Stacey Brown, MBA

As an industry, insurance frequently makes top-down decisions. It's easy to make the mistake in thinking that executives define the culture and that somehow everyone else in the organization needs to fit it. In any industry or business, there are leaders, and there are people at the top of the org chart. The best leaders are servant leaders - those who listen to their organization and look to help them be successful. In defining your culture, be sure to include input from the bottom-up and outside-in. Times are changing, and if you want to have success at attracting the right talent to your culture, you need to make sure your culture evolves by accounting for the needs of talent entering the industry.

They say the key to innovation is not being afraid to fail. The insurance industry is not known for being supportive of failure. We are risk professionals, and for some that means risk averse. Remember - there is no such thing as bad risk, only badly priced risk. Remember also that risk has 2 main factors - probability and impact. You want to increase the frequency of innovation which means you will likely increase the frequency of failure. Therefore, manage your risk through impact - support small, rapid attempts to make improvements and celebrate the brave souls in your organization for taking a shot.

The insurance industry has a lot of experienced professionals. many executives and senior leaders are in or approaching retirement, but they are not done! If you are in the early or growth stages of your career, don't be shy about reaching out to retired industry leaders. You might be surprised to see how giving of their time they will be.

Social media is a great way to collaborate. It follows you everywhere. The world of insurtech influencers has grown rapidly in the past 2 years which is why InsurTech Hartford started the Making Waves Award. LinkedIn is still far and above the best platform for #insurtech social media.

There are many insurtech events across the globe. The big events are great, but don't overlook the local scene. There are people in your backyard working to make an impact to the insurance industry. Local community events are a great way to get connected.

Never go into a negotiation without a plan to get out of it. Note - You need a plan for each option: Plan 1: You get exactly what you want Plan 2: You get most of what you want Plan 3: You get only a small amount Plan 4: You get nothing Plan 5: You get nothing and you burnt a bridge How will you handle each of these situations?