Triangulation Anyone?

Last week I took my second course in the Certified Risk Manager series, Risk Analysis. I remember the happy day my sophomore year of college when I took the last math class I needed to take. The happiest day of my college life. Little did I know over 20 years later, I'd be sitting in a class learning triangulation, standard deviation, and the coefficient of determination!

Risk Analysis has an awful lot of calculations, probability, and statistics. If it weren't for taking the test, I may have enjoyed it more! After 20 years in the industry, I finally learned where rates are derived from..actually a very interesting process.

I encourage any of you in the insurance business to take a CRM or ARM class. Even if you don't want the designation, there is a lot to learn about how risks are analyzed and priced. I just hope I passed the test so I don't have to sit through it again!

Dan

P.S. Need some education on how to shop for your insurance? Go to my online store and check out Your Eight Really Cool Rules for Better Insurance Buying. It will help you make the right decision on your insurance and save you time and frustration.

The Good Samaritan

Yesterday my family and I took a trip to Wal-Mart after church to pick up some quick items. As I got in my Suburban, I noticed a piece of paper underneath my windshield wiper. When I got out to examine I found a free-hand note stating “Your passenger-side tire is very low”. Upon further inspection, I was horrified to find that not only was it very low, it was VERY, VERY low. Fortunately, Wal-Mart has a tire service place open on Sundays because I’m not sure how I far we would have been able to go. Turns out the culprit was a screw I ran over. To make matters worse, the front tires were no longer legal for road use, so I had to replace both of them!

Two things to learn from this; first I’m very thankful to my Good Samaritan who left the note. How often do we walk by a situation like that and don’t take the time to leave a note. I could have been down the road a mile or two with my wife and daughter and been involved in an accident.

Second, be prepared. I had let my tires become hazards and if it wasn’t for a wayward screw I ran over, may have found out the hard way.

The last word – this was my definition of a close call. How many close calls do you have around your workplace? Your home? Learn from those near misses so they don’t happen in the future.

Dan

Boo Birds...

I've been a huge sports fan for as long as I can remember. The first football game I remember watching was in 1975 when Larry Csonka and the Miami Dolphins beat the Minnesota Vikings. Booing has always been a form of communication in sports. Some fans, like in Philadelphia, are known for it. When you boo Santa Claus, you earn that claim to fame!I will admit, I have done my share of booing in my life. As I have grown older though, I have made a conscious decision not to. I'm not sure if that has come around due to coaching high school basketball for six years, but something has changed me. The recent booing of Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks has prompted me to write this article.Shaun Alexander has nearly 10,000 rushing yards in his career, which places him in elite company. He is a former league Most Valuable Player. Even if he slows down to average numbers for the rest of his career, he is more than likely a candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And, he has played his entire career with one team, which in this day and age is unique.Due to recent injuries and an overhaul of his offensive line, Alexander has had less than sterling numbers. The Seahawks "faithful" has been riding him hard and have actually booed him the past two weeks. I don't get it. Alexander has been a hero for this community and led our once doormat team to the Super Bowl. Not only that, he has been a sterling contributor to our community with his charitable work. How soon we forget. In this society which thrives on "What Have You Done For Me Lately", it's not surprising. I'm sure the fans who do the booing would never accept it in their line of work.Final thought - the Seahawks fans are famous for raising the "12th Man" flag prior to each game. Seattle Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki just did the honors last Sunday. That means we are part of the team. What part of "team" does booing honor? Aren't we suppose to pull for OUR team and be encouraging? Unfortunately, we here in Seattle are closer to the Philadelphia model of "team" than we might like to believe.

Dan

This is FUNNY

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of giving a presentation to the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. After the event, I was talking with several attendees as they were leaving, and one gentleman happened to catch my eye. I noticed that his name badge said "Weedin". Not seeing too many people with MY last name, I took a closer look to see what his first name was. To my surprise, it said "Kelli". Why was I surprised? Well, because that's my daughter's name!Turns out this man's name was "Kelly" and he was rushing in as the event was starting. The lady at registration asked his name and he said "Kelly". Well, my Kelli was originally going to come with me, but was sick and couldn't come. She had a name tag all set for her. You can guess what happened! The registration lady peeled off "Kelli Weedin" and gave it to this gentleman who wore it the entire time without realizing it. We shared a good laugh about that one. I told him that the story would definitely end up in a speech somewhere, and of course in my blog.

