An icon by any other name…

The spirited vitality of industry icon Maurice “Hank” Greenberg comes through quite clearly in his new book, The AIG Story, a “must read” if you are in the insurance, banking, political, legislative or regulatory sphere….or simply on the planet “business.” Greenberg is pleasantly direct. I know this first hand. Some years back, I attended a meeting at Starr on Park Avenue with Mr. Greenberg and another gentleman. When I walked in I handed him my card which read: CINN, the name of our corporation. Mr. Greenberg took the card, looked at it quickly, looked up at me and said, “How the hell can you have that guy on your TV station?” I was stunned. Of course, what had happened is that he had read CINN as CNN and assumed that I had something to do with having Eliot Spitzer appearing on CNN. I explained and then he shook hands with me and said “Nice to meet you.” We use words like icon, legend, leader and the rest with great frequency from microphones, podiums and even from the pages of our publications. Hank Greenberg in his new book demonstrates that he is a clearheaded, tough force for free enterprise, even when dealt a tough hand. We need a new vocabulary word here, readers. Please suggest yours. I thoroughly encourage you to read the book; it is highly entertaining and provocative… Speaking of clear headedness, in this issue we present a thoughtful article by Allen Roberts on five issues facing businesses on the human resources side and other related areas. We have known Allen for some time both as an authoritative exponent of good decision making by business leaders through knowledge and as a cultured gentlem. As insurance agents and brokers and many others in the insurance profession might otherwise learn the hard way, it is thoroughly worthwhile to gain an understanding of what faces your clients, friends and your own businesses. Allen’s article presents a hard look at HR and taxation issues that we genuinely need to absorb and make part of our business relationships. We are proud to present his work once again, and do encourage you to pass it along. Please remember to give credit to him and his law firm Epstein, Becker; they deserve it for providing this kind of information.