management

Every organization has values, either stated or unstated.  The core business values you establish are crucial in setting the tone as to how your business will operate and prosper. They establish your company’s personality, they speak to what is important to your organization. Core values do not change from time to time to suit various situations, they define your company’s culture, they allow you to hold your team accountable.

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Posted by Wendy Forsythe

Whenever I meet with a manager or broker to discuss their growth plans and objectives, I always ask what their talent attraction strategy is. I often get a blank or somewhat confused look. Most brokers and managers are former agents, and one thing we are not known for is our diligent business planning and strategizing. So, it is no surprise that we carry that trait over into our growth plans when we become managers or brokers.

Here are some questions I ask to get them thinking: Read the rest of this entry »

As the news about the unprecedented fraud conducted by Jérôme Kerviel at Société Générale continues to unfold before our eyes, it’s easy to chalk this up as perhaps interesting reading but something irrelevant to most of us. But the unfortunate truth is fraud is happening every day, to companies of all sizes, and in every industry.

The 2006 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse is a sobering read. In it, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) has compiled data from over 1,000 fraud cases covering every imaginable company. From it, I thought the following figures were particularly relevant to our industry: Read the rest of this entry »