Dan

Liability Protection for Coaches

I'm starting a new educational program for coaches to help protect them from the growing concern of liability. If you're a coach for a youth team, consider taking this course. Teachers have been trained on the methods of protection. Most youth coaches haven't and are just as much at risk.

This is a teleseminar course with an audio CD. To learn more about protecting yourself as a coach from unwanted liability, click here...

Dan

Simplicity...

Sometimes you find inspiration in the strangest places. While attending a fundraising luncheon for the local community college, I heard a wonderful speech from a young woman who was a student. It was unpolished yet beautifully and sincerely delivered to a room of about 400 people or more. Sometimes I wonder if we work too hard to deliver the "perfect" presentation when simplicity will do just fine thank you.

Dan

So what do you do?

I wasn’t expecting to be sitting here typing out a blog on my Alaska Air flight to Palm Springs. I fully intended to be listening to my new Patricia Fripp DVD called Preparing and Presenting Powerful Talks. For those of you not familiar with Patricia Fripp, she is one of the premiere speaking and presentation coaches in the world. I became a big fan after attending her workshops at the Region 1 Toastmasters International Conference last June. Now I had her DVD and I was primed for a valuable lesson on this 2 ½ hour flight!

I waited patiently like just about every other passenger for the pilot to come on the loudspeaker and give us the green light to turn on electronic equipment (Boy has traveling on planes changed in the last 10 years).

I popped in the DVD, shut the blinds, turned up the volume and on came Patricia. Funny thing happened. Her mouth was moving but I could barely (and I mean BARELY) here any sound. Checking the volume that it was maxxed out, my keen mind figured out that the huge engines that I was basically sitting on at the wing position was drowning out all audible sound. Even my new fancy Sony earphones didn’t help. This ever happen to you?

It only took me about 7 minutes of watching her talk but not being able to hear her that I realized that I just wasn’t learning by reading her lips. This was a futile effort. I figured since the laptop was out anyways, that this would make a good post. I suppose you will be the judge of that.

While waiting to take off, I made the acquaintance of the person sitting next to me. His name is Jeff and it turns out he and I have some things in common. We are both in the Zoodango online business networking community, both a part of Kiros (in fact, he’s the founder of the Christian business organization), and both consultants. I realize some people don’t like to talk with strangers on an airplane for fear of getting in a long conversation about life insurance or pyramid marketing. Their loss is the opportunity to meet someone new and perhaps gain a friendship. Jeff and I shared thoughts and ideas on our businesses and families and I hope to get to know him better through our mutual interests. After 10,000 feet we both went off to our laptops to get some work done. Since we are both furiously typing away, my guess is he can’t hear anything either.

This is a blog dedicated to communicating, so here’s the moral of this post. Take a chance once in awhile and meet someone new, especially if you are going to be cramped together on a long flight. I have yet to meet someone that I wish I hadn’t started a dialogue with. More often than not, I learn something new that adds to my personal growth. What’s the worst that can happen…you end up with some new life insurance or a bunch of boxes in your garage?

Dan

P.S. Do you have trouble meeting people or networking? That’s a bad thing in business. Let me help you with my Power to Panic Boot Camp coming up in November. Click here to learn more. Dates are being finalized for a Seattle boot camp so stay tuned!

Don't Drop Your Head

Driving home this afternoon, I was listening to University of Washington Head Coach Tyrone Willingham on his radio show discussing the game against (then) #1 ranked USC on Saturday. The Huskies came close in a 3-point loss that went down to the final seconds. He was describing his words to his team prior to the game. One of his statements made me stop and think.

He told his team that they didn’t have to play a perfect game to win. He reminded them that they would make mistakes during the game, but to never drop your head because of them…to keep fighting on and overcome those mistakes. The part that stuck with me was not dropping your head.

It reminded me of my days coaching high school basketball. How many times I remember kids making mistakes on the court and dropping their head in disgust, hurt, or sadness. How much harder is it to bounce back when you’re looking straight down?

The same can be said about life, too. Business, sports, and personal lives all give us plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. Some mistakes are made with all the right information and effort…it’s that “hindsight is 20/20” stuff. Some mistakes you wonder, “What was I thinking?” But in all cases, I encourage you to take Coach Willingham’s advice and keep your head up. We all make mistakes. If we are smart, we always learn from them, too.

Keep your head up. Go into your “game” knowing you will make mistakes. Resolve to learn from them and keep battling. Remember that you can’t get where you want to go if you’re looking straight down.

Dan