Stay inside this box until you can make it bigger

Many years ago, when I started in agency management, I was given some sage advice by my then director of agencies, Len Quinn. Len is long gone, God rest him, but his advice has stayed with me for nearly 50 years, and it’s always kept me on the straight and narrow. Maybe it will help you?

I believe that it’s still worth sharing because it’s not only useful in a corporate role but also for any advisor wanting to do the right thing all the time.

Len put it this way. Jim, imagine a box with the Law on one side and Ethics opposite it. And on the other side, there is Budget and opposite it, Policy. Now, you can do anything you want in your business so long as you stay in that box of Law, Ethics, Budget, and Policy.

He said if you ever cross the lines of Law or Ethics, I’ll fire you myself, immediately. And, while we want you to stay within budget and within company policy, there is some flexibility there – but you must talk to us first.

It made perfect sense then. And it still does. So, you can see how it applies to a management role, but what about as an agent? The “Law” and “Ethics” lines are still simple and straightforward. There is no right way to do a wrong thing, either ethically or legally. Cross those lines and you deserve whatever you get.

“Budget” is about whether there is a positive business case, payoff versus investment for what you want to do. If you can make that case to yourself, it’s worth doing. “Policy” is about your business plan - the way you do business. Sometimes it’s worth changing but again, only when you can make the business case.

If you can, change. If you can’t, it always pays to stay in the box until you can make the box bigger.    

Jim Ruta