Being Present To Win in Education

When I presented my theme, “Must be Present to Win,” I spoke of being present in networking, education, and advocacy. I am struck by how these three pillars that define our association are interconnected when we talk about the value of an NASBP membership.

Today I’d like to address being present in education. But when talking about NASBP’s educational initiatives, you can’t ignore networking and advocacy.

Certainly, our William J. Angell Surety School remains the flagship of our association’s educational offerings. Our faculty, made up of volunteers, have every right to be proud of what they do for our industry. Bob Shaw, Past President and 30-plus-year faculty member, reminded me that we are one of the few associations that has members volunteer to train their future competition. NASBP faculty do so because they believe in NASBP and know that investing in our future industry leaders is the right thing to do.

I remember meeting a young underwriter from the Midwest at the NASBP Surety School a couple of years ago. An impressive young surety professional, one of many I have met during my time on the NASBP Executive Committee. Little did I know a couple of years later, that underwriter would transfer to Northern California and be assigned as our underwriter. The NASBP Surety School is all about education but also affords our future leaders the opportunity to start building their network, a network that will serve them well for the rest of their career.

But back to our focus on education. We are fortunate that NASBP developed a number of distance-learning opportunities before the shelter-in-place orders even started. Our Surety Bond Quarterly magazine, Focal Point e-bulletin, NASBP Virtual Seminars, NASBP Blogs, NASBP online courses (which offer CE-credit), and NASBP Podcast are all accessible from your office, your home, or somewhere in between. I told my friend, Julian Xavier of NASBP Associate CLA, that I never expected to listen to him talk about PPP loans while in my car on the way to the grocery store!

Given the uncertainty over the economy, our expertise and knowledge of current market conditions becomes extremely valuable. The clients we serve want our advice on contract negotiations, surety market conditions, economic forecasts, and financial planning. Through the NASBP, you are given tools to address the important business issues that our clients are now facing.

Education also means educating other stakeholder groups. We have an obligation to educate other industries and associations about the value of our product, how we underwrite risk, and how we can assist in risk mitigation strategies. Advocacy through education.

Here, our “Be Guaranteed to Succeed” campaign is so important. This campaign has helped the NASBP deliver a more focused message that resonates with other stakeholder groups. And the tools we developed through the process are now being used for targeted digital ads to reach specific audiences that have an impact on the demand for our product and services.

Recently, our efforts with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) have helped architects gain a better understanding of the surety process. The excellent relationship NASBP has with AIA has resulted in four guides for architects. We published an article in SBQ this spring about the new AIA Warranty Bond and that article noted AIA’s excellent relationship with NASBP and our assistance in drafting their new Warranty Bond form.

On another front, we have started discussions with the Financial Accounting Standards Board about mutually beneficial joint efforts to share perspectives and educational opportunities

Our Producer Communications Toolkit 2.0, accessible to members on the NASBP Website in the Be Guaranteed to Succeed microsite, was developed to support our members’ efforts to educate the public, their clients, and co-workers. The current situation requires new ways to sell and increases the need for a more robust social media presence. As someone who grew up pre-internet, this is a challenge but using the Toolkit 2.0 has helped me increase my presence in the local construction community.

One last comment. We started our 2020 Virtual Series with Scott Mann of Rooftop Leadership—“Leading in Chaos” and we’ll finish our Virtual Series with “Coping with Stress during the Pandemic Crisis: A Focus on Personal and Professional Health” presented by Dr. Will Miller. I’ve listened to Scott Mann’s recording twice lately (accessible on our Virtual Events website) and I am sure I’ll be listening to Dr. Miller’s presentation a few times during the holiday season.

My personal education on dealing with the current work environment has become more important than ever. Like many of you, SIPs, travel, and in-person meeting restrictions are necessary but take some of the fun out of the job. These presentations help me stay focused, keep balance in my life, and help me be the broker that my clients need me to be.

I would like to thank Tom Padilla for getting Scott Mann as a speaker and our 5-15 Leadership Committee for suggesting Dr. Will Miller. While many of us focus on the needs of our clients, these two presentations remind us and educate us on the need to take care of ourselves.

Until my next column, stay safe and be thankful for what we have and what we will accomplish in the future together.

Mark Munekawa is Senior Vice President – Surety of Woodruff Sawyer in San Francisco, CA. He can be reached at mmunekawa@woodruffsawyer.com and 415.399.6482.