http://www.dbhconsulting.com/DBH Consulting is the only firm that specializes in helping all kinds of insurance distribution companies develop and execute their vision, so that they can create and sustain growth.en-ushttp://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Goals/January 15, 2013 Turning Goals Into Accomplishments Posted by Demmie Hicks A new year brings new goals, new resolutions, and of course new challenges.  A leader is often known for setting the tone, the vision, and the goals for an organiza...DBH Consulting2013-01-15http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/crucialconversations/April 11, 2013 Crucial Conversations   I’m willing to bet that most of your day is spent talking. You have discussions with coworkers, with advisers, and with clients. With that much talking going on, how do you ensure you are having th...DBH Consulting2012-12-05http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Empowerment/December 5, 2012 Action Via Empowerment Posted by Demmie Hicks The responsibility for execution of an organization’s strategy ultimately lies with its leader.  However, employee ownership of the organization’s strategy is ...DBH Consulting2012-12-05http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/threeas/October 30, 2012   The Three A's Posted by Demmie Hicks  Ever present in our industry is the need for growth. Perhaps you want to grow to maintain your desire to remain privately held or perhaps your strategy is to become an attractive organiz...DBH Consulting2012-10-30http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/New_Group_Mentoring_Program_Develops_your_Future_Leaders/March 15, 2012 DBH's New Group Mentoring Program Develops your Future Leaders Through DBH’s close work with leaders across the insurance industry, it is clear to us that organizations are invested in developing future leaders. We hear ...DBH Consulting2012-03-15http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Selling_the_Insurance_Industry_to_New_Recruits/February 1, 2012 Selling the Insurance Industry to New Recruits No surprise – many studies (including a recent survey of the DBH insurance industry community) are showing that talent recruitment and retention tops most CEOs’ list...DBH Consulting2012-02-01http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Is_Your_Leadership_Style_Encouraging_or_Discouraging/December 21, 2011 Is Your Leadership Style Encouraging or Discouraging Your Next Generation of Leaders? The Millennial generation (born approximately between 1981 – 2000) is perhaps the most studied generation yet. And why not? This po...DBH Consulting2011-12-21http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/The_Art_and_Skill_of_Masterful_Collaboration/November 16, 2011 The Art and Skill of Masterful Collaboration When your team is fully engaged, there is a level of vitality that hums throughout your organization. And numerous research studies have proven that engaged employees perform at a h...DBH Consulting2011-11-16http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/Insurance_Education_Career_Summit_Press/Insurance Education & Career Summit Press DBH Consulting facilitated The Insurance Education & Career Summit in Atlanta, GA September 26-28th, 2011 which was hosted by The Griffith Insurance Education Foundation. To hear what is being said about this u...DBH Consulting2011-10-10http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Strategies_for_Transformation/August 11, 2011 Strategies for Transformation In the last few entries of Ignition, we have looked at the work of organizational consultant, Edwin C. Nevis and a few of the important strategies for transforming an organization including persu...DBH Consulting2011-08-11http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Everybody_in/July 20, 2011 Everybody in If you had to give up a little power or control in order to create substantive change within your organization, would you do it? Some leaders would be reluctant to say yes. They might see the ceding of any control as...DBH Consulting2011-07-20http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/The_persuasive_sway/June 27, 2011 The persuasive sway When we paid tribute a few days ago to the late Edwin Nevis, we promised to share some practical wisdom from this pioneer in organizational development. In our minds, there’s no better framework for this ...DBH Consulting2011-06-27http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/The_Voice_of_transformation/June 16, 2011 The voice of transformation Think: For your business to reach the next level, what must change? Leaders are always turning that question over in their minds. So beginning today, the next several entries of the Ignition blog wil...DBH Consulting2011-06-16http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/The_Griffith_Foundation_Engages_DBH_Consulting/Insurance Education & Career Summit: A Collaborative Effort to Engage the Next Generation DBH Consulting has been engaged by The Griffith Foundation to help lead the Insurance Education and Career Summit September 26 - 28th, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia....DBH Consulting2011-06-08http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/AAB_June_Sounding_Board/Industry Not Broken, but Misunderstood In the Sounding Board column for American Agent & Broker Magazine, DBH Consulting CEO Demmie Hicks notes that "the insurance industry is facing a talent crisis." Read the article now> Hicks is a member of AA...DBH Consulting2011-06-06http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/History_in_the_Making/May 