I only wish it were true.
Honesty? I believe there is more ignorance,deception and intentional ommissions by agents in this business than almost any other.
…And a little child shall lead them.” Many will scoff at the idea that a children’s book author could clearly understand the intrigue of big business! Where there is no accountability there is the greatest potential dishonesty. The mighty fall to other mighty – never to lesser classes.
Gist of the article is an upbeat message that we can all take to heart! Never hurts to re-touch the basics. Makes life richer and more fulfilling to do the right thing!
This was a very good article, once you got past all of the Dr. Seuss nonsense. To be honest I did not see the need for it at all. We are all adults (for the most part) was the back ground on a childrens book actually necessary?
If you go back and re-read this article excluding the first paragraphs of nonsense it still has a very strong message.
I read Mitch Dunford’s article in IJ and thought it was excellent, including the reference to Dr. Seuss. Character, integrity, and honesty are behaviors that are typically learned in childhood. Those people who disrespect the Dr. Seuss reference obviously have missed the lesson. One thing that I can add to the article and this discussion is that the correct Dr. Seuss story is “Horton Hatches the Egg”. I read Mitch’s article and ordered the book to give to my grandson who will one day take over my agency. When I discovered the error, I ordered the correct book title noted above. Apparently Bernie Madoff thought it was a silly children’s book, too.
Mitch Dunford “…meant what he said and said what he meant…” and I agree with him 100 percent.
Thank you for proving my point. You are buying your GRANDSON the book who will eventually take over your agency, hoping to instill these values into his character.
This article is posted on the insurance journal and I assume there are not many toddlers reading this.
As an adult you should already have these values/ideals. If you do not, trust me, giving the background of a childrens book will most likely not drive the point home.
If there are any agents out there that read this and said “wow I never thought of it that way, good job Dr. Seuss” god help us all, and I hope I never have to purchase an insurance policy from you.
I did not prove your point; you missed the point. I am not hoping to instill these values, I am continuing to instill and reinforce these values. I have these values and my grandson does, too. If I did not have these values, I would not buy the book and give it to him. Education is a process, not a single event.
You are correct in that he does not yet read IJ or these posts, because he is just beginning to read. Someday he will read IJ and these posts and make comments of his own. You have given me the idea to print and put Mitch’s article and these posts in the book. The book will remind him as he gets older of the things his grandfather held to be important, and the posts will reveal the baser thoughts. Priceless…
People (including you) will never “have” to purchase an insurance policy from me, they will “want” to purchase an insurance policy from me. Conversely, for example, I do not want to sell a fire insurance policy to an arsonist. Insurance implies a promise kept. We keep our promises. Do likewise.
Wow! Have some of us really developed such a pesimistic world-view that we would bash a well constructed and intentioned article? I found its message to be on-point and refreshingly different. It’s ideals like this that strengthen the industry and improves all of our standing in our customers’ eyes.
Agent,
I think your gift and message to your grandchild will be immensly appreciated as they mature and come to really understand the level of thought and altruism it symbolizes. No doubt they will be better for it!
Not that is matters but again (like with most posts on insurance journal) the masses rush through, do not read and miss the entire point.
I grew up reading Charles Dickens and must have missed the baby talk stage.
Lets re-read what I posted.
A) Jen thought it was a good article (using small words so you can all stay with me on this)
B) Jen thinks that most adults do not need a reference to a childrens book to learn a life lessen
C) If you need a childrens book to learn a life lessen here is to hoping that you are not selling insurance
D) I agree with giving your GRANDCHILD this book, but if you GRANDCHILD happens to be a 40 year old insurance agent it may be time to throw in the towel and concentrate on a molding a different family member
Thank you to all of the illiterates who can not read or choose not to read what others have actually posted, I now understand why you need the “I do not like it here or there I do not like it anywhere” rhymes to understand a persons point.
You have answered your own question by the lampooning you started your post with. I came to this career late in my life but I can tell you no other position is as satisfying, productive and meaningful as being an insurance professional. I think we all could use a little cheerleading in our lives; I am damn proud that our company, our staff, claims adjusters, and our agents have kept their eye on the ball these past few years because we are the example of how things can still be well, even when their is bad news all around. We even thrive in bad situations because we keep doing the right thing, at the right time, all the time. Pride comes before a fall, they say and it’s an attitude and condecendence on the part of many in the financial services industry which lead us down the primrose path we now find our economy, and that is the only thing I can see that is OBVIOUS. Obviously, no one wants to be preached to, but I for one am very proud to be an insurance professional.
