CN&CO making waves in the insurance industry

CN&CO has hit the ground running! Our first couple of weeks have seen us making big waves in the insurance industry, first at 42nd annual Insurance Conference at Sun City, and then at the CIB Broker Session in Johannesburg.

“Insurance Conference is always a great time for connecting,” says CN&CO’s Carel Nolte. “We’re fortunate to have many clients and friends in the industry, and it was good to see  everyone together in a relaxed environment – even though it was very busy!”

A special CN&CO conference shout-out to:

•    The Fulcrum Group and their clients, who included us in their posse for the conference
•    UMA’s Christelle Fourie, who looked sensational at the Tracker Winter Wonderland evening
•    King Price Insurance and their winning Cash Cube stand
•    COVER Excellence Award winners Rob Ansell, Simon Chikumbu and Ian Kirk
•    Lightstone, who were named best dressed team (and we know they’re more than just smart dressers!)
•    Our fearless leader, Carel Nolte, who was named Licentiate of the Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA)
•    Delphine Maidou, CEO of Allianz Global Corporate and Speciality Africa, who was named president of the IISA at the conference

Read Hanna Barry’s Moneyweb conference newsletter for more conference scoop.

Not long after returning from conference, Carel and his CN&CO colleagues Kurt Solomon and Gianluca Tucci gave a talk on people and brand at the CIB Broker Session in Joburg.

Carel’s big-picture take on the topics of marketing, HR, business and life is well known: Don’t take yourself seriously, but take what you do seriously.

“There’s  a myth that you need to appear serious to be taken seriously,” said Carel. “That’s not true. You can be yourself, have fun, and be successful. Those around you must just adapt. And if they can’t … well then that’s their problem.”

Carel used a Suzelle DIY video on adaptors to demonstrate this point.

“If something isn’t working, change it – and keep changing it until it’s right for YOUR purpose. In business this translates to adapting your brand until it feels 100% perfect. And since brands are created by people, it boils down to building the right team, the right relationships and the right networks. It really is as simple as that.”

Helping businesses to achieve success through simplicity is one of the founding principles of CN&CO.

“It’s not rocket science,” said Carel. “In fact, once you strip away the university language, even rocket science can be easy to understand.”

Read Carel’s six tips for building a winning brand.

Read Kurt’s take on how to “do” internal communications.

Check out Gianluca’s beginner’s guide to social media.

Follow @carelnolte @iisa_ins @fulcrumeer @christellefouri @kingpriceins @lightstonetweet @coverchat @covertony @DMaidou @suzelleDIY @kurtsol89 @giangitucci @hanna_barry @moneyweb