19, 2011 History in the making? So, how’s the recruiting of young talent going at your organization? If it’s less than stellar, you’ve got company. Lots of it. It’s well known that the insurance industry is st...DBH Consulting2011-05-19http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Experience_wanted/April 12, 2011 Experience wanted It’s never been more important to differentiate in the marketplace. As the Deloitte report we referenced a few days ago notes, “Insurers are using advanced analytics to determine which producers a...DBH Consulting2011-04-12http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Something_altogether_different/April 5, 2011 Something altogether different Did you read Deloitte’s “Insurance Industry Outlook” issued last month? If not, this cogent view of the industry is worth your time. Download it here > Here’s a word f...DBH Consulting2011-04-05http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Sam_I_Am_Somebody/March 10, 2011 Sam, I Am (Somebody!) Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton is not without controversy. But few will disagree that his leadership built one of the most powerful brands in history. So when he has something to say about leadership, we ...DBH Consulting2011-03-10http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Is_your_leadership_in_question/March 1, 2011 Is your leadership in question? Quick – who will lead your agency or company 10 years from now? (If you have only a vague idea, or no idea, keep reading…) Another question: Who will lead your organization tomorrow mo...DBH Consulting2011-03-01http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/Consultants_Discuss_New_Normal/Insurance Agency Consultants Discuss The New Normal In the American Agent & Broker “Review & Outlook 2010-2011,” DBH Consulting CEO Demmie Hicks discusses how independent agents and brokers need to continue to adapt to the soft market and h...DBH Consulting2011-02-17http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Assess_your_agency_culture_Yes_you_can/February 14, 2011 Assess your agency culture? Yes you can. Speaking of culture, as we were a few days ago: We recently read a provocative piece on the topic in the January / February issue of Leader’s Edge Magazine. In the article, which ...DBH Consulting2011-02-14http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Hiring_Decisions_and_Culture/February 8, 2011 If your hiring decisions are based on skills… think again On the surface, the exercise is pure silliness: Job applicants at a travel company are told to work in teams to build a safe “vessel” for a raw egg, u...DBH Consulting2011-02-08http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Talent_Management_in_Action/January 24, 2010 Talent management in action It’s Monday morning. Which means one of our agency clients is having a conversation, with a dozen or so participants, as they do every Monday morning. The conversation might begin with what-did...DBH Consulting2011-01-24http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/team_productivity/January 13, 2011 Study: Your team’s productivity can be predicted What if you could predict how often a team will achieve its goals? For agencies and businesses engaged in strategic planning right now, that’s a question worth ...DBH Consulting2011-01-13http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/managing_talent/December 21, 2010 Managing talent in ‘11 Today is the shortest day of the year. So we’ll be especially brief. As an agency leader, one of your top priorities for 2011 may be talent management – strengthening how y...DBH Consulting2010-12-20http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/rhsb_best_practices_agency/Roach Howard Smith & Barton has been named an IIABA Best Practices Agency Congratulations to Roach Howard Smith & Barton for recently being recognized as an IIABA Best Practices Agency! According to the Best Practices study, RHSB scored above their ...DBH Consulting2010-10-19http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/2010_agency_of_the_year_award/Hicks chosen as Industry Judge for 2010 Commercial Insurance Agency of the Year Award Earlier this year, Demmie Hicks was chosen as an industry judge in the 2010 Commercial Agency Awards for Excellence given by National Underwriter and American Agent &...DBH Consulting2010-10-04http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/executive_round_table/Executive Round Table: Sales and Growth DBH Consulting recently facilitated its annual Executive Round Table: Sales and Growth. The meeting was held at the Hotel Palomar in Atlanta, Georgia on August 30-31. Leaders from the participating agencies ca...DBH Consulting2010-09-09http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/Sounding_Board/A Composite of the Consummate Leader In the Sounding Board column for American Agent & Broker Magazine, DBH Consulting CEO Demmie Hicks offers a composite of a single person who would demonstrate the all of the common traits and characteristics of the ...DBH Consulting2010-07-09http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/reignite_part_2/May 18, 2010 How will you reignite that stalled producer? (Part 2) In the last edition of Ignition, we looked at what an agency might do to help an individual producer who was stalled. A tailored, rigorous review and updating of skill sets m...DBH Consulting2010-05-18http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/reignite_part_1/May 4, 2010 How will you reignite that stalled producer? (Part 1) Last issue, we introduced you