Playing “The Great Game” Inside Your Insurance Agency
Lessons from The Great Game of Business for Agencies Using an Insurance Agency Management System
I recently read The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how perfectly its ideas apply to independent insurance agencies.
Stack built a struggling manufacturing company into a powerhouse by doing something radical: he treated the business like a game that everyone on the team could understand, influence, and win together.
If you run an independent agency—or a title insurance agency—this concept should light up your brain like a dashboard full of green lights.
Because most agencies aren’t losing due to lack of opportunity…
They’re losing because the team doesn’t see the score.
And as Peter Drucker famously said:
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
Stack would add: great leadership also means showing everyone how to keep score.
Let’s talk about how to apply this “great game” mindset using modern tools like a cloud-based insurance agency management system, like Jenesis, and insurance agency CRM—especially if your goal is to grow your insurance agency with software rather than sheer hustle.
Why Most Agencies Feel Stuck (Even When They’re Busy)
Many independent insurance agencies look successful from the outside:
- Phones ringing
- Policies being written
- Renewals coming in
- Staff working hard
- Revenue slowly rising
But inside?
Confusion.
Agents don’t know what really drives profit.
Service teams don’t see how their work impacts growth.
Producers chase activity instead of results.
It’s like running a football team where nobody knows the score, the clock, or the rules.
In The Perfect Insurance Agency, I talked about building systems that create consistency and confidence. Stack’s book takes that idea further: transparency fuels ownership.
When people understand how the business actually works, they start acting like owners.
Principle #1: Open the Books (Yes, Really)
Stack’s company practiced “open-book management,” meaning employees understood the financials.
Now, before you panic…
You don’t have to hand out tax returns at the morning meeting.
But your team should understand:
- What revenue drivers matter most
- What expenses hurt profitability
- Why retention matters more than new sales alone
- How productivity impacts margins
- What winning looks like numerically
Your insurance agency management system can make this surprisingly easy.
Modern AMS platforms like JenesisNow (our hosted insurance software) provide reporting dashboards that translate chaos into clarity.
Instead of vague conversations like “We need to grow,” you can say:
“We need 40 new policies this month to hit our target.”
That changes everything.
It reminds me of flying an airplane. As a pilot, you don’t just “head generally north.” You rely on instruments. Altitude, airspeed, fuel, heading—all visible, all measurable.
Your agency needs instruments too.
Principle #2: Everyone Needs a Line of Sight to the Goal
Stack emphasized that every employee should understand how their job affects the outcome.
In agencies, disconnect happens constantly.
Service agents think sales drive everything.
Producers think service just “handles paperwork.”
Leadership feels alone carrying the vision.
But the reality?
Retention, cross-selling, speed of service, documentation accuracy, and customer experience all directly impact profitability.
Your insurance agency CRM and AMS together can show this connection.
For example:
- Faster response times improve retention
- Better notes reduce E&O risk
- Renewal reviews increase coverage per client
- Automated follow-ups create cross-sell opportunities
- Accurate workflows improve efficiency
When agents see these cause-and-effect relationships, work stops feeling like busywork and starts feeling meaningful.
It’s a bit like the movie Moneyball. Once the team understood which statistics actually predicted wins, they stopped focusing on flashy metrics and started focusing on the ones that mattered.
Principle #3: Keep Score Daily, Not Annually
Most agencies evaluate performance far too slowly.
Annual reviews.
Quarterly financials.
Occasional production reports.
But Stack’s approach is real-time awareness.
Your insurance agency management system should make daily scorekeeping possible.
Imagine a morning huddle where your team can see:
- Policies written this week
- Quotes outstanding
- Renewals processed
- Customer satisfaction indicators
- Pipeline value
Suddenly, the agency feels alive.
Not stressed—energized.
Think of it like fitness tracking. When I’m lifting weights or trying to stay disciplined with routines, I don’t check progress once a year. I track reps, sets, sleep, nutrition, and performance continuously.
What gets measured gets improved.
Principle #4: Turn Goals Into a Game People Want to Win
Stack didn’t just share numbers—he gamified them.
That doesn’t mean childish contests or cheesy incentives.
It means creating clear targets, visible progress, and shared victories.
Independent agencies can do this in powerful ways:
- Team retention goals
- Cross-sell challenges
- Speed-to-lead competitions
- Referral tracking
- Workflow completion metrics
Your paperless insurance agency tools make this far easier than in the file-cabinet era.
When dashboards are visible and progress is tangible, motivation becomes intrinsic.
People don’t just work for a paycheck—they work to win.
Cue a little ’80s soundtrack in your head:
“You’re the best… around… nothing’s ever gonna keep you down.”
Yes, I’m absolutely picturing a Karate Kid training montage.
Principle #5: Train People to Think Like Owners
One of the most powerful ideas in the book is that employees can learn business thinking if you teach it.
Most agencies accidentally do the opposite.
They shield the team from strategy.
They make decisions in private.
They expect execution without understanding.
But when agents grasp concepts like:
- Cost per policy
- Lifetime customer value
- Retention economics
- Productivity ratios
- Marketing ROI
Something shifts.
They stop asking, “What do I have to do today?”
They start asking, “What helps the agency win?”
This is where insurance software support and training matter tremendously. Technology alone doesn’t create growth—understanding does.
At Jenesis, we’ve seen agencies transform simply by learning how to use their cloud-based insurance agency management system strategically rather than transactionally.
How This Applies Specifically to Independent Agencies
Manufacturing companies produce products.
Independent agencies produce relationships, protection, and trust.
But the math still matters.
Your agency’s “game” revolves around:
- Policies written (or closings completed for title agencies)
- Retention rates
- Revenue per client
- Operating efficiency
- Lead conversion
When your AMS surfaces these metrics clearly, leadership becomes less about guessing and more about guiding.
And that reduces stress dramatically.
You don’t have to carry everything alone.
The Hidden Benefit: Culture Improves Automatically
Stack didn’t set out to build a “great culture.”
He built clarity.
Culture followed.
When people understand:
- Where the agency is going
- How success is measured
- Why their work matters
- What progress looks like
- That leadership trusts them with the truth
Morale improves.
Turnover drops.
Engagement rises.
Initiative appears.
It’s the business equivalent of turning on the lights in a dark room.
A Challenge for You
If you want to apply The Great Game of Business to your agency, start simple.
Pick ONE score to share with your team this week.
Not ten.
One.
For example:
- Policies written this month
- Retention percentage
- Quotes outstanding
- Average response time
- Referral count
Explain why it matters.
Then track it visibly.
You may be surprised how quickly behavior changes.
Final Thoughts: The Game Is Winnable
Independent insurance agencies face intense competition, rising costs, and constant change.
But the agencies that thrive aren’t necessarily the biggest or oldest.
They’re the ones where everyone knows the mission—and the score.
If you combine:
- Transparent leadership
- Clear goals
- Engaged team members
- A strong insurance agency CRM
- The best insurance agency management system to track performance
You create momentum that’s very hard to stop.
Reading Stack’s book reminded me that business success doesn’t require secret strategies or heroic effort.
Often, it simply requires clarity, trust, and shared purpose.
Or to borrow from another classic line:
“May the odds be ever in your favor.”
Better yet—don’t rely on odds.
Keep score.
Play smart.
Win together.
And if your current systems make it hard to see the scoreboard, it may be time to upgrade to a hosted insurance software platform designed to streamline insurance agency operations and improve insurance agency efficiency.
Because the great game of business isn’t about working harder.
It’s about making sure everyone is playing the same game—and knows how to win.