Page 192 - The UnCaptive Agent

ON YOUR OWN: AGGREGATION OR AGENCY COACHING 165

Chrysler and Home Depot said, “I absolutely believe
that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum
potential.” One of the things that Agency Development
Organizations offer that is incredibly useful to agency
founders and growers of agencies is coaching on how to
maximize their potential at every step in the develop-
ment of their agency. Our Agency Growth Coaches™
are insurance agency development experts with deep
experience in insurance agency operations. They have,
at their fingertips, massive resources of knowledge to
draw upon, both of their own and of many others. They
are focused on helping agency owners accomplish the
agency’s goals and often function as resource develop-
ers, information quarterbacks, knowledge experts, and
cheerleaders.
Coaching and mentoring have been incredibly valu-
able to me in my business career. I’ve had many great
mentors, including my long-time business partner Ken
Anderson—who I described, before we were in business
together and I was his client, as the best insurance per-
son I had ever met. After twenty-five years in business,
he is still that to me. Jim Masiello, Chairman of SIAA,
and Nick Pappajohn, President of SIAA, have been
amazing mentors and coaches to me as we have built
our organization together. Dan Sullivan of The Strategic
Coach® Program, along with several of his key team
members, have been instrumental in helping me develop
as an entrepreneur through their coaching. One of the
common factors in each of these individuals’ contribu-
tions to my career and business is that each one had a
personal, vested interest in my success. I think that is
critically important. That which you benefit from, you
are committed to at an even higher level than when your
commitment is merely charitable. As you think about
beginning your entrepreneurial venture, give careful