FAQs

How did you get connected with John Ashenhurst?
What is your background?
What insurance experience do you have?
Weren’t you the editor of TAAReport?
I’ve heard that some appreciate your “outsider’s” viewpoint. What do they mean by that?
What’s your opinion about SEMCI?
Do you do any consulting work? What kind?
Do you give speeches and presentations? What do you offer?

How did you get connected with John Ashenhurst?

I got connected with John Ashenhurst about 1986-87, a few years after he and Rick Morgan started The Agency Automation Report, later TAARReport. Back then their company was called AMG, Automation Management Group. I was first introduced to Rick through a mutual business acquaintance.

When I first met Rick and John I was impressed with their business casual and professional demeanor. I also liked their really neat office. I said to myself, “I could get used to working with these guys.”

At first, my work for them was primarily in developing marketing communications and promotion. I was also involved with them from the beginning of HIGH-TECC and the beginnings of Silver Plume, which included Loren Parsons.

As desktop publishing became more widely available (something I was already doing), I wrote about its potential application to the agency environment for TAAR. In time, I took over the production of TAAR and continued writing for it.

Eventually, John and Loren took the Silver Plume product to AMS. I continued working with Rick.

I stayed in touch with John in the intervening years, and when he wrapped up his work with Tower Street at AMS in October, 2000, he told me about Sounding Line and asked if I’d be interested. The rest, as they say, is history.

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What is your background?

My college education is in English and commercial art. I was an Air Force photo interpretation analyst and learned lots about investigative research, reporting, publishing, and information management systems.

Following a ten-year tour of duty, I went back to school again and also worked for a small publishing company that had its own print production facility. I edited a quarterly magazine, was assistant editor for a monthly magazine, and was art director for all publications. That experience provided a wealth of knowledge about the complete publishing process from creative concept through production and distribution.

Though I had been using computers since 1973 (courtesy of the USAF), I got really turned on by the Macintosh, the first true desktop publishing tool. Thanks to technology, I started working for myself in the mid-80s. In fact, my company was a desktop publishing pioneer of sorts and we were one of the very first companies in the Rocky Mountain region to have that capability, which eventually led to meeting Rick and John.

Today, in addition to my work with John at Sounding Line, I still have my own company, Betagraph (www.betagraph.com), which provides creative and technical services for print and Web. We use networked PCs and Macs, standalones and portables, manage servers, and work virtually with nearly all our clients.

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What insurance experience do you have?

I am neither a licensed agent nor have formal insurance training. I’ve never sold or serviced a policy. I have no professional insurance designations.

I have, however, worked part-time for a large life insurance home office and have worked inside several P&C agencies in various capacities. I’ve sat next to producers and CSRs to learn their procedures, observe their use of technology, and provide consultative feedback to both end users and their managers.

On many occasions I’ve spent hours working directly with owners and principals and gleaned first-hand insight into most of the major management and operational issues agencies face. I’ve been given various demos of management systems and listened to owners, producers, and CSRs explain features while complaining about system shortcomings and their frustrations with technology.

Fortunately, I’m a quick study.

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Weren’t you the editor of TAARReport?

Yes, I was both assistant editor and later editor of TAARReport until April, 2001, during a period of some of the publication’s most editorially successful years. My involvement with TAARReport was one of the most challenging, yet satisfying, experiences of my professional publishing career. I met, talked with, and interviewed hundreds of interesting insurance professionals, each of whom enhanced my understanding of this large fascinating panorama called insurance technology.

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I’ve heard that some appreciate your “outsider’s” viewpoint. What do they mean by that?

I’ve been told that before and regard it as a compliment.

I suppose some people regard me as an objective and knowledgeable observer, not as one who is incestuously involved with the industry. The role of insurance reporting, like any other kind of reporting, requires a certain distance from the subject.

I’d like to think that I have a good grasp of the big picture plus expertise in several of the smaller pictures related to insurance technology. That’s the result of those experiences mentioned earlier, contact with hundreds of insurance professionals, plus hard work and self-initiative studying the industry.

