After reading The Long Tail and Killing Sacred Cows, and after sitting down with Beth from Four Winds Coaching yesterday, a core truth stood out to me.
As with all great books, ideas and coaches, they speak about the profound and basic truths. As a society, we have a tendency to ignore the simple in favor of the more dramatic. This is partly because we all secretly love drama, but mostly because we are afraid to embrace the simplest truths. Accepting something as true, you see, means we have to stop ignoring it and start living it. We have to own it.
That kind of responsibility scares us.
We spend more time trying to improve poor performance, than we do trying to exploit those areas that we truly excel at. Let’s use a report card example. If your child brought home a report card with an A, two B’s and a D, what would you spend the next ten minutes talking about? (Hint: D). Why? Because D’s are “bad” or below “average” (whatever average is). And how much time would you spend talking about the “A”?
So instead taking the opportunity to praise and lift up, most of us would tend to focus on the negative and talk about “how are we going to help you get that D to a B?” And most of us don’t realize that by trying to “help” our child, what we’re actually doing to sending the message that they aren’t “good enough.” (Hint: WRONG MESSAGE)
We missed the opportunity to find out what really makes our child tick and where their true talents lie.
In Killing Sacred Cows, Gunderson describes the “Consumer Condition” vs. the “Producer Paradigm”. He argues that our personal success, as well as our success as a species, is largely determined by which paradigm we ascribe to. It influences how we see and interact in the world.
If you are coming from a place of scarcity, win-lose, fear and dependence, the problems and situations you face in the day-to-day will become tests of your ability to take a piece of someone else’s pie. But if you change to a mindset of abundance, win-win, faith and inter-dependence, those same “problems” start to become “opportunities” to create more pie.
And who doesn’t want more pie?
Chris Anderson’s The Long Tail explores the world we live in where “blockbuster hits” aren’t where the “big bucks” are. While it was full of great stuff (and I highly recommend you read it), the one quote that stands out is actually a quote of a quote;
“There are no masses; there are only ways of seeing people as masses.” Raymond Williams 1958.
While we all try to compartmentalize our coworkers, friends and even strangers into neat groups of faceless generalizations, the reality is that no two people are alike. To put it another way, there is no forest; there are only a bunch of trees. The approach I use with you should be specialized and different than the approach I use with someone else.
When we use one-size-fits-all solutions to our problems and relationships, we end up doing more harm than good (despite our intentions).
I had coffee with Beth Kuchenreuther of Four Winds Coaching this week. Despite the fact that she is an amazing listener with a talent for getting people (me) to tell their story, she was actually able to get a couple words in edgewise. And those words stuck.
Beth said that most managers spend an inordinate amount of time managing the problems; the weakest links in their organizations. The explained that the energy we (managers) spend “improving” poorly performing employees is wasted. Much like us trying to improve our child’s “D” to a “B”. We’re missing the opportunity.
“We coach to the strengths of the individual”
Her words hit so hard, I swear the barista looked up from behind the counter. It was simple, profound and oh-so-hard to admit. Once I picked my heart up off the floor, I wrote it down:
So how much time do you spend finding the flaws? What kind of energy do you put into fixing broken systems (or people)? I don’t know off hand who said it first, but whatever we seek, we will find. It’s simple and true.
Can you change that?
How about seeking the good? In others AND ourselves. What about building up the strengths we find in others? What would that look like?
May is here and it feels like June!
Now before you break out the sunscreen, may I suggest you verify a different kind of coverage?
This month’s video illustrates how complacency in coverage can really burn.
A tenant lets a water leak go unreported and only notifies the landlord AFTER the kitchen cabinets are damaged beyond repair. The heat gets turned up even higher once the adjuster explains the lack of coverage.
“Insurance companies rely upon the ignorance of their own policyholders. An uninformed policyholder will rarely argue with an adjuster, because they don’t know what they don’t know.” –Russell Longcore Insurance Claim Secrets Revealed! 2006
You’re an informed consumer aren’t you? You shop for high-priced items when they’re on sale. You’re a member of a wholesale warehouse. When you need home repairs you utilize a reputable referral service or get recommendations from people you trust. You even know that hiring a CPA makes sense at tax time, because they are good at taxes and you’re not. So why wouldn’t you take a similar approach when it comes to a fire or water disaster event?
The reality is that most people have little knowledge of either their own insurance policies or the claim process. And why would they? Only one in ten of us will have a major insurance claim event in our lifetimes. The rest will never need to know anything about their insurance company beyond where to send the premium checks.
I’m writing this article for those who aren’t as lucky. For you who HAVE recently experienced an “insurable” event, I have a question for you: would you let the IRS do your taxes? (stay with me here).
Arguably the IRS is infinitely qualified to file your tax return. After all they wrote the rules and they write the checks. Why not? The answer is that they aren’t working for you or your best interests.
