IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
By Tim Kolacz
Nope, that’s not where I am going this time around. Opinions, by and large, are very much needed in your day to day life as a business owner. Especially when they are from someone you trust.
As an owner of a business you don’t much care to have everyone be a Yes Man. You want people to give feedback in a way that will enhance the company and therefore enhance your bottom line. Take a look around your company; who do you go to when it comes right down to brass tacks and you want to make a key decision? Is it the brown noser in the cubicle in the back that wants to move into an office and goes along with what the leaders say? Or is the person that asks, in a mostly nice manner, “what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks are you thinking and how would that make our company better?”
That person has the company’s best interest at heart and wants the company to be better than they were yesterday. They trust your judgment but they are willing to give feedback even when it means getting into a spirited discussion about how things progress. You hired this person in the first place, you haven’t fired them, yet, and having someone look at the situation from a different point of view is great for the company.
Recently a client of mine had me provide several solutions for them on a line of insurance coverage. During the proposal, we discussed the best route for them. They wanted the best price, with the best coverage with options for additional cost savings by self-insuring some of the risk. I provided some good options and then told them what all the self-insured risks were, in my opinion, not something they should entertain.
They want to limit their exposure to risk, but by self-insuring, they were increasing the risk. Nest, the total cost was too high. And I am not talking about just the premiums to be paid; but what price do you put on a potential claim costing you $50,000 out of pocket? Does seeing a lower price on the front end make up for potentially losing money, and your sanity, on the back end.
At the end of the renewal, when they were signing on my dotted line, they thanked me for my opinion. To them, what I told them, what they pay me for, mattered.
When did someone else’s opinion matter to you?
Tim Kolacz is an Account Executive with HUB international Insurance Services and can be reached at (951) 779-8730 or [email protected]
