Selling Insurance the Butler Way
Who won the 2010 NCAA Division 1 men's championship basketball tournament, a/k/a "March Madness?" If you answered Duke, you are technically correct. But I think if you asked a thoughtful viewer of these games, they would answer Butler, which finished second to Duke by only one basket.
First, as a 5th seed in one of four brackets, Butler got a lot further than anyone expected and came within a bucket of beating Number 1 seed Duke. Second, they impressed a lot of experts with their basketball smarts, defensive skills, demeanor and teamwork. Third, they demonstrated you don't need a veteran coach to win. (Butler's coach is thirty-three.) Fourth, Butler showed that in a college tournament, what you do off the field is also important. (The team attended classes the same day as the national championship game and had several Academic All-Americans on its roster but no basketball All-Americans, of which Duke had six.)
We are members of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC). As it so happens, NAMIC is located in Indianapolis and its president, Chuck Chamness, lives 250 yards from the Butler field house. He and his family rooted for the home team even though his wife graduated from Duke. On the Butler field house is engraved five principles of sport which have become known as "the Butler Way":
- Humility - know who we are, strengths and weaknesses
- Passion - do not be lukewarm, commit to excellence
- Unity - do not divide our house, team first
- Servanthood - make teammates better, lead by giving
- Thankfulness - learn from every circumstance
Now why do I tell you this? It's because small mutual insurance companies, including I hope us, have a lot in common with the Butler Bulldogs (or "Dawgs", as Chuck calls them). We don't get much media attention; we have limited budgets to do our jobs; we tend to rely, like Butler, on local talent. Many of us are based in small towns outside of the limelight. We will probably always be seen as "5th seeds" when compared to mammoth, multi-line stock insurance companies like Allstate, Progressive or AIG, or even the humongous mutual, State Farm. And yet the principles that drive the Butler players, those five principles listed above, are also from my experience the same principles that drive the best small mutuals around this country, and certainly are principles that drive us. Humility, Passion, Unity, Servanthood and Thankfulness. It's good to know that under the right circumstances, with the right leadership and the right talent and the right values, anything is possible -- like winning when you officially come in second.
John "Josh" Fitzhugh
President and CEO