to someone you probably know - the once-mighty, now-stalled producer. He or she was masterful at bringing in new business but now seems more cont...DBH Consulting2010-05-04http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/stalled_producer/April 22, 2010 Is that producer in a slump – or something worse? Once upon a time, he was on fire. Filled with energy, driven to succeed, landing client after client. He knew how to engage in conversation and was all about getting to y...DBH Consulting2010-04-22http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/triple_threat/February 22, 2010 Who is the 'triple threat' at your agency? It wasn’t that long ago that a great personality was a winning ticket to selling insurance. So producers who were highly skilled in what we call the personal arts – con...DBH Consulting2010-02-22http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/2009_review_and_outlook/American Agent & Broker 2009 Review and Outlook Demmie Hicks interviewed as an Insurance Agency Consultant Demmie Hicks, President of DBH Consulting, was interviewed for the recently released American Agent & Broker 2009 Review and Outlook issue. Sh...DBH Consulting2009-12-22http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/what_color_is_your_pipeline/November 16, 2009 What color is your pipeline? As we approach December, each day seems to bring a little more gold, green and red – the colors of the holidays. Coincidentally, these also happen to be the colors of sales pipelines. G...DBH Consulting2009-11-16http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/agent_of_change/DBH Consulting named an Agent of Change Karen Farris, President and CEO of Roach, Howard, Smith & Barton in Dallas, Texas, has recommended DBH Consulting as Rough Notes' Agency Partner of the month for October 2009. In the article, Karen Farris expl...DBH Consulting2009-10-29http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/fourth_quarter/September 28, 2009 How will you score in the fourth quarter? As fall approaches, our thoughts turn to football, and our favorite part of the game – the fourth quarter. In the fourth, if you’re ahead, you double up to protect your...DBH Consulting2009-09-28http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/Positive_Accountability/July 13, 2009 Are your people glad to be accountable? In the last issue, we cited five reasons why agency leaders find it hard to hold people accountable. It's a real problem, because without accountability, an agency can never grow to its pote...DBH Consulting2009-07-13http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/accountability/May 12, 2009 Why is accountability so elusive? Under the leadership of the legendary Jack Welch, General Electric had a policy that many view as the gold standard for accountability: Consistently measure the performance of everyone, and periodica...DBH Consulting2009-05-12http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/the_client_experience/April 6, 2009 Are you differentiated by the 'experience' you create for potential customers? The Wall Street Journal recently published a good article on how retail giant Best Buy is re-inventing the store experience for its customers. In orde...DBH Consulting2009-04-06http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/sales_culture/February 13, 2009 How much of a true "sales culture" does your agency have? To many, “culture” is one of those soft words, describing the ways or customs of a group of people. But in the agency world, sales culture is anything bu...DBH Consulting2009-02-13http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/how_resilient_is_your_agency/January 8, 2009 How resilient is your agency? A hard economy and a soft market make a toxic cocktail for sales. And producers who hear no, day after day, are finding their resilience newly tested by relentless rejection. Fortunately for them, ...DBH Consulting2009-01-08http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/first_order/Program promotes 'optimization' DBH Consulting prepares to roll out 'First Order' program to bolster agency growth ATLANTA—The stormy economy has many agencies and brokerages running for cover. They’re protecting what they have and hoping ...DBH Consulting2008-10-31http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/times_ of_change/September 26, 2008 How can you mitigate fear during times of transition? A while back, we published an article on how to communicate effectively during times of change. Given the current volatility of financial markets, including insurance, the...DBH Consulting2008-09-26http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/founder_florida/DBH Consulting founder to address Florida agency representatives (July 2008) — Demmie Hicks, the founder of DBH Consulting, has been tapped to present next month at the annual planning session of the Florida Association of Independent Agents (FAI...DBH Consulting2008-07-27http://www.dbhconsulting.com/blog/practice_makes_perfect/July 14, 2008 Where's the enthusiasm behind your company's plan? “To get 13 people moving toward one vision isn't easy,” the head of a major independent agency told me in a conversation about the firm's principal shareholders. Sh...DBH Consulting2008-07-14http://www.dbhconsulting.com/news_events/test_article/Rough Notes Magazine spotlights DBH Consulting Industry publication Rough Notes Magazine looks behind the scenes and finds DBH Consulting counseling successful agencies and brokerages in "Promoting People Power." The article, written by Elisabeth Bo...DBH Consulting2008-06-22