ShareThisCreate the Future. Own Your Destiny.
2006 Chairman Bob Wadsworth’s Theme is His Credo
By Janet E.H. Wright
To say that Bob Wadsworth is a fan of Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, is an understatement. In fact, the Seven Habits could be considered a snapshot of his approach to both his personal and professional life. The key word in his vocabulary is “planning.”
For those who haven’t read Covey’s best-selling book of “powerful lessons for personal change,” a listing of the Seven Habits suggests a lot: be proactive; begin with the end in mind; put first things first; think win/win; seek first to understand … then be understood; synergize; and sharpen the saw.
Wadsworth feels that planning for the future is essential to avoid being thrown about by the winds of circumstance. “That’s something my father drilled into my work ethic and my life,” he explains. “I’ve always felt that way. I’ve always been a planner. I tell my people that there are three A’s you need to be concerned about in this business: anticipate, anticipate and anticipate. I’ve always planned ahead and then backed the plan from the future and put steps in place as to how I’m going to get to my goal. That’s just me, and it’s something I’ve tried to inculcate in my staff. Don’t be a victim! Anticipate, plan and transform adversity into opportunity. It doesn’t always work that way, but it works more times than not. So, anticipate, plan, execute.”
A Plan for Life
A native of Mt. Upton, N.Y., Bob Wadsworth has spent his entire insurance career at Preferred Mutual Insurance Co., New Berlin, N.Y. Through his college years, he started working part-time in the mailroom and the maintenance department and progressed through most departments within his company. Armed with a personal plan of action, he worked his way through company ranks over 34 years from underwriter to president/CEO.
“I was 19 years old. I’ll never forget walking into the foyer of Preferred Mutual and being greeted by a stately lady sitting at the front desk,” he said. “I introduced myself and said I would like to please have an audience with the president of the company. She started hemming and hawing and all of a sudden, this booming voice came out of the office behind her.
“‘Lois, please show the young man in.’ That was the president of the company Robert Hoadley, predecessor to Paul Stillman (NAMIC’s 1995 chairman). He said, ‘I overheard your request, and I’d like to talk to you.’
“When the discussion was over, he offered me a job. Not only did he hire me for the summer, but also I worked every vacation throughout college. I graduated from Syracuse University on a Saturday, and on Monday morning I went to work full time.”
Careers like Wadsworth’s are based on loyalty, a trait he feels is especially important. “You don’t see many people anymore who start with a company and stick with it,” he declares. “I feel loyal to the company for what they have done for me. I feel a sense of loyalty to my people who work hard for me. But I think it goes both ways. I feel the employee has a responsibility to be loyal to the company and work hard. If they do, I feel very strongly that the company has an equal, if not greater, responsibility to the employee to prepare them and to be concerned about them and their family.”
Wadsworth feels success is also based on weaving family life into business life. “I believe that having a solid family life leads to a solid professional life. Effective leaders maintain a balance between work and home,” he explains. Bob and Veronica Wadsworth are living proof, married 33 years and the parents of Jacquelyn, 24.
Nurturing Talented People is Important to Company Success
Covey’s Seventh Habit is “sharpen the saw.” Wadsworth sees education as the “whetstone” for keeping all company staff sharp, and NAMIC’s educational programs are a huge help.
“Educational opportunities help, not only managers, but company staff to enhance their knowledge and be in a better position to positively affect the future,” he explains. “That could be information gained through attending conferences, CEO Roundtables or the annual convention. It could be joining either the Property Casualty or Farm Mutual Conference, as well. Certainly networking at any NAMIC meeting allows participants to gain knowledge and be better prepared to shape the future.
“We need to nurture the people coming behind us, to have an effective succession plan,” he continues. “NAMIC provides a classic opportunity to ensure the future success of our companies by helping us train those people and develop future leaders.”
Having a well-formed succession plan in place is an excellent way to assure smooth transitions and future security for the company.
“In my organization, we have a formal succession management program” Wadsworth says. “We go through the process of highlighting who the potential future leaders are, then develop an action plan for each of them. Again, it’s not waiting for the future to come, it’s creating the future.”
Preferred Mutual has a short-term succession plan for every senior management position. “It’s a temporary succession fix, if you will,” he explains. “We also have a long term succession plan geared to a specific individual, involving a training plan for the position. What we don’t have is a fix for the unexpected loss of the chosen successor. In that case, we would appoint someone for the short term, then look for a successor in the marketplace. There will always be contingencies for which you cannot plan. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to plan a contingency back-up for every position.”
Good Leaders Plan to Make Things Happen
Wadsworth feels it is important for leaders in the business to look beyond themselves.
“CEOs have a responsibility, not only to their companies, but to the industry,” he says. “That’s why I accepted a position on the board of NAMIC, and why I also agreed to go through the chairs. I feel I have a responsibility to the industry that has supported me for 34 years, to become involved and to try to make things better, not only for my company, but for other companies and the industry in general. It’s the idea that one shouldn’t just stand back and be a passive bystander. There are those in life and businesses who watch the world go by, those who wander aimlessly and get run over, and those who make things happen. True leaders make things happen.”
As Stephen Covey would say, “Start with the end in mind,” quotes Wadsworth. “Understand where you are and where you want to go, then backfill in between with everything you need to be sure you get there successfully, when you want to, with the ability to overcome unforeseen obstacles along the way. After all, you never take a trip with your eyes fixed in the rear view mirror.”
For those who haven’t read Covey’s best-selling book of “powerful lessons for personal change,” a listing of the Seven Habits suggests a lot:
- Be proactive
- Begin with the end in mind
- Put first things first
- Think win/win
- Seek first to understand … then be understood
- Synergize
- Sharpen the saw
Posted: Monday, October 17, 2005 12:00:00 AM. Modified: Monday, October 17, 2005 3:09:28 PM.
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