Geeks Tweet Up

Picture this: A conference room of 1,500 technology geeks, and onto the stage walks “Geek of the Year,” as voted recently by GQ magazine. Woo-hoo, it’s a geek-apalooza. But even though I’m not generally considered a geek—at least not about technology—I too was intrigued to hear from Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.

What ensued from the mild-mannered, uncannily entertaining Biz at the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in San Diego was a series of life stories and pithy ditties—almost Twitter style—that could have been revelations for many folks slugging it out in the corporate world. For me, it seemed like neatly organized common sense for life and leadership in that world. Which is exactly the point: Sometimes we get so caught up in complex and digressive thought that we can forget that if you keep things simple—and Twitter certainly is simple—you can enjoy some elegant progress.

And speaking of progress, Biz said this: “Don’t be afraid to fail. If you want to succeed spectacularly you have to be ready to fail spectacularly.” Read more

Say What You Mean to Say

In 30 years of business travel I’m sure I’ve said the same phrase a thousand times to a thousand strangers.

This time the response was different:
• Pete (to a New York City hotel doorman as he loads my high-maintenance self into a cab in the pouring rain): “Have a good day.”
• Doorman: “They’re all good days. Some are just better than others.”

As I think about it now, I probably nodded and smiled thinly as he shut the taxi door after me. His smile, on the other hand, was authentic and far and wide—exactly, actually, like the hotel character Dick Halloran played awesomely by Scatman Crothers in the 1980 movie The Shining.

And since I was preoccupied as usual with catching a train or plane, it took me a while—maybe several minutes—before I truly heard the gent’s comment.

[Permit me a quick diversion to again recall something from the late and great George Carlin, who had a bit about hating when people said, “Have a nice day.” He ranted: “Maybe I don’t want a nice day. Maybe—just maybe—I’ve had 300 nice days in a row, and I’m ready for a really crappy day. It’s easy to have a crappy day—all you gotta do is get up!”] Read more

You from Joizey?

Good old New Jersey. I miss it, even 16 years after we moved to the DC area. I already wrote about my house there. 

Besides family, of course, there is one huge thing I miss: food.

I love food. I get jazzed about expansive menus with elaborate descriptions—except I don’t like when they write ‘em in French. I ask the servers to outline the specials several times, with particular emphasis on the sauces. I even root for other people’s food when they order. And don’t even get me started on the wine list.

What, you say, they don’t have food in Virginia, Pete? Sure, but they don’t have real Jersey food. (By the way, Jersey is the only “new” state where you don’t need the “new.” For instance, you don’t say “Hampshire.”)

Everyone who sells food down here in DC is a pretender—not a contender—for that authentic deli or Italian restaurant taste.

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Mixing Friendships & Business

Picture an ice cream counter in the sparkling sun on a popular beach boardwalk. (Hey I know it’s not summer yet, but in our neck of the woods, spring is springing. Work with me, people!)

In a given day, hundreds, maybe thousands, of beachgoers wander by that counter, drop 10 bucks, get their cones and shuffle off.  The folks behind the counter likely don’t know more than a handful of customers.

Other firms have a similar model with many customer interactions, but few relationships. Or the opposite. A national insurance company can appoint tens of thousands of agencies, but know relatively few well; a regional carrier might have 750 fairly close agency relationships. Or, an independent agency can average revenue of $10,000 each from 1,000 customers, while another can get $1,000 each from 10,000 customers. Who’s wrong? Nobody.

At Aartrijk, we didn’t set out to create friendships first, but many of our clients are friends of our consultants—people you’d absolutely want to join for dinner. Some are actually quite close. Others are folks we don’t know quite so well—yet—but we enjoy them a lot. Read more

Dog’s Life Ain’t So Bad

“A dog doesn’t understand time. Like a young child, he doesn’t know the difference between eight o’clock and a week ago Tuesday. The only period of time a dog understands is forever. And that’s how long he thinks everything is gonna last.”
—George Carlin

While I wasn’t fond of the bitter side to George’s personality in the waning years of his life, rarely a week goes by when I don’t recall something the comedian said or wrote. The dude was sly and smart and sneaky with his observations.

