This is my third week in the new role as Regional Broker Director and it’s been all the usual things you would expect starting a new role; busy, a little bit daunting, but most of all exciting.

One of the hardest things is picking the right things to get involved in, or more importantly the things to leave alone!

The thing I keep coming back to as my guide is the importance of momentum, I am a strong believer that the right momentum creates energy and luck!    

In sport it’s obvious, Argentina have it (my bet for the World Cup), the English football team didn’t (admit it, we all saw it coming!), but we do in the Cricket with an ashes series on the way.

It happens at home too and although you try and fight it, the outcome is inevitable. For example, 6 months ago I found Jo, my wife, looking on Right Move…and guess what?! We are in a new house!

Sometimes it’s harder to spot at work as you tackle emails, phone calls and deal with the day to day challenges, but there are opportunities to stand back and spot things.

Last week was such an opportunity and perfect timing for me as I was lucky enough to spend some time with a large number of brokers at our annual Key Partner Conference.

It’s obvious we have come a long way since this time last year. Our teams across the country are doing a great job trading locally, momentum is with us, so my job is to help keep up the pace, no radical changes just listening to teams and brokers to understand where a tweak can help!

There may be times when we need to kick start or inject new energy into a particular area so I will be looking at this over the coming weeks and months. As I get to meet more and more of you, I am eager to hear your thoughts.

Oh by the way, something started at the conference that will need no help in building sustained momentum, a new nickname for Phil Bayles – ask me when I see you!!!!    

Gareth Hemming

“Would you guest on Janice’s blog? It’s an opportunity.”

Hmmm. I tend toward Ambrose Bierce’s view; Opportunity defined as ‘an occasion for grasping a disappointment’.

I’m an Underwriter……..well I’m heading Aviva’s new Corporate Risks team…….. but I’m an Underwriter (even the Insurance press said so)…typical of the breed…glass half empty (far too frequently of late!) Why would any one be interested? Can you blag a blog?

But then – on reflection, the interest in Aviva’s latest initiative has been incredible: internally and externally.

Again, typical Underwriter: paranoia to the fore – unsure of a public launch; didn’t want the noise; nervous of perceptions: conscious of legacy. Lets prove ourselves, get ourselves established. Want to listen to our partners and clients, not make announcements. It wasn’t as if there was a lack of opinion in the market (always impressed with certain individual’s belief in their own divinity, untroubled that their pronouncements have all the accuracy of a long range weather forecast).

And actually it’s been fantastic:

- the support, counsel, reception from brokers…brilliant: a real spirit of generosity.

- the commitment from all the team across Aviva to get the business up and running.

- building the team, a core of Aviva’s best with a blend of the best in the market.

- interest from around the business – our internal tele-conference briefing on the launch was one of the best attended with hundreds phoning in.

- winning our place on one of our key partners panels for corporate business at the same time as we were establishing the unit.

- attendance at two of our brokers conferences and the warmth of response.

- success of the two launch events superbly put together by our Marketing and Events team.

- achieving our January plan and from a personal perspective one of the most exciting developments in my 30 year career.

Still lots to do and best that I leave as I started with a thought from my life coach Mr Bierce:

‘Future – that period of time in which our affairs prosper, our friends are true and our happiness assured.’

Paul Sullivan (Head of Corporate Risk Solutions)

(nb. both quotes by Ambrose Bierce from the Devil’s Dictionary 1911)

John – We started, we started, sorry I started this blog with a little group of friends about a year ago and to start off the New Year 2010 we thought we’d do a little video blog as a one off, see how it goes and if its popular I think we’ll run it again, but this is the first sort of video blog we have done and we hope you like it.

What were your highlights of 2009?

Janice – One was being asked to dress as a mermaid, one of John’s wonderful ideas, which was Janice should dress as a mermaid for the key partner conference.

John interrupts – sorry Janice we are doing highlights

*Janice laughs and slaps John’s hand*

*Clip of Janice as a mermaid*

Janice – so yeah, one of them was being asked to be a mermaid.

John interrupts – that was – it was very funny

Janice – the highlight…Key Partner Conference and 110 Conference were great highlights for me, I just think they, in the toughest of years with our brokers they highlighted the strengths of the relationships are still there and that those relationships are still working for us and that we have come through some really tough times together and those relationships are stronger than ever.

John – Highlight has to be the re-brand obviously we re-branded and if anybody, if anybody watching this blog doesn’t know…we’re Aviva and we changed our name from Norwich Union, well shame on you really! Shame on the audience, if you’re watching audience, shame on you!  And actually I think, you can sense that the whole of the UK population knows we’re Aviva and Norwich Union is packed into the history of insurance companies.

What was the funniest moment of 2009?

Janice – Mine was the ‘Gingergate episode’ at the 110 conference that was my funniest moment of all the things and all the videos.

John – I do remember that actually…gingergate!

Janice – and that actually…(laughs) Gingergate!