“Beginning in the 1990s… insurance companies reconsidered [their] understanding of the claims process. The insight was simple. An insurance company’s greatest expense is what it pays out in claims. If it pays out less in claims, it keeps more in profits. Therefore, the claims department became a profit center rather than the place that kept the company’s promise(s).” – Jay Feinman Delay Deny Defend 2010
Letting your insurance company adjust your claim and write your repair estimate is exactly like asking the IRS to file your tax return. The industry is counting on the ignorance and complacency of its’ very own customers in order to return profits for their shareholders. There is good news though: you have the power to change it. Let me give you a few “secrets” that will enable you to take control of your insurance claim.
You can choose your Contractor
Most people ask their insurance company who they should get to fix their home. They don’t know what you know. These so-called “preferred” vendors play the game for their repeat customer – the INSURANCE company.
Choose you own preferred vendor. Who is most qualified to replace your laminate floors after they’ve been damaged by water from a broken pipe? How about the guy that installed them the first time? A kitchen fire destroyed the cabinets that you had installed in your remodel a few years ago? Why not call the contractor that you already know and trust to replace them?
Maybe you have one company that takes care of all your home repair needs, from landscaping to painting. They would be perfect to help you in your time of need.
Insurance repairs don’t require three bids
You don’t have to get multiple bids to get the best price. You’ve already chosen your preferred contractor, now they need to tell you what their price is.
Their estimate does need to adhere to certain guidelines (like being written in Xactimate or other industry software), because your adjuster needs to be able to read it. But that’s why you have Claims Delegates to make sure things are documented well.
“Restoration” contractors enjoy far higher margins
Imagine if you could make 30% more than you’re making right now just by learning a new language. Would you? That is what “restoration” contractors have already figured out. If they learn how to estimate using Xactimate, they can enjoy 30% higher gross profits than most contractors.
Now, when you choose your insurance company’s “preferred” vendor, where do you think that extra 30% is going? Do you think you’re getting 30% higher quality? Don’t you think you should?
By choosing your own contractor, and hiring your own insurance expert, you can enjoy the benefits yourself. Isn’t that only fair?
You are in Control of your Claim
Above all, you are in control. You have entered into a contract with a company to cover you in the event of a loss. Now that you’ve had a loss it is up to you to enforce your rights under that contract. Homeowners who take control of their own claim routinely enjoy claim settlements 40% higher than those who take what the adjuster gives them.
You are an informed consumer. You enjoy being empowered and believe in education. You know who your advocate is.
Photos:Celeste RC via Compfight
Ricardo Machado via Compfight
Faramarz Hashemi via Compfight
It has come to my attention that most people don’t understand just what it is that I do for a living. I’ll admit that the term “independent estimator” is fairly ambiguous. It’s not like I’m a plumber or mechanic. So here is a brief video explaining my role as insurance liaison, property damage claim expert and all-round referee.
Dear Mr. Contractor,
I’d like to share a little about what exactly it is that I do and where you can go for more information.
I help contractors do insurance work so that:
- They get paid quickly
- They make 35% gross profit on every job (at least)
- They increase their service offerings (i.e. their past customers become future customers and referral resources)
The insurance repair industry is changing, and is ripe for a big change. There is typically a huge technical and cultural learning curve for new players. I am the only service provider in Portland that specializes in helping non-restoration GC’s perform insurance repairs.
With my help, any quality contractor can avoid the learning curve and break into this exclusive market. My dream is to have a world where the homeowner (insured) truly has a choice in selecting their contractor.
I know you do high quality work. That’s exactly the kind of work that most people want done when disaster strikes. I’m here to make sure you get paid on par with your quality level.
I’m enclosing a sample Xactimate estimate. As you’ll see, they aren’t exactly self-explanatory. This particular estimate was the final product of several rounds of negotiation and revision. The insurance company initially wrote their estimate at $53k. My first estimate was $94k.
With my help, we finally settled at $83,947 ($31,000 higher than the insurance company offered). And the contractor still has the ability to supplement for permits and other “open” items. I think I earned my 3%, don’t you?
My services also include an email campaign designed to get the word out to your existing client base about your new “restoration” services. I’ve got a plug & play template and an email marketing service ready to spread the word. Also, I can show you how to get on LinkedIn and Facebook. You really need to be there if you aren’t already.
Below are a couple links for you to check me out.
When you need an estimate you can trust, TRUST THE BADGE!
If you are coming from a place of scarcity, win-lose, fear and dependence, the problems and situations you face in the day-to-day will become tests of your ability to take a piece of someone else’s pie. But if you change to a mindset of abundance, win-win, faith and inter-dependence, those same “problems” start to become “opportunities” to create more pie.
