The Times, They Are a Changin’

We live in interesting times. While I have been thinking about this column, I’ve noted a dramatic story on the news: The recent shooting at Parkland High School in Florida. Pundits, politicians and even corporate entities have weighed in on the issue of gun control, school safety and mental health. These voices aren’t surprising, as we have seen this situation before, and it seems the only thing everyone can agree on is that this is becoming all-too common. I, myself, have been thinking about the families and the lost lives of the students. I used to pass this high school when I had a home in Boca. If I was driving by around 2:30 p.m., I would see the students there getting ready for the bus. The thought of these students not going home to their parents is nightmarish to me.

I don’t want to make this column political. However, there’s something about the Parkland story that I find more compelling than the horrible and unfortunately familiar school shooting itself. I’ve seen students on the news and at rallies for the past few weeks and they amaze me. They have been organizing, protesting and demonstrating: creatively, articulately and effectively. They are making a difference and I believe they may even be getting our politicians to compromise. It’s a passionate movement.

While I was watching these kids (they are kids to me), it occurred to me that there is something familiar about what’s going on; and that I’ve seen this passion before. I lived through the civil rights era; the Vietnam era – I watched students protest the conflict; they burned draft cards; they disrupted college campuses … they organized, protested and demonstrated. The student protests of the late 1960s and ‘70s were a major reason the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam. It was a passionate movement.

And then, something else occurred to me: The Vietnam protesters are our high-wealth clients now. The baby boomers are our successful executives and leaders, even within our own insurance industry. We all know our workforce is graying. We need to invest in Young Insurance Professionals.

I respect the youth in our country. They are smarter than us in the older generation. They can affect change. We need to welcome them and encourage them to come into our industry, because our insurance industry workforce needs their passion, stamina and knowledge.

This is the age when we think millennials are doing new things, however, they are doing the same thing we’ve always done to succeed, just in a different way. Consider the decline of brick-and-mortar retail. Lord & Taylor is downsizing because of the rise of Amazon. As the son of a garment manufacture, I don’t understand it. I like to touch my clothes; see how a new suit fits; and feel the fabric. I go to the same salesman all the time, and he knows what I like and how I wear my clothes.

I’m old fashioned. But I’m also an optimist. I often discuss in this column the importance of not forgetting the basics in our sales and operations, but we shouldn’t be afraid to embrace new processes that will make us better. I know that while media may be evolving, the basic principles of our industry and in sales haven’t changed. In fact, they stand out more because people forget them when they are using the new media. We will all benefit as we promote the newer generation.

They have a voice that speaks with their client base. We can teach them the art of conversation. This generation that came up in the dot-com age, they have not learned how to speak with us. But at the same time, they do know how to embrace and utilize new technologies. They can use modern branding techniques and artificial intelligence fearlessly, reaching a demographic that is not to be ignored. We have to be open to working with young people. While they may not be your biggest clients now, they will become the most desirable group – your current big clients are not going to live forever.

Toward this, I have good news! I can report that there is new blood out there and young people are open to our industry. PIANY’s Young Insurance Professionals group is growing. They have expanded their geographic reach, hosting events across the state in Buffalo, Utica, the Capital Region, the Hudson Valley and Long Island this past year. Under the leadership of NY-YIP President Jason Bartow, a second-generation professional insurance agent, YIP membership has increased, giving leadership opportunities to young volunteers in our industry who are learning the business and how to be successful in it.

They can lead us. For our part, we need to be welcoming and we need to recognize their talents and skills. We need to support them in their careers; and as an industry, and we need to be concerned about them. And, and we need to be open to new technologies and marketing processes because they work and they are only going to become more effective as our client base grows up. It’s our job to reach out to them. If you know a young person who is considering insurance as a career, tell them about PIA’s YIP organization. Sponsor their membership. Send them to a YIP networking event. Teach them what you have learned. Because this is more than a protest song: This is our future.