Education

​​​​By Jim Lombardo, CPCU, AAI, AIM, MBA, AVP of Learning & Development​​ When I first became licensed to sell insurance, the agency I was working for gave me a Mentor to work with. He became a good friend and we still keep in touch even though this was over twenty-five years ago. I will always be indebted to him for a brief conversation we had very early in my sales career. You see, at the beginning I was very uncomfortable trying to sell people insurance. They always looked at me like I was a pushy salesman just out for the commission. It made me feel awkward…

​​​By Jim Lombardo, CPCU, AAI, AIM, MBA, AVP of Learning & Development​​ Today I want to highlight two distinct topics that are intermingled nonetheless. The first is the business philosophy that reinforces People before Profits… It may not have started here, but in 2015 Dale Partridge wrote a book about the benefits to a business by putting “People over Profits". Some key points included in the book state: Recognize the value of people. Understand why honesty is always the best policy. Realize everyone must stay true to who they are. Develop and maintain quality standards. Be generous without intention of getting something in return. Whil​​e these…

​​​By Jim Lombardo, CPCU, AAI, AIM, MBA, AVP of Learning & Development Many, many years ago, I had a manager whom I admired a lot.  He seemed to have great relationships with all involved- peers, employees, carriers and clients. As my career progressed and I started to manage more and more people, and I had to deal with all of the responsibilities, challenges, rewards and, yes, silliness that comes with management, I often reflected back to what he once told me about the Three F's. He said, “Jim, you must always be Firm, Fair and Friendly!" To this day, I think that might be one of the…