While out visiting agents in west Texas yesterday I stumbled upon this lovely scene in Lubbock. I don’t know what preconceived notions you may have about the home of Texas Tech, but I could easily imagine that many people wouldn’t picture this.

It just goes to show that if we keep our eyes open there are pleasant surprises – and good opportunities all around.

The same is true in business, though at iMGA we’ve found that it’s not only important to keep our eyes open (looking at things like what impacts retention and what products and coverages are selling best or worst), it’s even more important to keep our ears open.

Our independent agents give us great ideas every day. Some we aren’t able to implement, some we haven’t been able to implement yet, but many we have, and thanks to them we’re seeing growth in spite of the economy.

How about you? What opportunities have you seized lately? If it feels like there aren’t any, or that there aren’t enough, maybe you just need to look – or listen – more intently. You might be surprised by what you find. I was.