however, they may let you know you missed the mark. Now that is valuable! In fact, we like to say around here, criticism is a gift. Receiving criticism allows us to know we missed the mark, giving us the opportunity to learn, change or affirm.

Working through this thought brings another insight. Our customer as they evaluate their experience with our company, are not only evaluating us against our own governance principles but also against their service experiences at the local grocery store, doctor’s office, post office, and restaurant.  Since they are not dealing with our competitor insurance companies, their frame of reference is our governance principles and other service providers. Not only do we need to articulate our governance principles, but we need to practice them, therein building a bank account of integrity with the customer.

Execution is our last insight. Numerous studies show us that on average 84% – 87% of organizations that create governance principles fail to live up to them, execute on the plans or fulfill their vision. A key factor causing this failure is that most organizations are not willing to give the time and energy necessary to do it right. They want quick and easy, therefore they make it an event when it really needs to be a process. They go to the mountain, come back, deliver the new or freshly revised mission and vision, hold a pep rally and then Monday morning comes. There is only one reason to develop a set of governance principles including a vision, if you intend to build or change something. Within existing organizations the cultural status quo works against change unless we work at the culture also.

If the organization is not developing their principles with the intention of acting on them, they shouldn’t waste their time developing them. If in this new socioeconomic and challenging business environment you really want to be in the top 12%-15%, developing corporate principles will truly differentiate your organization, then be sure to execute with the intention of fulfilling. The process is often slow, murky, and exhausting but committing to the discipline of excellence up front makes the day-to-day much easier. The clearer the principles and vision, the fewer options you must deal with, which means the fewer questions to be answered and the easier the answers.

Peter Drucker is quoted as saying, “Give me an average plan with great execution over a great plan with no execution”.

Over the next few months I will be articulating Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company’s governance principles on this blog. We intend to practice and deliver based on these principles and we value your feedback so please let us know if we are really doing the job!

Thanks for reading,

Dave

In a business environment, the concept, idea or issue of blessing is not a generally acceptable topic. However, let me wander down this road just a bit. Our attitude and approach in a relationship driven business with members of our team(s), agents who represent us and with the client who buys our insurance products, give us the opportunity blessing. It seems to me that purposely looking to be a blessing moves Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company beyond intentionally delivering superior products and services to making a real difference in lives, both ours and theirs. It seems that this is a place where living with purpose and true passion is a prerequisite.

When we look at the blessing from a broader perspective, we begin by reviewing the definition of blessing where we see words such as: approval, encouragement, conducive to happiness or welfare, brings joy and satisfaction, grateful. Who wouldn’t like to be a source of action, attention to detail and bring attention to a relationship that would generate these descriptors? What is really unique about the whole concept of blessing is that the sense of feeling and fulfillment go both ways in a relationship.

Our team at Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company experienced the sense of being and receiving a blessing during our annual Christmas lunch. A few years ago we decided to give up the practice of exchanging small gifts during our annual Christmas celebration. In place of that practice we decided to collect contributions and hold an auction with proceeds going to a local non-profit organization. These have proven to be wild and wildly successful experiences.

During our 2011 Christmas lunch a few weeks ago, our team of 25 people raised $4,125 for the Orrville Area Boys & Girls Club. To say that I was humbled, grateful, proud and blessed is to put a fairly mild definition to my sense of awe following that lunch and celebration. This experience caused me to think about the whole idea of being a blessing and receiving a blessing. It also made me wonder how the impact of that day and our own personal perspective allowed/created such an experience and what the impact on life, and business in general, might be. 

1. The giver: out of our thankfulness, ability and acknowledged blessing, we give.
2. The buyer: out of our blessing and being content with what we have, we contribute much more than the value.
3. The participants: with their encouragement, prodding and challenges, they assisted the auctioneer (then cheered wildly for each sale).
4. The non-profit organization: someone else realizes the true value of what they give their lives and resources towards.
5. The clients: someone who has been blessed chooses to, with intention, make a real difference through multiplying the blessing.

Since this is a business, our first objective (according to Peter Drucker) is to attract, grow, and retain customers at a profit. However, at Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company, we also have two other bottom lines. The second is: to create an environment and culture of encouragement and enablement, in which we are a unified community, committed to the personal growth and development of each individual’s body, soul, spirit, and mind. The third is: through the development and sustainment of strong vibrant people, families, and business, we will give back to the community, impacting it in ways that truly make a difference thereby making it a community of choice.

The real value is ultimately seen and measured in the success of our business. However, it is the creation of this kind of culture that we can truly deliver products, services -and yes, blessings, where our partners and clients experience the fulfillment of our Value Proposition: “Personal Attention, Assuring Peace of Mind.” A blessing is impossible to quantify, however, we know it when we feel it.

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear your feedback!

Dave

If we look at the definition of value, we find the following: (1) Assessed worth, or desirability (2) The fair monetary value (3) Utility or importance. There are also values attributed to the duration of a musical note or the intensity of a color.

