Embracing the Navy's core values makes me a better adviser

If you do not stand for something, then you will fall for anything. 

Before becoming a benefits adviser, I was a U.S. naval-aviation maintenance veteran whose experiences have shaped my industry practices. Most soldiers do not go into battle just to be so close to the enemy that they can smell them. They carry core values that help them make decisions for better outcomes — and those outcomes are bigger than one soldier. The same thinking, for me, applies to the brokerage and advisory space. 

The U.S. Navy is known for many things. "Drunken sailor" is familiar slang for those who work and play hard. But the branch is primarily known for its core values, which are stitched into every thread of uniforms worn for more than two centuries. What drives decisions for better outcomes? What makes pivotal points in war? 

When I served in the Persian Gulf on an aircraft carrier in 2000 to 2001, infrared camera boxes used to detect submarine activity weren't working on seven of eight aircraft. Given rising tension in the Middle East in the months leading  up to 9/11, pressure was coming down on us from the fleet admiral.

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The U.S. Navy had invested time and money into putting these military aircraft back in the air. They sent out the manufacturer's representative to help with the computer bench we were using to troubleshoot. They also sent a depot repair guy to help with the circuit cards of the actual infrared camera boxes. The maintenance department's chief warrant officer rolled up his sleeves and got his hands dirty to fix these electronic boxes. Every time we tested the box on one of the aircraft, it would fail. Over and over again, we solved one problem but had a new one emerge. It was like a little mouse that kept moving, so we couldn't catch it. Utterly exhausting. 

We never gave up, and continued to assemble as a team. Every day, we gathered up the strength to keep at it. We took the manufacturer's publication, the owner's manual, threw it in the closet and locked the door. Starting from scratch was a challenging thing to do.

Every day, this happens in the benefits advising world. An industry playbook explains how to handle a company's renewal. Most brokers nationwide use this playbook, which is repeated and generally produces the same results yearly — like what happened with trying to fix this electronic box. For employers, it's an endless cycle of increasing out-of-pocket expenses just to soften the blow of premium increases. 

This isn't something we can do at sea while fixing these war machines. We had to do better — and we did do better. We eventually found a solution to the problem and all eight military aircraft were back up in the air. We could have made excuses: they were a 1950's war machine in its heyday; we could have said, "it is what it is." But there's not much commitment in that. 

As benefits advisers, we are making decisions for better outcomes. Sometimes it's part of a playbook. Many times, it is not. Take the industry playbook, throw it in the closet and lock it up. 

We can learn a lot from the U.S. Navy's core values: honor, courage and commitment. 

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Honor is about holding ourselves accountable for professional and personal behavior. Doing the right thing is so important when working with employees of a client company. Making recommendations to increase out-of-pocket expenses causes them more madness. Is this honorable? Maybe the benefits adviser goes back to the carrier and negotiates a 5% decrease off the renewal, but you are still up 10% from the previous year. The challenge is: can you do better?

Say a prospect moves insurance companies, stop-loss or whatever was agreed upon when they engaged your agency. During this process, however, the benefits adviser realizes they are not a good fit. Is it ethical to then ask for the agent-of-record change letter when the original agreement to join your agency had changed? 

Unless it is part of the original agreement, the answer would be no. It is certainly better to address the issue before any movement rather than afterward. 

Which brings us to courage, which is the moral and mental strength to do what is right and with confidence and resolution – even in the face of temptation or adversity. 

Many benefit advisers nationwide have embraced commission or fee transparency. Some states have implemented an ethics class requirement to minimize and eliminate any issues with temptation for personal gain. We must always act in the best interest of our clients without regard for personal consequences or gains. The only exception to this is errors-and-omission exposure. The situation is the boss. 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) has helped expose some of this practice, but there are still loopholes to hide revenue sources. As tempting as it is to collect commissions from the revenue source, is it the right thing to do for clients? Perhaps it has some justifications, then are you willing to show your clients how much you are earning on the revenue source tied to their account? Do you have the courage to do what is right?

Commitment is something that is beyond oneself; bigger than you. Will you commit to the end, or will you give up for one reason or another?

Every day we must join as a team and industry to improve the quality of work, people and ourselves. We should care for others regardless of race, religion and gender – thriving for the high degree of professional excellence in all that we do. 

When we set out to do our job as a professional, we need to have core values. Maybe you have your own core values to do the right thing every day or join forces with other people in the industry to make it better. There are benefit advisers doing this as we speak. Just call them and ask them what drives them to do it. They will not hesitate to share, I promise. 

Core values from the U.S. Navy made me a better adviser, and I'm sure they can do the same for you.