Fortunately, both TAARReport and Sounding Line share the common thread of editorial independence; that is, they accept no advertising. Editorially independent publications enjoy a measure of freedom because they have no loyalties to advertisers — only the readers. That provides a platform from which you can “call it like you see it,” which suits me just fine.

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What’s your opinion about SEMCI?

My earliest exposure to SEMCI was an agency owner’s tour of his back office and the individual dumb terminals connected to company mainframes. SEMCI was also on the minds of agents at the very first HIGH-TECC. I am, of course, quite familiar with what John and Rick have written about the subject. But, I do have my own opinions.

First, the SEMCI acronym, though convenient verbal shorthand, has taken on a life of its own and is revered as some kind of utopian ideal. Many agents seem to regard SEMCI in mythic proportions, a technological savior of sorts. But the danger in myopically focusing on an ideal is that useful interim solutions might not be recognized or could be too quickly dismissed.

Second, I’ve observed that agents tend to oversimplify the issue and thus fail to appreciate the technological complexities of devising an ideal SEMCI solution. The now commonplace use of technology sometimes creates unrealistic automation expectations. Many have glibly viewed SEMCI as a “just push one button and that’s all there is to it” solution. Well, it’s a lot more complex than that.

Third, while I do understand agent frustrations — both with the antiquated dumb terminal approach and now with proprietary company Web sites — the Internet appears to be on the verge of neutralizing the SEMCI debate. I think agents need to loosen their grip on a SEMCI-only solution and be willing to entertain Web-based alternatives, including promising hybrid interface solutions. And, besides, are synchronized databases really necessary in an Internet environment?

Fourth, I question the value of certain user group initiated “SEMCI pledge” efforts of late. While I do believe agents have a legitimate concern and need a voice, I find the special interest or pressure group tactic distasteful and potentially counter-productive. Creating an adversarial “we versus they” climate can backfire. After all, it’s the companies who have the means to create the solutions, not the agents. Agents are not in the position to make demands.

Finally, the underlying rationale for SEMCI is saving time by reducing redundant effort. SEMCI is not the only technology strategy for accomplishing that goal. But to hear agents, you’d think that SEMCI is the only one that really mattered or would truly make a difference. Before relying too heavily on an imagined ideal SEMCI solution to produce operational efficiencies, agencies could try to uncover and implement other time saving strategies in the meantime.

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Do you do any consulting work? What kind?

Yes, and I love it. I enjoy the challenge of being presented with a problem that falls into my areas of expertise and interest, and then working towards a workable, meaningful, and productive solution.

What kind? Anything that has to do with improving…

agency Web sites
marketing communication for enhanced customer satisfaction and retention
agency identity, credibility, and marketplace differentiation
agency newsletters, self promotion, and advertising
Internet and e-mail marketing

I freely admit that not everyone adopts my solutions. For example, an MGA asked for a Web site evaluation. They made several minor improvements, but nine months later have yet to make the badly needed site reorganization, navigation, and functionality improvements that were my primary concern. Unfortunately, the site remains a disaster.

On the other hand, a retail agency followed my recommendations about site reorganization. Within four days of the new site going live, a customer called the agency praising the ease of finding relevant information. Another organization followed my recommendations and boosted online newsletter readership three-fold.

I’m available for both onsite consultation and phone and e-mail consultation. All consultations are subject to negotiation and mutual agreement.

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Do you give speeches and presentations?
What do you offer?

Yes, and I enjoy meeting the people who attend. Bright smiling faces and nods of recognition and agreement easily energize me.

What do I cover? In general terms, I speak about the same topics that I cover in my consulting work and have written about. However, unlike many, I rarely give the same presentation twice. I do customize my presentations to the audience’s interest and needs, resulting from discussion with the event coordinator or meeting planner. My speaking engagements typically include a PowerPoint presentation and handouts with a resource list.

My presentation style? Depending on the topic and the nature of the event, I can be something of a Rush Limbaugh, Bill Maher, and Dave Barry rolled into one — or so I’d like to think. While my comments and remarks are always informative and include plenty of anecdotes, I also enjoy challenging the status quo, asking provocative questions, and stirring up controversy and the listener’s imagination. Regardless of my style, I strive for a memorable presentation that focuses on useful information, not the presenter.

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