Join Chad Barr in a conversation with James Berkeley on how his firm, Ellice Consulting, is helping executives and organizations dramatically improve their operating performance. James talks about his “past”, his passion and his ability to apply that rapidly to transform his clients’ futures (increasing revenues, improving image, happier clients, faster growth, reduced risk and […]

Why is September and January recruiters’ hottest months? In our daily work, it is easy to get sucked into the minutiae of the work and job. The summer vacation or beach weekend is a very valuable opportunity to reflect for a moment on our careers. What is exciting us, what is boring us, what do […]

Faced with demands from customers, shareholders, employees, business partners and regulators for short and long-term growth, it is not capital or regulatory issues that are humbling executives, it is a lack of self-esteem. Maintaining a high level of self-worth and self-confidence is critical to business success. We recharge those levels by learning and applying new […]

Whether it is a weekend in the Hamptons, a vacation on a Greek island or a Maldivian atoll, James offers tips on what executives can do before, during and after your vacation to become more effective and efficient resolving open issues in your work, job and career. After listening to this you might even surprise […]

The speed and quantity of information about publicly and privately run insurance and reinsurance businesses is at an all time high. Yet in the public arena, the quality of information generated by rating agencies, banking analysts, in-house investor relations and others is woefully inadequate. James looks at the work of banking analysts in this talk […]

James addresses challenges that private healthcare insurance consumers, carriers, administrators, consultants, investors and employers face today with the emergence of multiple private health insurance exchanges. He offers suggestions on how they can stay competitive while maintaining a high level of quality service for their clients. He also draws comparisons with exchange models and development outside […]

The insurance and reinsurance business in North America, Bermuda and London has disproportionately relied on young people with a family connection, to attract the brightest and best people to the sector. There is a bifurcation between those young people who stay for a short while and those who build a career in the field. In […]

A convergence of the economic crisis, new resulting regulations and growing consumerisation are potentially leading to a perfect storm for insurance distributors and advisory firms. James addresses areas that the people running those businesses often overlook, which in turn means lost business and revenue.

Data is largely worthless unless it is transformed ultimately into wisdom. Several large brokers have sought to harness the power of their data to provide their clients, business partners and their own firm with a competitive advantage. Yet these platforms, GRIP, Willis Connect and so forth are largely irrelevant if first, the underwriting teams in […]

The challenge in many brokerages and insurance carriers today is to retool products and distribution networks to more closely align with the needs of increasingly restless and savvy customers. Historically, many firms have pensioned off their “grey matter” at a given date. Yet it is precisely, the expertise and knowledge found in those senior managers […]

International life and health insurers need to adopt more sophisticated relationship management with agents/brokers and the end users. The industry is at crunch time, it needs to dramatically improves its’ customer experience, focusing on improved delivery if profitable growth goals are to achieved (reduced bureaucracy, faster claims settlement, increased authority and accountability give to frontline […]

Insurance and Reinsurance Brokerage firms have fought like tigers to retain clients. Retention rates are in the high 90s. Yet many of them are caught in a “success trap”. Their future growth is inhibited by the demands of servicing a significant number of longstanding clients, who don’t fit their ideal future client profile. Learn how […]

James provides a compendium to this series with a checklist of short and mid-term improvements, and “calls to action” for the time-pressed executive looking to “jump start” their organization’s success and generate immediate results.

The world recession, technological advancement, geographical shifts in wealth, and energy independency amongst other developments, are creating new high growth markets. Seeing them is one thing, exploiting them is another. Listen to James’s feedback from conversations with a diverse group of executives from the reinsurance, hospitality, restaurants, gaming, professional services, wealth management, private equity, luxury […]

Many organsiations have well established processes and procedures to attract great people in their core markets. An opportunity arises in a new high growth market and they are fortunate to lure that cornerstone client. Now the tough works start, the organisation can no longer rely solely on “fly-in” managers and client-facing people. There is a […]

What do you need to do to take your success in your core market and become a winner in a new market? Stuffed with troubleshooting operational issues and keeping your best clients happy, many businesses overlook and omit to take advantage of opportunities for growth and expansion. James discusses those very “vulnerabilities” management teams face […]

Standing out from the crowd and creating a siren call to your brand and your offerings is hard to sustain in a high growth market. The inquisitive eyes of your international competitors are often able to move quickly to set up a physical or even a virtual business in a very brief time period. Local […]

In many high growth markets, traditional practice has been for brands to enter at a high price point and when the competition intensified to launch subsequent lower priced offerings to remain a significant player. For many businesses that approach isn’t open to them today. Drawing on the experiences of Zara, the Spanish clothing brand in […]

With the facts about retail customer behaviour rarely fully known before entering a new market, James discusses how some of his best clients have adapted their assumptions and sort to change the behavior of big spenders in Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Turkey and Mexico and elsewhere, to propel top line revenue growth.

James introduces us to the series and poses two questions: what can and should management do now to balance the conflicting demands on business being made by the need for short-term and long-term results? He examines the key influences on those decisions: customers, shareholders (especially institutional investors and pension funds), key employees and the communities […]