It happened again today… some would refer to it as ‘day dreaming’ as my p1 teacher put it, and some would refer to it as ‘you’re on another planet’!  However I like to refer to it as being in ‘the realm of creativity - the unknown matrix of our minds eye’. 

Positioned in a very flexible space in externship A, has really enabled me to exercise my mind in the way I love – randomly, but at the same time with focus related to the end goal.  The biggest challenges for me have unquestionably been, to strike the balance between inventiveness and raison d'être, focus and intelligence, as well as delivering a set goal within a tight timeline. 

I used to think of insurance as a ‘bland’ industry, and not-that-exciting, I may just have to reconsider…really. J Working in personal markets has really given me a huge insight into the innovative side of insurance, (the side that excites me)! There is a lot that is being, and can be done to make it more appealing, all it involves is a dash of imagination balanced with focus and purpose.

In this day and age there are so many communication mechanisms that can be leveraged in a number of ingenious ways that can create great results for these types of businesses.  Part of my goal is to analyze those mechanisms and identify ways in which to encourage positive word of mouth in order to drive recommendation.

The key learning from this experience so far, revolves around the fact that, as much as creativity is key, so is simplicity. It’s great to have lots of ‘wacky’ ideas as long as they can be justified and implemented, but it’s also important to peel the onion and understand the underlying pain, and then use the reasoning to build a solution.

I tend to begin projects with an end goal and vision in mind – also a great strategy, as long as you know how to relate it to reality.  When I first began at Liberty Mutual, my ideas were a plenty, and due course some have stuck, some have been eliminated, and some revolutionized into better ideas.  I love the fact that my manager challenges my ideas, and that push gives light to something new and better.  As we learnt at Babson – the key is to listen, give, and be open to feedback, which is certainly something I have stuck by and benefited greatly from in externship A.

The teaching at Babson coupled with my support network has been invaluable in this second stage of the Fellowship journey. I am now looking forward to completing this phase with a fire in my belly and sheer determination to deliver.