I agree with Agent; those who do not remember the past will be condemned to repeat it, including many here who think they don’t need to be reminded or chided about honesty and integrity….I have no trouble with the article nor its message. Too bad the banking and financial services sectors were not subject to this “child’s” lesson. they could learn something from insurance. We have our skunks too but we try to keep ’em out of the house…
Jen, I have had to “train” adults so they could learn new technical skills when we updated our I.T. One thing I learned while “training” them, was that you should always be open to things, always remain teachable. Once you think you don’t need to know anything new, “….that most adults do not need a reference to a childrens book to learn a life lesson”, then you stop learning altogether. don;’t sniff at the lesson being “taught”; and citing Dickens over Suess strikes me at a bit chauvinistic, almost a put down because you think you already know the answers to the questions.
Jen – me thinks a spelling book should be one of your next purchases, or perhaps add that spell check to your computer. Lighten up girl! It was a well done article with a breath of fresh air in its approach. Look for the love in it!
Jen, you apparently rushed right through, did not read, and missed the entire point. Stay close here while I try to explain it to you. Most readers think it was an excellent article, including the reference to Dr. Suess and Horton. Mitch included it to illustrate the point.
You mentioned that you grew up reading Charles Dickens, although your outlook leads me to believe that you read Edgar Allen Poe.
You said “This was a very good article, once you got past all of the Dr. Seuss nonsense.” Some teaching methods include a “childrens book to learn a life lessen (sic)…” Some people never learn these important lessons. This explains why we build prisons.
I would expect you to know that I would not give a 40 year old man (or woman) a Dr. Seuss book. Maybe someone should have given you a Dr. Seuss book? If you are not yet 40, perhaps there would still be hope for you if someone did?
Your final remarks grow testy and degenerate into personal assassination since you seem to have missed the point. Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore.’
This was an excellent article that sticks to the basics. Had the boys & girls at AIG, Countrywide, & other similar institutions stuck to the basics we’d be much better off today. The reference to Seuss is entirely appropriate – reminds us that some truths are eternal; some so important that eventhough learned at an early age they never cease to be important.
… I actually re-read the article after initially skipping through the Dr. Seuss crap. We’re grown ups- quote me Niche or Socrates with a similar msg.
This isn’t a lesson, this common sense. I don’t think the insurance industry is at risk of unethical people and bad decisions makers anymore than the crooked lawyers, politicians, city officials, etc. There are bad apples everywhere.
This crisis has more to do with “if he’s doing it why can’t I do it”. Remember mom’s expression, “if your friend jumps off a bridge would you follow?” well the answer was yes. People believed they were doing the right thing despite that whole in their stomachs. Everyone one was doing it. A couple really nasty irresponsible apples spoiled us all, let’s not generalize the moral character of our nation because of this. “Hindsight is 100% or 20/20” (can’t remember).
How about this quote with bonus answer question; “why do we fall _____? so we can pick ourselves back up again” (Batman anyone?).
May I speak for our group, the National Association of American Family Agents (NAAFA) when I say we wholeheartedly agree with you? Dishonesty is like a contagious disease that becomes easier each time a dishonest act is committed. What our organization of captive agents wishes to portray is a group of honest, sincere, and loyal agents who expect the same kind of behavior from those in the company we represent. Good job, Mitch.
Mitch:
That is a great article. Your message is right on point and I hope everyone in our industry will take to heart. As Earl Nightingale said “It has to start somewhere, let it begin with you”.
Keep up the good work!
Best Regards,
Bob
Proud to be a 2nd Generation Independent Agent
Is the insurance industry known for integrity and honesty?
It is inevitable that the government will increasingly regulate the insurance industry, because pleas for personal honesty, integrity, and character aren’t enough to keep market forces under control.
You meant what you said, You said what you meant.
You have been taken, One hundred percent!
…in the IJ’s guide to ethical business practices, Potty training featuring Barney and Friends.
Seriously are people that ignorant that they need to take a simple life lesson from a childrens book? This country is doomed if that’s the case.
A great read:
http://www.amazon.com/Really-Need-Know-Learned-Kindergarten/dp/034546639X
Well said!
