NEEDHAM, MA--(Marketwired - May 1, 2013) - Last week approximately 120 senior insurance executives spent two days in Boston to attend Enservio's invitation-only Property Innovation Summit, where they were treated to the industry's top thought leadership forum with presentations by leading thinkers, best-selling authors, a NASA rocket scientist, the head of Harvard's startup incubator, a "productivity guru," a senior Harvard Business professor and even a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic "Miracle on Ice" hockey team, to name a few.
A common thread shared among the speakers was the notion of creating a workplace environment where people and ideas can flourish without judgment or limitations. Given the event's general theme of "innovation," some notable quotes from speakers included: "Innovation is messy," "To change your way of thinking, learn something new," "Innovation is about empowering everyone, no matter the role they play." "A completely risk-averse solution guarantees failure to launch." Quotes directed at workplace employees included: "make everyone a hero," "share success," and "think outside your silos."
"Build an environment where ordinary people can thrive"
Keynote Rosabeth Moss Kanter of Harvard Business spoke about the role of innovation as "helping to build an environment where ordinary people can thrive and be empowered to succeed." Drawing on the April 15th Boston Marathon tragedy as an example, she pointed to rapid thinking of the part of an ordinary citizen who helped police capture the second bomber by alerting authorities upon seeing evidence on a stored boat. Kanter also advised how "integration around the customer" is a big opportunity when devising new products for the marketplace.
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist Dr. Jeff Norris, who designed the software used to pilot Mars rover missions, described "risk" as something not to be avoided at NASA but rather as a "cost" to be considered. Said Norris, "A completely risk-averse solution guarantees failure to launch. Yet failure is a part of all great entrepreneurial resumes." A key question to address is not 'how can I build this' but 'how can I avoid building this.'
Self-described "intrapreneur" Gordon Jones of Harvard University Innovation Lab devoted a portion of his talk to "combating fratricide" which he defined as those internal forces such as employee turf wars that can negatively undermine projects. Also Holly Tachovsky, CEO of Buildfax, which has compiled the only national database of construction permit records, gave a lively presentation on "The Evolution of the Roof Risk."
Day 1 concluded with Mark Johnson, former member of the 1980 US Olympic "Miracle on Ice" hockey team, who talked about the legendary game that rallied an entire nation while he stressed the importance of passion and commitment in building winning teams for the long haul.
Whereas Day 1 of PINS focused on how to create environments where innovation can flourish, Day 2 looked at the importance of customer relations, rewarding talent, and putting successful outcomes ahead of career concerns.
Productivity guru Tony Schwartz, best-selling author of "Be Excellent at Anything," was the Day 2 keynote speaker. Citing research, Schwartz explained why 75 percent of employees feel disengaged at work. Rest is a key component in performance. "Coming to work with less than five hours of sleep is like coming to work intoxicated," said Schwartz.
Dave Pratt, the GM for usage-based insurance at Progressive Insurance, followed with a fascinating look at data generated from the use of telematics. Progressive is using telematics to collect driving data to offer auto insurance consumers customized prices based on actual driving data. Pratt noted how driving data indicates that driver behavior (average speed, hard-braking frequency, etc.) rather than punitive points, is more predictive of the potential for an accident.
Rob Chase, Enservio's SVP of Strategy and Business Development, managed a panel of experts commenting on trends in customer service, Big Data, and how to combat unethical behavior. Panelists included:
- Steve Brewer, SVP, Underwriting Solutions, MSB (Marshall & Swift/Boeckh)
- James Swayze, CEO of Symbility
- Mark Burnam, COO of ICA
- Robert Logan, CEO of Itel
- Jay Southerland, CEO of First Choice Repair
- Mike Pillatsch, VP, for MasterCard Worldwide
Speaker Elise Foster, a leadership coach for the Multipliers program, closed the conference by posing an interesting challenge -- do you want to be known for your savvy or for producing a field of geniuses around you? A "Multiplier" is that rare leader who brings out intelligence in others and can get up to twice the performance from their team.
Widely regarded as the insurance industry's premier thought-leadership conference and hosted by Enservio, the 7th annual Property Innovation Summit was generously sponsored by MSB (Marshall & Swift/Boeckh), Itel, Symbility, ICA (Insurance Claims Adjusters), First Choice Repair, and MasterCard Worldwide.
To inquire about attending next year's Summit, contact Joel Makhluf at jmakhluf@enservio.com or call (781) 292-6050.
About Enservio
Enservio works on the biggest challenge in property insurance -- what's inside. We provide a complete suite of software and service solutions to help property insurance carriers price their policies correctly, settle their contents claims quickly and accurately, pay their claims, and help policyholders get their stuff back. Founded in 2004, we are headquartered near Boston, in Needham, MA with offices and professional staff across the United States. For additional information, please visit the company's web site www.enservio.com or call 1-888.567.7557. Connect with Enservio via LinkedIn (http://us.linkedin.com/company/enservio), Twitter (https://twitter.com/enservio), and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/enservio).
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