BEHIND THE MIKE

Recruit or die. You probably think I am speaking exclusively about football, specifically college football.

Dynasties are not one-and-done affairs where a team captures a single or even a couple of National Championships. That is a dream, not a dynasty.

Alabama’s Crimson Tide was a dynasty in college football. Apple was a dynasty in the computer industry. New England’s Patriots were a dynasty in the NFL. Be honest, Tom-terrific grew old and Gronk hung up his cleats. Dynasties come and go.

It is fair to say some enjoy their tenure a lot longer than others. The way they thrive and survive is with constant recruiting and the best coaches that money can buy and the best players that fit the system.

In Alabama’s case, the wrinkles in the armor began to show with the deluge of losses in Nick Sabin’s coaching staff. When you have the best talent hands down, superior players more often make great coaches than the other way around.

At least in the college football world, recruiting and player development are absolutely the keys to the success of a dynasty. The wrinkles show when one of those components begins to diminish somewhat. The results can and do show eventually, if not immediately.

The fact of the matter is, recruiting and personnel development are absolutely the key to any success story in every industry. My background is sales and management, specifically in the insurance industry. The moment you cease to recruit the very best talent is the moment you should sell your agency. It is worth more at that precise moment than it will ever be again.

The same could be said for my brother Andy’s law practice, Aun & McKay, which has multiple offices around South Carolina. The moment he ceases to bring in new clients is the moment his practice begins to die. His first job is to be a “rainmaker.” His second is to surround himself with the best support talent he can find to deliver results for his clients.

That is why he does the heavy lifting of doing free information seminars in schools and sponsoring high school sporting events. “Rainmaker” is the name of the game in the legal business.

Is it any different in any other profession? I think not. Take my daughter-in-law Jessica, who is a doctor thanks to student loans and a couple of decades in schools. Does this mean that when she’s debt free and making the big bucks that she can coast? Hardly. When you coast, it means you are heading downhill.

Even her husband Jason, who is a molecular microbiologist with the Food and Drug Administration, must keep pushing. Even though it’s hard to be fired by his government employer, Jason realizes that he must constantly learn new skills in various endeavors to advance. He wants to be indispensable, essential and vital.

Have you matured in your world of growth? Hopefully not. Most industries, particularly those involving licensing, require continuous education to hone one’s skillset. The moment you fall behind is the moment you begin your decline from your profession as you know it.

As we approach another year, I challenge you to go beyond the required minimums. As professor of Continuing Education for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors in Central Florida, I see many of the top professionals in the insurance industry every month when I teach two-hour CE sessions.

I have found the best way to keep my own skills sharp is to give back to the industry by teaching others to excel. Create change be the rising tide that lifts all boats.

Michael Aun, CSP, CPAE, Hall of Fame Speaker, is the author of “Build a Better You, Starting Now- Volume 5.”