NAIFA-Texas is proud of its Leadership in Life Institute (LILI) program and traditions. LILI started here and has grown to become the development tool for providing leaders at our Affiliates, Chapters and State. Almost every year, graduates of the LILI course come together to “sharpen the saw” in what is called the LILI Summit (original LILI course has 6 classes). This year’s LILI Summit will be held on February 23^rd prior to our NAIFA-Texas Annual State Conference in Houston. There are two pieces of “homework” that should be completed for the LILI Summit, a book to read and a movie to watch, both of which will be topics of discussion during the meeting.

 

This year’s book is “It’s Your Ship” by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff, former commander of the USS Benfold. The book is a study of the management/leadership techniques that Captain Abrashoff used during the Gulf War to transform the USS Benfold from a below performance standard ship to one of the best in the US Navy. Many of those lessons can be applied to businesses today. Success requires that all members of the organization must take pride and ownership in the organization. That is why my theme for 2022 is:

 

 

As the President, the association’s leader for 2022, I am a steward for the organization. I will be here for one year adding my vision/ideas to the mix, but for the most part listening to you on how we can make this the best association in the federation. As an agency owner, I often say I am in the “why” business, not the “how” business. Others know how to do things far better than I do; I know why we should do them. Within an association, the members know how to make things better: I need you to tell me how we can make NAIFA-Texas better.

 

Compared to most other states, Texas has more licensed agents, a better economy, and a better business environment.  We should lead in membership, retention, PAC, Grassroots, member experience and any other metric worth measuring. Whether you just joined or have been a member for 50 years, I want to hear from you on how we can improve your Association.

 

Our advocacy efforts benefit every licensed agent in the business. Every agent in Texas receives member benefits from NAIFA-Texas. For example, when we helped defeat the DOL’s fiduciary rule, every agent benefited. We don’t have a membership problem, we have a dues collection problem. How do we get everyone to pay their fair share? We helped pass Financial Literacy requirements for our High Schools, which will help underserved markets, but we have had problems recruiting minority agents. How do we reach these agents and agencies? I know the why, I don’t know the how. That is why I need all members to help this year. Get Engaged. It’s your Association.

 

 

NAIFA-Texas President, A. Andra Grava, CLU, RHU