iamnamic | David Sommer

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>> David Sommer is president of Germania Farm Mutual Insurance Association, Brenham, Texas. Germania has been recognized by the Ward Group for five straight years as one of the top 50 property/casualty insurers in the United States, offering a variety of home, auto, and life products.

on managing as a team…

I try to foster a “teamwork” management style. This teamwork approach begins with Germania’s constitution which defines the senior management team (referred to as the Cabinet) as the President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, and a Secretary/Treasurer who are all nominated by the board of directors and confirmed by our membership. We each have individual departments we supervise, however, we make most major corporate decisions as a team. Naturally, we foster this style not just at the top, but throughout the organization.

on leadership…

A good leader surrounds himself or herself with talented people and empowers them to accomplish their goals and responsibilities.

on maintaining positive agent/company relationships…

Open two-way communications. Whether good news or bad news, keep the agency force informed. I have found that open communication builds trust and respect between the company and the agents. We begin each year with an agent’s conference where we share our strategic plan and discuss what we hope to accomplish for the year. Our agent advisory council has also played a key role in maintaining this positive relationship.

on appreciation for change and his career…

Professionally – in recent years I have become very passionate about maintaining a positive attitude toward change. We are bombarded every day with change in our industry, and a good leader must be able to select only those changes that will have a positive impact on the company. When discussing change with my team, it infuriates me when I ask why are we doing something a certain way and the answer is “we’ve always done it that way.” I consider myself very blessed to work and live in a small – yet outstanding community surrounded by family and friends.

about lessons learned…

I have tried to live by the statement my father instilled in me, “It’s nice to be important, however it’s more important to be nice.” I have also found that it’s extremely important to be a good listener. Whether you are dealing with your spouse, a team member, an agent, or policyholder, being a good listener and hearing alternate sides of a story often helps to resolve the issue.

Posted: Thursday, May 31, 2007 12:00:00 AM. Modified: Thursday, June 28, 2007 3:55:45 PM.

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