*Clip of Gingergate episode from 110 Conference*

What are your biggest hopes for 2010?

John – My biggest hope for 2010 is that Aviva recovers from my departure

*Janice laughs*

John – and can carry on being the thrusting successful organisation that it has become in the last year since it was re-branded. That’s definitely my hope for 2010.

Janice – My biggest hope for 2010 is that the optimism I feel now, the first week in January, sort of comes to fruition, not just for Aviva but actually for generally in the world outside and the economy and that we start to see some real traction and improvement, because that effects lots of peoples lives and I love this time of year its actually a time of optimism, part of the year where you can be optimistic around the rest of the year so that’s what I’m hoping for and obviously that we recover from Johns departure.

*Janice laughs*

John – because yours was a really serious hope wasn’t it – really quite deep and profound about optimism and world recovery! Mine was a little glib comment about…

Janice interrupts – that’s because I’m staying and you’re going!

John – true true true true.

What can brokers expect from Aviva in 2010?

Janice – it won’t be quite so colourful with John not around but I think pretty much brokers can expect that the most important thing is our relationship and that will just continue, there’s no doubt that 2009 was a tough year, 2010 might be tough as well, but we are in it together and that’s what they will see in 2010. I don’t see that changing I see, more of you know, the same working together to get through the tough times and hopefully that’s what they’ll say they have seen this year.

Janice, what will you miss the most and least about John?

Janice – What I’ll miss most is that fact that he makes me laugh so much when bad days are bad can always have 5 minutes therapy and always make me laugh.

John interrupts – and you have had lots of bad days!

Janice – what I’ll miss least. What will I miss least?

John Interrupts – there isn’t anything can we cut this out!? There won’t be anything to say!

*Janice laughs*

John – I do annoy her when I chase her up on stuff – she hates being chased up..so whoevers..Yeah..She hates being chased up on stuff..”so how you doing with that”?  ”ill tell you when I tell you!!!”..

Janice – mmm I do yeah..its email traffic generation aswell – you generate a lot of traffic…laughs….thanks I don’t sound like that!?

John – no no – a bit deeper!

*Janice Laughs*

John, What will you miss the most about Janice?

John – About Janice? …..*Long pause*

3 hours later

*longer pause…Janice laughs*

John – I think I’ll definitely miss the friendship actually because whilst we work together, I don’t think, we don’t work together as, I tend to be like that anyway but I can be like that more with Janice than anybody else, we tend not to work, although she’s effectively in my team or whatever or as I was the Sales and Marketing… its not like that – it is just as the blog says – its Janice and John

…and what will you miss about the broker world?

John – I’ll miss the gossip and in the insurance world in the broker world I love (as I was new to it in 2006) love the little bits of gossip and you get Insurance Times ringing me up or Post Mag ringing me up for some off the record gossip or I ring them and give them off the record gossip or the press office and individual brokers ring me up and say “have you heard about this?. What about that? What do you think?” I like that stuff…

Janice interrupts – yeah probably more in the broker world than any other world.

John – I do like to. Oh its fantastic in the broker world – its all about personality and individuals so there is always some little tittle tattle thing going on (Janice laughs and agrees) either at me or Janice or Igal or David or Towergate or small broker, big broker or all those things – I’ll miss that..I’ll miss that definitely.

Any New Year’s resolutions?

Janice – No I never make new years resolutions

John interrupts– really don’t you? Why not, need to give you some!

Janice – No never I just find them so repetitive…

John – Hello..I mean look at your appraisal – you have loads of things to be doing!

*Janice laughs*

John – I would always make one or two and they I would always..if I make one I do it otherwise what’s the point? And my central resolution this year is simply make the most of the opportunity in front of me because, I’ve never not worked and I’m not going to work I’m going to write and fish and ‘stuff’ yeah..so just make the most of it – don’t sit in front of the telly watching the Jeremy Kyle show because that is such a waste of a life and I’ll be really angry with myself if that’s what I do…

Anything else you would like to add?

John – yes I think that this is the last time that I’m going to be doing a blog anymore, I wont be doing the next video blog and I think it’s the apt time to handover the legacy…laughs..the apt time to say the baton has changed from me to Janice

*John hands Janice a notebook…*

Janice – Thank you *laughs*

John – There’s nothing in it!

Janice – I know! I’m used to that

John – There’s no wise words of wisdom

Janice – I wasn’t expecting any!

John – It just says in there its bloody hard work! So good luck

Janice – Thanks – So that’s it for now – this is the last time that John and I will be doing the first and last video blog together and if you have got any questions/comments – you liked it/hated it – then you know drop us a line or give us a call.

John – I liked it actually, I liked it..

Janice – you liked what?

John – I liked it, thought it was very good

Janice – right. *laughs*

John – that’s my comment! *laughs*

Janice – thanks…forever he has to get the last word!

John – Cheerio…bye bye *laughs*

Janice – Bye *laughs*