Insurance Business ReviewAUGUST 20248IN MY OPINIONIn the late 1990s and early 2000s, Phil Jackson, likely the most celebrated professional basketball coach of all time, revolutionized the game through his embrace of the Triangle Offense. Coach Jackson didn't create this offense, but he employed it masterfully as a leader and coach to win eleven NBA championships in his storied career.Why start a discussion by mentioning Coach Jackson and his offense? In today's insurance industry, the Triangle Offense embodies several key tenets that can and should be employed by insurance leaders and executives to aid their teams in having the same level of success that Coach Jackson enjoyed.The first and most important tenet of the Triangle Offense is that the offense adapts to the defense rather than trying to force the inverse. The current insurance market is defined by disruption. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, insuretech, data and analytics, to name a few trends, are driving fundamental changes in how carriers analyze and price risk, participate in the market, and engage customers. Additionally, new weather patterns and the unpredictability of judicial and legislative actions are creating a greater disparity in industry performance. Understanding that very few carriers have the size and leverage to lead their respective markets, one must craft strategies and practices that can quickly adapt to market conditions and competition that are now changing faster than ever. This is no small feat for an industry with a reputation for a glacially slow pace of change, but building strategies around speed and adaptability should be at the top of every leader's agenda.A second fundamental tenet of the Triangle Offense is that it maximizes every player's strengths while diminishing none. If one wants to follow the basketball metaphor, one could consider an insurance company's core as a team and the key players as underwriting, claims, risk control/service, IT, and agency partners. Each carrier is going to have different levels of talent and expertise at each of these positions, and while leaning into these strengths will help maximize a carrier's success in the short term, long-term sustainability is going to require the ability of all team members to adapt to changing market considerations.Take, for example, what is widely considered to be today's most prominent industry trend ­ the use of AI. Today, it certainly seems like the most focused teammate for the application of AI is underwriting. Many carriers are LEADERSHIP LESSONS: ADAPTING THE TRIANGLE OFFENSEBy Keith Maciejewski, Vice President - Underwriting - Public Risk Group, Tokio Marine HCCKeith Maciejewski
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