Character

December 14, 2011

I don't know how I missed the 2002 Film, The Emperors' Club, but somehow I did. The movie was recently made available to me about the same time I came upon an article published by Insurance Networking News, titled: Insurance CEO's Point to Creativity as Top Leadership Competency.

The movie brought back to me, impressed me and warned me of the importance of ethical behavior and character. Money, events, relationships, possessions, all come and go and the only thing that remains is who we are.

After watching that movie, imagine my consternation when I picked up the article referenced above: Insurance CEO's Point to Creativity as Top Leadership Competency.

The article states that insurance company executives have placed "integrity" below the characteristics of "creativity", "rigor", and "management discipline". The characteristic that Insurance Company CEO's want: Creativity. Why? Insurance CEO's see that talent as necessary for a company's ability to remain competitive and successful.

What a shame. And that brings me back to the Movie

The Emperors' Club tells the story of a student who cheated in school. Having learned how to cheat, he continued doing so, even twenty five years later when a contest in which he had cheated at school was replicated. When confronted about his cheating by his former teacher who caught him both times, he gave a response that he would soon be a senator and the teacher would be left with no major accomplishments in life. The student, now a powerful businessman, also said it did not matter that he cheated, as life is full of cheaters. Just then, the student's son, who had admired his father up to this point, came out of a stall with a shocked expression on his face leaving the viewer to realize that cheating does matter. Ethics and character count.

I need to point out that the article goes on to state: " The study also revealed that insurance CEOs are comfortable dealing with ambiguity." I'm certain they are. While not all Insurance CEO's are willing to jettison integrity for the profit motive, the article from Insurance Networking News shows us many are but ... we need to let them know that they are being watched. If not by consumers, angels and witnesses, they are being watched by their children.

Get creative gentlepeople, but do it with integrity. What you sow is truly what you reap. What you cast on the waters comes back to you. What you toss up must come down. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. What goes around comes around.

 

David E. Young, CPPA, SPPA
Adjuster for the Insured