Value is a complex relationship between our senses, our expectations, the desired outcome and the actual experience. Have you ever savored something first with your eyes as you looked at a picture on the recipe (or menu) only to have a less than savory experience when the outcome was finally tasted? Marketing experts have blasted us with pictures, noise, and promises often touching all of our senses. Unfortunately, our senses often discover the producer fails to deliver on that sensory experience.

When was the last time you had an experience that really exceeded your expectations? When whatever was actually delivered exceeded what was promised? Business tends to be focused on three outcomes: delivering cheap, delivering fast, or delivering quality. The advice to the consumer and to the producer is, pick one or two but never all three. As a society, we have become so consumed with cheap and fast that these end up being the values we pursue. However, when the picture on the box does not meet our sensory expectations, we discover the real value is something else.

I recently took a trip to a ranch in Colorado. For her tenth birthday, Omi and I (Opa) took Emma (our granddaughter) for a week of horseback riding and ranch life. As we concluded our week at Latigo Ranch, we all agreed that the week far exceeded our expectations at all levels. Our one-on-one time with Emma created memories that none of us will ever forget. The owners of the ranch have a commitment to delivering a complete, whole-person experience focusing on all four elements of body, mind, spirit, and soul. The staff, many of whom were young college students, displayed competence and character at a level that renewed my faith in the future of our young people. I would hire any one of them!

Being in a business, yes we insure property, but in reality we serve people. This experience made me ask the question “Are we promising more but delivering less, or are we among the few that deliver more than we promise?” At a recent gathering of our management team at Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company (MMIC), we shared thoughts from some readings. One of those that stood out was, “Long after people forget what you said, they will remember how you made them feel”.

Perhaps that is the ultimate definition of value. Are you, am I, is your business, is MMIC, delivering promises, services, and the personal touch at a level that people will say, “Not only did they respond as promised, but they made me feel valued”? The folks at Latigo Ranch sure did! I hope it is a lesson well learned that will make a difference. 

So I ask, are we promising more but delivering less, or are we among the few that deliver more than we promise?

Thanks for reading and for your valuable feedback.

Dave

Words and phrases you will find often in this book by Seth ,or in his daily blog, are: start, action, no fear, kick in the pants, shake up life, ship, do great work, these are hard – art, selling, writing, making a difference, creating a map that others will follow. He consistently suggests what the world actually needs is less creativity and more shipping. We have an obligation to ship, starting implies finishing, so ship.

Today I embrace this new form of media and communication known as blogging. Our team at Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company hope to poke and prod to determine if anyone is listening. We hope to ignite thought, generate reaction and promote discussion. But most of all, I hope we can challenge the process and make a difference. Seth suggests that those who start things are often seen as troublemakers, questioners, and sometimes innovators.

As I began this project, I checked out “BLOG” on Wikipedia. If you are interested in a bit of the origin of blogging they have a good summary. Well, being into my seventh decade, I am at times a bit overwhelmed by all of this advancement in technology and social media. It helps to have a lot of young people around here who help to keep pushing me forward even while I kick and scream. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that this form of communication has been around since the late 90’s and they estimate that approximately 156 million public blogs exist. So much for being an early adapter!

My poke for today actually comes from Bob Good. Much to our sorrow, but relief because of his suffering, Bob passed away July 25th. He had his first heart bypass surgery, I am guessing at near of just before the age of fifty. From that day forward, Bob’s consistent message to me was if you are thinking of doing something, do it now. Don’t wait for the perfect time, until you have everything in order, or you have the time necessary. Do It Now!

Over the years, I saw Bob take his own advice and last week when I received word of Bob’s death I had taken Bob’s advice. My wife Arlene and I were in Colorado for a week at a dude ranch with our ten-year-old granddaughter because that is the gift she wanted for her tenth birthday. While it cost way too much, took a lot of time and travel, and took me way outside my comfort zone, to watch Emma and experience that week with her was priceless. It turned out to be an experience the three of us will never forget and one that far exceeded our expectations.

Throughout the week I found myself thinking of Bob, our relationship, experiences, and how our lives intertwined through family, business, social circles and faith. In those times of reflection, I felt real comfort and respect because I was enjoying the benefits of Bob’s poking.

So I pick up the mantle from Bob, while feeling encouragement from Seth, and ride off on my trusty steed and firmly hold my lance as I begin to poke.

What is it that you have held as a “want to”, as a vision, as a deep desire and have caught yourself saying, “one day I will”, but the fear of failure or reason holds you back? In an article I read recently, it said the average person makes a decision within a fraction-of-a-second of a thought coming into their brain. The same person then spends the next minutes and hours rationalizing that decision. Intuitively we know what we should do, however, we usually end up talking ourselves out of it. Well today is the day! There is no better day than now to begin, to initiate, to ship! Get moving! Life is short, but the opportunities are plentiful and the benefits are terrific!

Thanks for reading. I promise the next blog will be shorter.

See you in a week,

Dave