The Truth About TRIA

Commissions to Convictions: Putting Your Boot In Your Mouth

This episode reflects on impulsivity — the moments where words fly out before they're thought through, and the real cost of that habit. From an unwitting insult to my father's legacy, to a comment that mortified me in front of our CEO, to words twisted in a courtroom, this episode draws the line between being bold and being reckless with your words.

Call The Baby Ugly: 5 Things To Do With Carrier Declinations

The soft market is producing more marketing activity — and more declinations, as carriers hold their underwriting line instead of chasing growth. We break down five things every broker should do with a "no," from documenting the real reason in writing to using declinations as leverage for future submissions. If you're just logging "declined" on your marketing table and moving on, you're leaving value on the table — for your client and for yourself.

Pigs Get Fed, Hogs Get Slaughtered: Structuring Fee Agreements with KPIs

Soft market got you eating commission cuts on every renewal? We break down how to build KPIs and bonus structures into your fee agreements — from captive quoting to shared-savings clauses — so you get paid for the work you're actually doing.

Commissions to Convictions: Condescension Kills Culture & Confidence

Condescension doesn't announce itself — it hides in tone, in dismissiveness, in the small ways people remind you where you stand. A subtle exertion of power that doesn't just deliver a message, it delivers a reminder that you're a notch below. From a guard who wouldn't bend the rules just because he "didn't want to," to a moment I raised my hand in a room of executives and got laughed off instead of heard, this episode is an honest look at condescension from both sides — as someone who's received it, and someone who's dished it out. Because the damage isn't in being told no. It's in being made to feel small for asking.

Retrospective Rating Workers Compensation Explained In Plain English

In this episode we break down retrospective rating in plain English. You'll learn the difference between guaranteed cost and loss-sensitive programs, how basic premium and loss funding work, the difference between incurred and paid-loss retros, when these programs make financial sense, and the hidden negotiation opportunities that many brokers overlook.