Well said
I only wish it were true.
Honesty? I believe there is more ignorance,deception and intentional ommissions by agents in this business than almost any other.
…And a little child shall lead them.” Many will scoff at the idea that a children’s book author could clearly understand the intrigue of big business! Where there is no accountability there is the greatest potential dishonesty. The mighty fall to other mighty – never to lesser classes.
Gist of the article is an upbeat message that we can all take to heart! Never hurts to re-touch the basics. Makes life richer and more fulfilling to do the right thing!
Best article I have read in a long time. As a past president of our local agents association I hope everyone reads and takes this to heart.
This was a very good article, once you got past all of the Dr. Seuss nonsense. To be honest I did not see the need for it at all. We are all adults (for the most part) was the back ground on a childrens book actually necessary?
If you go back and re-read this article excluding the first paragraphs of nonsense it still has a very strong message.
I think the children’s book reference was valid since obviously many voters have the attention span and intelligence of children.
I read Mitch Dunford’s article in IJ and thought it was excellent, including the reference to Dr. Seuss. Character, integrity, and honesty are behaviors that are typically learned in childhood. Those people who disrespect the Dr. Seuss reference obviously have missed the lesson. One thing that I can add to the article and this discussion is that the correct Dr. Seuss story is “Horton Hatches the Egg”. I read Mitch’s article and ordered the book to give to my grandson who will one day take over my agency. When I discovered the error, I ordered the correct book title noted above. Apparently Bernie Madoff thought it was a silly children’s book, too.
Mitch Dunford “…meant what he said and said what he meant…” and I agree with him 100 percent.
Thank you for proving my point. You are buying your GRANDSON the book who will eventually take over your agency, hoping to instill these values into his character.
This article is posted on the insurance journal and I assume there are not many toddlers reading this.
As an adult you should already have these values/ideals. If you do not, trust me, giving the background of a childrens book will most likely not drive the point home.
If there are any agents out there that read this and said “wow I never thought of it that way, good job Dr. Seuss” god help us all, and I hope I never have to purchase an insurance policy from you.
I did not prove your point; you missed the point. I am not hoping to instill these values, I am continuing to instill and reinforce these values. I have these values and my grandson does, too. If I did not have these values, I would not buy the book and give it to him. Education is a process, not a single event.
You are correct in that he does not yet read IJ or these posts, because he is just beginning to read. Someday he will read IJ and these posts and make comments of his own. You have given me the idea to print and put Mitch’s article and these posts in the book. The book will remind him as he gets older of the things his grandfather held to be important, and the posts will reveal the baser thoughts. Priceless…
People (including you) will never “have” to purchase an insurance policy from me, they will “want” to purchase an insurance policy from me. Conversely, for example, I do not want to sell a fire insurance policy to an arsonist. Insurance implies a promise kept. We keep our promises. Do likewise.
Wow! Have some of us really developed such a pesimistic world-view that we would bash a well constructed and intentioned article? I found its message to be on-point and refreshingly different. It’s ideals like this that strengthen the industry and improves all of our standing in our customers’ eyes.
Agent,
I think your gift and message to your grandchild will be immensly appreciated as they mature and come to really understand the level of thought and altruism it symbolizes. No doubt they will be better for it!
Not that is matters but again (like with most posts on insurance journal) the masses rush through, do not read and miss the entire point.
I grew up reading Charles Dickens and must have missed the baby talk stage.
Lets re-read what I posted.
A) Jen thought it was a good article (using small words so you can all stay with me on this)
B) Jen thinks that most adults do not need a reference to a childrens book to learn a life lessen
C) If you need a childrens book to learn a life lessen here is to hoping that you are not selling insurance
D) I agree with giving your GRANDCHILD this book, but if you GRANDCHILD happens to be a 40 year old insurance agent it may be time to throw in the towel and concentrate on a molding a different family member
Thank you to all of the illiterates who can not read or choose not to read what others have actually posted, I now understand why you need the “I do not like it here or there I do not like it anywhere” rhymes to understand a persons point.
I thought this article was so true and right on.
What I said.
