One necessary (but not sufficient) pre-requisite for agency business success is to have an accurate view of reality. Knowing the way things are makes it possible to plan, make choices, and overall act effectively.
Reality, the way things are or can reasonably be expected to be, may fall short of one ideal or another. Reality may be ugly, uncomfortable, or worse. But it's the place to start.
Illusion, on the other hand, can be whatever we want and comforting perhaps, but it's a poor foundation on which to build a business - or life for that matter.
Certainly people of good will can disagree about the way things are. After all, in some ways reality doesn't explain itself. We have to do that and therefore different people can have different interpretations.
Even so, some purported descriptions of reality just aren't. They're wishful thinking, marketing hogwash, or propaganda.
Sounding Line is dedicated to helping us all get a grip - on the realities of insurance technology, especially as they relate to the Internet. So we have an obligation to point out fallacious reporting, at least sometimes. This is one such occasion.
In the March issue of Rough Notes, Peter Anderson, ASCNet president claims in his column, "To the Point" (page 46) that after 20 years SEMCI is now here. That just isn't true and it's misleading to claim that it is. Agents are already skeptical, if not cynical, about whether SEMCI will ever be a reality. How will they react when they read that it's finally available and then find they can't have it?
SEMCI is a journey with no end in sight. It would be less misleading to say that IVANS and the vendors involved have taken another step or two, but more work needs to be done.
Earlier in the same column, Anderson, says that the road to agency profitability lies in agencies using their management systems "to the fullest." That just doesn't make any sense. Any agency that tries to use every element of its management system will suffer greatly because not every function in every management system is appropriate to every agency.
Am I missing out because I haven't learned and don't use every single part of Microsoft Word when I do my writing?
I don't think so. I'd be wasting my time. It's important to chose and use technology appropriately relative to the business goals of the agency. It doesn't make sense to use technology just because it's there.
I don't mean to pick on Peter Anderson specifically, but his March column is an especially good example of wishes parading as facts. It's not wise to build your house on a foundation of sand. And it doesn't make sense to build your agency on a foundation of fantasy.
How can you know what's true and what isn't in the world of insurance technology? We do our best to help. And a healthy dose of skepticism is always in order.
Perhaps the most important defense against being misled is to be continuously clear about what makes sense for your agency given its business strategy. Start with what you want, look for what fits, and then insist that it be demonstrated.
Reality, rather than illusion, is always the better course — even or especially when reality doesn't match our desires. Let's get a grip.
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