Skip to main content

«  View All Posts

commentary

10 THINGS I LEARNED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS

December 17th, 2014 | 3 min. read

By Jonathan Waterman

After celebrating our firm’s 10th Anniversary this month, my business partner and I found ourselves discussing what we learned in those ten years about building a wholesale brokerage.  We agreed that it would be insightful and fun to jot those lessons down for our next blog article.

As I wrote mine out, I realized the things I learned manifest themselves in sayings and questions I’m known for around the office!  Little did I realize that this exercise would bring to light some deeply rooted personal philosophies that have been molded by varying thoughts and experiences over the years.

So, without further ado, here are the ten things I learned and how I tend to say them around the office:

1. “Let me draw you a picture!”

I’m a visual learner, so I explain myself best when drawing simple pictures. I think most people connect with ideas better when they see them visually presented, so I tend to tell stories by drawing simple stick-figure pictures. And, it’s fun!

2. “Know your audience.”

For me, taking time to understand people is the key to so many things in business and life in general. We are all motivated by numerous things in our lives. So, the better I understand what my audience wants and needs, the better I can serve them.

3. “Make it easy whenever possible.”

I’m often the guy who makes things harder than they should be. So, I’m preaching to myself when I vocalize this statement! Our business often involves taking complex ideas and boiling them down into easily understood bullet points. No easy task!

4. “Be consistent.”

Most of my failures in life involve a lack of consistency. When I’m consistent in good behavior, people around me benefit. This is simple to understand, but I find that it is hard to do!

5. “What does our customer want? What do they need?”

Often what I think I want is not always what I actually need. So, I tend to ask  similar questions of my customers to help evaluate the difference between their ‘needs’ and ‘wants’.

6. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions.”

Too often, I’ll jump into a situation without knowing all the pertinent facts. So, I learned to ask more questions. Of course, I also have to listen and understand the answers!

7. “If this can help our client, why wouldn’t we do it?”

It’s easy to get wrapped-up in what I want to do. But, if I don’t put my customers’ needs above my own, then I won’t have good business opportunities. I believe that serving others unselfishly is a virtue. That is easy to say, but hard to do.

8. “It’s Just Another Tax.”

I work in a highly regulated industry. Enough said.

9. “No one works harder than 100%.”

We all like to think we work our hardest every single day. However, we all know that’s just not true. To a degree, I think it’s impossible. How close we get to this ideal sets many workers apart. Strangely, some people think they can actually work harder than logically possible. You’ve heard it said, “I put 110% of my effort into this!”. Huh? I strive to think logically, so countering this kind of illogical statement brings me great personal satisfaction!

10. “Let me know what you think.”

I really do care about what people think and I appreciate hearing what others have to say! I learned that regularly exchanging ideas is a critical aspect of all my relationships. I may not always agree with what’s being said, but I learned that in disagreements, I get see and understand deeper truths about the other person.

I’m sure there are a lot of other things I learned, but these are the ones that I talk about the most around the office.  Yes, I asked my co-workers to help me form this list!  Of course, I’m curious to see if this list will hold for the next ten years!

I didn’t realize when I set-out to jot these lessons down that I’d be revealing so much about myself and what motivates my work every day.  However, my hope is that these sayings reflect the beliefs around which I connect with like-minded clients, co-workers and other business partners!

 

Jonathan Waterman

Jonathan, the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Ethos since its inception in 2004, has had a distinguished insurance career dating back to 1992. Beginning as an underwriter specializing in medical liability insurance for PHICO Group, he progressed to roles with Frontier Insurance Group and National Specialty Underwriters, Inc., before co-founding Ethos in 2004. Jonathan's background as a med-mal underwriter and in the wholesale market uniquely positions him to drive operational excellence at Ethos, utilizing his expertise in identifying data patterns. He has contributed to industry dialogue through his blog articles and participation as a panelist at events such as PLUS. Beyond his professional pursuits, Jonathan finds joy in family, a wide range of hobbies including music and sports.