You have answered your own question by the lampooning you started your post with. I came to this career late in my life but I can tell you no other position is as satisfying, productive and meaningful as being an insurance professional. I think we all could use a little cheerleading in our lives; I am damn proud that our company, our staff, claims adjusters, and our agents have kept their eye on the ball these past few years because we are the example of how things can still be well, even when their is bad news all around. We even thrive in bad situations because we keep doing the right thing, at the right time, all the time. Pride comes before a fall, they say and it’s an attitude and condecendence on the part of many in the financial services industry which lead us down the primrose path we now find our economy, and that is the only thing I can see that is OBVIOUS. Obviously, no one wants to be preached to, but I for one am very proud to be an insurance professional.
I agree with Agent; those who do not remember the past will be condemned to repeat it, including many here who think they don’t need to be reminded or chided about honesty and integrity….I have no trouble with the article nor its message. Too bad the banking and financial services sectors were not subject to this “child’s” lesson. they could learn something from insurance. We have our skunks too but we try to keep ’em out of the house…
Jen, I have had to “train” adults so they could learn new technical skills when we updated our I.T. One thing I learned while “training” them, was that you should always be open to things, always remain teachable. Once you think you don’t need to know anything new, “….that most adults do not need a reference to a childrens book to learn a life lesson”, then you stop learning altogether. don;’t sniff at the lesson being “taught”; and citing Dickens over Suess strikes me at a bit chauvinistic, almost a put down because you think you already know the answers to the questions.
Jen – me thinks a spelling book should be one of your next purchases, or perhaps add that spell check to your computer. Lighten up girl! It was a well done article with a breath of fresh air in its approach. Look for the love in it!
Jen, you apparently rushed right through, did not read, and missed the entire point. Stay close here while I try to explain it to you. Most readers think it was an excellent article, including the reference to Dr. Suess and Horton. Mitch included it to illustrate the point.
You mentioned that you grew up reading Charles Dickens, although your outlook leads me to believe that you read Edgar Allen Poe.
You said “This was a very good article, once you got past all of the Dr. Seuss nonsense.” Some teaching methods include a “childrens book to learn a life lessen (sic)…” Some people never learn these important lessons. This explains why we build prisons.
I would expect you to know that I would not give a 40 year old man (or woman) a Dr. Seuss book. Maybe someone should have given you a Dr. Seuss book? If you are not yet 40, perhaps there would still be hope for you if someone did?
Your final remarks grow testy and degenerate into personal assassination since you seem to have missed the point. Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore.’
This was an excellent article that sticks to the basics. Had the boys & girls at AIG, Countrywide, & other similar institutions stuck to the basics we’d be much better off today. The reference to Seuss is entirely appropriate – reminds us that some truths are eternal; some so important that eventhough learned at an early age they never cease to be important.
… I actually re-read the article after initially skipping through the Dr. Seuss crap. We’re grown ups- quote me Niche or Socrates with a similar msg.
This isn’t a lesson, this common sense. I don’t think the insurance industry is at risk of unethical people and bad decisions makers anymore than the crooked lawyers, politicians, city officials, etc. There are bad apples everywhere.
This crisis has more to do with “if he’s doing it why can’t I do it”. Remember mom’s expression, “if your friend jumps off a bridge would you follow?” well the answer was yes. People believed they were doing the right thing despite that whole in their stomachs. Everyone one was doing it. A couple really nasty irresponsible apples spoiled us all, let’s not generalize the moral character of our nation because of this. “Hindsight is 100% or 20/20” (can’t remember).
How about this quote with bonus answer question; “why do we fall _____? so we can pick ourselves back up again” (Batman anyone?).
Regardless of using a childs book to bring the point across, the article hit the nail on the head.
May I speak for our group, the National Association of American Family Agents (NAAFA) when I say we wholeheartedly agree with you? Dishonesty is like a contagious disease that becomes easier each time a dishonest act is committed. What our organization of captive agents wishes to portray is a group of honest, sincere, and loyal agents who expect the same kind of behavior from those in the company we represent. Good job, Mitch.
Mitch:
That is a great article. Your message is right on point and I hope everyone in our industry will take to heart. As Earl Nightingale said “It has to start somewhere, let it begin with you”.
Keep up the good work!
Best Regards,
Bob
Proud to be a 2nd Generation Independent Agent
Is the insurance industry known for integrity and honesty?
It is inevitable that the government will increasingly regulate the insurance industry, because pleas for personal honesty, integrity, and character aren’t enough to keep market forces under control.
You meant what you said, You said what you meant.
You have been taken, One hundred percent!