|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
January 22, 2008 |
E- Newsletter Volume 1, Number 7 |
||||||||||||
|
In This Issue ·
A Strategic Plan with a
Scorecard NAIFA-California Mark Your Calendars!
Monday, May 19, 2008 Tuesday, May 20, 2008 Association Leadership Conferences
(ALC) North: Wed., July 9,2008 South: Thurs., July 10,2008 |
A Strategic Plan with a Scorecard
By Dennis P. Sunderman
have a plan
and they work it daily, weekly, and monthly. Of our 31 State locals, two-thirds
held strategic planning sessions last summer with State Board Liaisons, and
several more held self facilitated sessions. So what’s the reward and why
bother? Well, the reward part is
simple! The Association
Achievement Award recognizes excellence in performance by local associations on
all levels of achievement. Its
purpose is to develop leadership and to promote interaction among local
associations. Every year at the
conclusion of the State Annual Meeting, locals that have achieved
“Standards of Excellence,” will be recognized in the categories
of Bronze, Silver, or Gold awards.
The awards ceremony is a highlight event for members and boards that
have committed to having a successful year. The association achievement award
application, which is located at www.naifacalifornia.org,
serves as the roadmap to success and provides points in each of the following
categories. Member
Benefits 25
possible points Gold
Award 96
+ points Advocacy 25
possible points Silver
Award 86
– 95 points Membership 22
possible points Bronze
Award 80
– 85 points Governance 4
possible points Bonus
Section 14 possible points Total 110
possible points The Association Achievement Award
year is April 1st through March 31st. The application
deadline is April 16, 2008. Successful locals provide excellent
member value. So take a look at
your scorecard and Good Luck! 2007-2008 Nominations
application deadline – February 8, 2008 Are you interested in serving on
the State Board or on a State Committee? The application is at www.naifacalifornia.org Regional On April 28-30, 2008, NAIFA
Trustee and Corporate Outreach Chair Robert A. Miller and our
State Executive Vice President David Dellinger will facilitate Regional
Summits, specifically for Agency Managers and General Agents on the value of
membership. The tentative
schedule for these 60 minute meetings will be as follows: Tentative Schedule (Each meeting will be 60 minutes in length.)
If you are interested in inviting
someone to attend, please contact David Dellinger at (916) 761-5697 or via
e-mail at davidd@naifacalifornia.org. Annual Meeting and
Day on the Hill This year’s events have been
combined into a two day event May 19 and May 20, 2008. Every effort has been made to minimize
travel time and expense including discounted rates at Embassy Suites and
bundled rates for the conference.
Convention Chair and President-Elect Michael McCaffrey is presenting a
speaker line-up that includes NAIFA President-Elect Cliff Wilson, Life
Foundation President Marvin Feldman, and Sacramento Journalist Dan
Walters. Please mark your
calendar for this incredible event and please note that local delegates are
required to attend. In conclusion, remember that strength
in numbers translates into the ability to influence legislation for the
protection of consumers and agents.
Attend local meetings and invite prospective members. We are stronger together!
Click on the link and get the
details from the Monthly Legislative Update!
Now
that we are into the New Year, you may want to stock up on office
supplies. Why not get a discount on
your basic office needs by using the NAIFA discount offered at Office
Depot? As an added bonus, they
will deliver the order to your office free of charge with orders of $75.00 or
more. This is just one of the
many discounts offered through your NAIFA membership. For a complete list of benefits, go to
the http://www.naifa.org website. February
has traditionally been the month to kickoff PAC and PIC activities. With
this being an election year, it is very important to support the This
would be a great time to devote a meeting on the importance of supporting the
PAC and increase the number of members in your local who contribute to the NAIFA
maintains one of the strongest industry political action committees, IFAPAC,
and a solid grassroots political involvement committee, APIC. We are very fortunate to have such an
outstanding leadership team with Mike Ables, LUTCF, Government Relations
Chair, and Shari Mc Hugh, Legislative Advocate, representing us in Our
annual Day on the Hill, when our membership meets with their legislators at
the State Capital will be later this year and is scheduled for Tuesday May
20th. This will be in conjunction
with our annual State Meeting that is scheduled for Monday May 19th. This helps to reduce costs by having
one trip scheduled for both meetings.
Be sure to mark these dates on your calendars. Another
member benefit offered by our locals is continuing education and classes for
professional designations. Now is
the time to start lining up Spring classes for members interested in LUTC,
CLU, and FSS. If you should have
any questions about how to start a class, you can contact our Professional
Development Coordinator, Dave Koppa at dave@cornerstoneins.net. As
we now start our spring membership renewals, it is critical that we call
upcoming renewals and thank those who have already renewed. These personal touches help our
members realize that we appreciate their support. Wishing
you a great year for your personal, professional, and association business.
Monthly
Business Sales Idea
Using the Kolbe A™ Index to Build Your Team Recently,
CNN acknowledged what LILI graduates have known for years: the Kolbe A™
Index is a valuable tool for determining the "action" style of
yourself and those around you.
Kolbe, an assessment tool for people in business is unlike any other
personality study. It identifies
the methods that we use as we work and learn. The Kolbe concept is backed by
substantial scientific research and validation. Each
of us chooses different paths when taking action in business and doing the
job. In recognition of this,
Kolbe has named four categories into which all individuals fit. In rare instances a person may test
equally across all of the categories.
Typically, however, the first category is the one in which most find
they initiate strongly. The next
category tends to be where we are less likely to initiate and more likely to
respond. The third and fourth
categories are less responsive, and we may even find that we prevent action
when forced down the path. The
first category Kolbe defines is the "Fact Finder." A person in this category is most
likely to spend a great deal of time researching an issue before taking
action. The second category is
the "Follow Thru." In
this category, an individual works best with repetitive activities. The third category, "Quick
Start," is where we find innovators and entrepreneurs. They are the "idea" people. The final category is the
“Implementor”. In
this category, people can take ideas and make them tangible. Hopefully
you are beginning to see the point of Kolbe. Nobody initiates through all four
methods, so cooperative effort is essential to bring about complete
success. The first step is to
identify your MO (mode of operation).
You will not only learn how you can be your best, but you will also
learn where you are the weakest.
It's actually quite liberating to learn that you are not expected to
be everything to every action!
From there, you are able to focus your time, energy, and talents on
the activities where you excel, while surrounding yourself with those who
fill the gaps of the other modes.
For example, if you are a "Quick Start," you will do best by
having an "Implementor" to get your ideas off and running. Of course, a good "Fact
Finder" will make sure that you have all the necessary information to
make the right decisions.
Finally, the "Follow Thru" can assist in managing the tasks
required to bring success to the project. You
can build your team in many ways.
The most obvious is your staff.
Be certain that each and every one of your employees has completed the
Kolbe A™ Index. You may be
very surprised to find that work adjustments can be made to get more results
from the same effort. Also, don't
forget your business partners.
You can be of greater value to each other if you are handling the
activities that are most suitable for your MO. Finally, there are a number of
strategic partnerships that can be created with colleagues and managers. Again, you are looking for people with
strength in the areas where you are weakest. These people will be thrilled to take
action in the categories where they are most effective while relying on you
to support them in the areas where they lack. The
Kolbe A™ Index is a very powerful tool that can be used to build a
successful team. All
organizations rely on the ability of people to work together to accomplish
goals that are less attainable by individuals alone. Kolbe will help you to make sure that
all members succeed to the best of their abilities while receiving the
greatest personal satisfaction from their efforts. Find
more information at http://www.kolbe.com. You can also see the Oprah.com article
on CNN.com's "living" page at http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/01/08/o.wildly.successful/index.html |
