Field of Dreams 

 

By,  Shelby Barhorst

At Iscential, we hold weekly sales and all associates meetings where we often discuss our professional goals for ourselves and the company. Our CEO, Warren Barhorst, is a big believer in holding onto our dreams. In his first book, Game Plan – The Definite Playbook for Starting or Growing Your Business, he questions at what point in our lives we decide our dreams are unrealistic and we decide to let them go. In the book, he challenges readers to “[not] just dream; hold on to your dreams and focus your actions toward achieving them. Visualize them. Make them have feelings. The very best way is to start by writing them down.” This challenge is constantly permeating through our culture at Iscential at all levels.

In a recent sales huddle, we used inspiration from the 1989 film, Field of Dreams, to discuss our own “field of dreams.” In the film, an Iowa corn farmer, Ray, is walking through his cornfield one night and hears a voice whisper “if you build it, he will come.” He then envisions a baseball field in the cornfield and builds it in the following days. The rest of the movie shows him listening to these inner voices and visions to follow his dreams, despite setbacks and doubts from others. Eventually, the ghosts of great baseball players begin playing on the field, and Ray is reunited with the ghost of his father. The movie ends with cars lining up to see the players playing baseball on the field, eluding to the secure financial future of Ray and his family.

As we discussed in our sales meeting, the movie is about more than just ghosts of great baseball players and an Iowa corn farmer. It is about overcoming broken dreams, continuing to follow them, and believing in yourself and those around you. By doing these things, your dreams will eventually come true.

At Iscential, our “field of dreams” is a world where all our clients’ claims are covered, their income is protected and they are able to retire financially independent, leading the life of their dreams. As you can imagine, this is no easy dream to achieve. However, everything we do is aimed at this ultimate goal, starting with the dreams we set at an individual level.

For Kim Grimm, our Director of Proactive Service, her dream is to have a fully staffed department that can stay 45 days ahead of client renewals, to truly be a “proactive” department.

For Justin Valenzuela, our Vice President of Distribution, this means becoming the leader in Direct to Members Credit Union Insurance offerings, becoming the leader in Risk Management and Insurance programs designed to insure Credit Unions, providing customizable options to counter the current one-size-fits all approach, and collaborating with Credit Unions to create specific marketing plans for each segment of the membership.

Although our dreams differ at an individual level, they are all formed with our ultimate company dream in mind. By discussing and writing down these dreams, we believe we will have the confidence, strength, and support to continually work towards them and eventually make them come true.

 

Iscential will continue to monitor ongoing developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19), please know that nothing will compromise our commitment to take care of customers like you and the things you trust us to insure. We remain available to provide the same level of service you have come to expect. Please advise our office if you want to submit any claim for coverage with your insurance companies.   For further assistance and help navigating your business through COVID-19 head to the Small Business Administration’s website here to find what resources are available for your business.