| Quote of the Month
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
"My continuing education was dismal. I went to a series of CE schools for mentally disturbed teachers." (Emphasis added, naturally.)
-Woody Allen
|
| Joke of the Month
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Because so many of us insure contractors:
Three contractors were visiting a tourist attraction on the same day. One was from New York, another from Texas, and the third from Florida.
At the end of the tour, the guard asked them what they did for a living. When they all replied that they were contractors, the guard said, "Hey, we need one of the rear fences redone. Why don't you guys take a look at it and give me a bid?" So to the back fence they all went to check it out.
First to step up was the Florida contractor. He took out his tape measure and pencil, did some measuring and said, "Well I figure the job will run about $900. $400 for materials, $400 for my crew, and $100 profit for me."
Next was the Texas contractor. He also took out his tape measure and pencil, did some quick figuring and said, "Looks like I can do this job for $700. $300 for materials, $300 for my crew, and $100 profit for me."
Without so much as moving, the New York contractor said, "$2,700."
The guard, incredulous, looked at him and said, "You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?"
"Easy," he said. "$1,000 for me, $1,000 for you and we hire the guy from Texas."
Source: www.mycleanhumor.org
|
|
Dingbats Corner: This Takes the Cake
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some things you just can't make up. A friend had a going away party yesterday for a lady at his office. One of
the supervisors called a local store and ordered the cake. He told them to write: "Best Wishes, Suzanne" and underneath that write "We will miss you." Sounds simple enough, right? Well, for all of you who tell employees to follow directions "to the letter," you might want to add "and don't forget to engage your brain."
Click to see how the cake turned out:
|
| News Flash: Attention WIO Non-Members: We Don't Care About You
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In its most recent efforts to isolate the fake organization from the rest of the insurance community, the World Insurance Organization has answered its own call for a WIO-sponsored continuing education curriculum. "Association members support a unified effort to further the education of member companies," was the statement from Professor Tico Van der Beek, king of the WIO's education council. "While the WIO maintains the right to and final say of any and all ideas for education suggested by members, we encourage members to submit suggestions for courses to the council for review." Courses submitted by members for the council's first formal review include and are limited to the following:
|
|
FEATURE: From the "Don't Stop Him; He's on a Rant" Department:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
What do a former Beatle, his most famous song, and the scourge of the commercial property insurance world have in common? Read on as IIF Chief Fun Officer Chris Amrhein's latest rant delivers the musical answer!
Read the Rant! |
|
NEW: "Finding a Diamond Among the Coal!" Department
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Surely you've heard that many folks now refer to the World Wide Web as the "World Wide Waste." The amount of digital flotsam and jetsam arriving daily merely from ex-Nigerian officials with a need to move money out of the country is enough to clog up the mightiest mailbox filter!
We mean, how much fun is dealing with that? So here at IIF, where we are always about more fun, we decided-as a public service-to help. Each issue, we will find you a diamond from among the coal, a swan from among the geese, a pearl from among the swine-well, you get the idea. So feel free to reroute all your current e-mail bloat into that "automatically delete" file, while trusting us here at IIF headquarters to pass on anything truly worthy of our valued attention. And hey, it'll be fun!
This issue-dealing with the brain-dead "out of office" reply.
When you are away, do you dutifully turn on your canned "out of office" message that says something truly enlightening like "I'm out of the office right now"? Well, DUH!!! From a list of possibilities that ran for pages, IIF has selected only the choicest cuts for your auto-response consideration.
|
|
Brand Tip:Learning from American Express
By Peter van Aartrijk Jr., CIC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I love it when proud agency owners say things like: "We listen to the customer"; "We give great customer service"; "Around here, it's all about the customer." And so on.
Don't know about you, but when I hear them all at an agent meeting, it makes me want to play Cliché Bingo.
I've always been skeptical of the "good customer service" mantra. It's too vague. But there's more at play.
I recently read an article in The Washington Post in which CEO Kenneth I. Chenault describes an epiphany American Express had about its brand. He pointed out some scary things that happened to his firm in recent decades.
And you know what? It's probably happening right now at your agency!
|
| Book of the Month: The Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Now here is a title no employer wants to see gracing the shelf of employee workspace.
The text, penned as a fable to lessen the blow, should be read by managers and employers seeking to extinguish the flames of frustration that lead most staffers into the pages of such a directly titled tome. It's been said that misery loves company; Lencioni diagnoses the company with symptoms consistent in unhappy employees, and the symptoms may be more subtle than you think. Included exercises prove more than those in futility; there's real substance in this story. It's a quick and easy read to boot-a good candidate for your next "read and distribute" endeavor.
|
| Product Deal - Gift Baskets (with candy)!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sure," you say, "I can buy a t-shirt or another cool gift in the IIF store. But what about the ambiance? What about the presentation? What about the candy? Isn't there a way to combine individually cool gifts into an offering that is totally AWESOME-and includes candy?"
Ask and ye shall receive, my friends. Now available in the IIF store: Gift Baskets (with candy)! Peruse striking photos of our sample collections of IIF's most popular offerings, complete with festive adornments (and candy). We guarantee one will strike you as perfect for that special insurance someone (who likes candy). We want IIF to be your insurance gift center! And to make our rollout truly special, this month only all baskets are On Sale! Stock up now for the holidays-and, lest you forget, "National Hug an Actuary Minute" is coming up at 1:14 PM on November 17th! (Sure, they should get a full day, but you know how actuaries are about shows of affection.) IIF Gift Baskets (with candy)-don't pause, don't think, just click that link!
|
Picture of the Month
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
| |