For me, Carlin was at his best in noting the difference between cats and dogs. For instance, he said, cats never accept blame for anything—no matter how spectacular the failed leap from the end table to the windowsill, the cat always will bounce up as if to say, “I meant that…that’s exactly what I meant to do. Oh, something broken? Ask the dog.” Dogs, meanwhile, carry a lot of guilt—and you can spot it in their eyebrows, which are almost human, George said.

I own two dogs: Molly (aka Yellow Dog) and Betty (aka Betty Boop), and they join us in the office here every day. The yellow lab Molly, age 13, has been a fixture in here for 10 years. Chocolate lab Betty, 3, has been here for two, as it took her a year to stop eating the oak flooring in our house. (Yes, I said oak flooring.) Read more

Liquid Conversation

When I started work in New York City back in the 1980s, I caught the tail end of the era of the famous “two-martini lunch.” Or infamous, depending on your view.

Yep, it was real: For purists, it meant two martinis. Two meals. Two hours. And, usually, two business people discussing challenges of the day and actually working on solving them.

It was a wonderful time. Not because of the booze, although that sometimes made it interesting. It was the art of conversation. Yes, people actually sat down face-to-face during the business day and talked with each other for two hours without checking a BlackBerry. Imagine that?

More specifically, here’s how the lunch went: One attendee would book a table at a favorite spot. The waiters knew everyone, and what they liked to sip: typically an exquisitely made vodka or gin martini. In well-staffed locations, you’d have a drink before your butt even hit the seat. For those who dabbled in two martinis (not for me—I wasn’t smart after one), you’d have a second drink and a menu delivered together. Food would arrive with steaming hot coffee. Around 2 or 2:30 p.m., you’d go back to the office—to work on something, ostensibly.

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Reflection & Thanks

Since when does the Christmas season start November 1, before we even get the Halloween pumpkins out of the yard? Although the retailers have beckoned for two months, I intend to start my really fun shopping soon, like December 23. Adrenalin is a wonderful thing. As is a little shot of courage to get me to open up the wallet.

Okay, so I’ve actually been shopping online for 40 days or so (as you have), I prefer to finish up by buying local—just like the good old days before shopping somehow turned into 3 a.m. mall mayhem on Black Friday. (Now that’s an “American tradition” we need to end—especially for the poor folks who have to staff the stores.)

For me, this time of year isn’t about shopping. I try to keep top of mind the faraway folks who serve our country so we can write and say what we want—like in a blog—back home. (Here’s a shout-out to Aartrijk’s very own Kevin Jenné, who’s serving now in South Korea.)

On the business side, I hope you share the feeling here at Aartrijk that we are truly blessed. Yes, this is about branding work. But we are surrounded by friends and clients who feel like family. As corny as that sounds, it is the truth. Thanks to you all. Read more

Rivers of Opportunity

Each September I am privileged to gather for private conversation with some of the most interesting minds in the insurance business in West Yellowstone, Montana.

Why don’t we meet at a convenient airport hotel, you ask?

Well, as the photo shows, we don’t just talk; we fly fish. The area is home to Blue Ribbon trout streams, including the rivers Gallatin, Madison and Yellowstone. Three majestic states—Idaho, Montana and Wyoming—join at this place. To say it is a natural wonder to a city guy like me is an understatement. The eagles, buffalo, elk…the mountains, lakes and streams….the sun rising in the Big Sky and setting over the mountains. Wherever you look, words alone are inadequate to describe the beauty. Read more

The Future of Meetings?

“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be ‘meetings.’” – Dave Barry

Truly, I can’t argue with Mr. Barry. Yet I must say that having returned from one fine gathering last week, I’m juiced—but not about meetings as we ordinarily think of them.

Let me explain.

I’ve been to hundreds (gulp, yes, hundreds) of insurance industry conventions. My first, in 1983, actually was my first business trip ever—unlucky for me I was reporting on the winter meeting of National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Snore. Lucky for me, it was in San Diego. Nice.

After that first meeting I became fascinated with event logistics: planning, marketing, staging, food and beverage—all of those choices. Over the years I took on responsibility myself for big events for trade associations. Always top of mind for me—my worst fear, actually—was that if we weren’t careful, people would be bored. I didn’t want bored attendees, boring speakers, and a boring room set up—like classroom style (yuck). I wanted to encourage networking. Alas, I wasn’t always successful. Read more