Core causes of apathy

What causes agency apathy?

The number-one thing that happens is what one of my friends refers to as “ARS,” the Already Rich Syndrome. There’s really no motivation/need to change because in a great business like ours, you can get rich pretty easily.

Another common reason is that the owners and key people just don’t have that compelling, overriding vision of what they really want to accomplish because they’re doing well enough. They’re not driven to do more. They can simply do nothing and still be successful (or at a minimum, at least semi-successful).

Also, for so many, it’s a lifestyle business. Gary Holgate, my mentor in the consulting business (and the first-ever consultant to independent insurance agencies), noted that one of the big problems in most agencies is that their personal checkbook and corporate checkbook are one and the same. Consequently, they’re not really growing a business, but rather...

During some internal conversations at Sitkins Group, we were discussing what works and what doesn’t work in our business, and why some agencies commit to getting better and others don’t. We also wondered why some owners and producers appear to be so lackadaisical about their business when they have every reason to be excited about it. That’s when one of our team members remarked,

“Apathy is the enemy.”

Apathy is defined as “lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.”

We’ve all seen it. Some people are very excited and involved in their business while others are sort of neutral about it. Everything is just “okay.”

But why would an entrepreneurial business owner ever not be interested and enthusiastic about what they’re doing? What would make them apathetic?

I often wonder why only 2% of people can implement long-term meaningful change. It’s something we see across the industry. If there are approximately 35,000...