Last Fall, I had an opportunity to attend a self insurance conference where I heard a keynote address by Joe Plumeri, Chairman and CEO of Willis Holdings, one of the world’s largest insurance brokerages. I found his story very inspiring and was fascinated to learn how he capped off his lease negotiations with a request to change the name of the tallest building in the western hemisphere to “Willis Tower” from Sears Tower. When asked to divulge the secret that enabled him to rename the landmark, Plumeri says simply, “There was no magic. I just asked.”

Rebranding A Tower
I think Joe Plumeri’s story struck a chord with me for a couple of reasons. First, renaming the Sears Tower is not unlike rebranding a business. As Plumeri observes, a new name or tagline can help make a new start. A new start reminds people that no matter how entrenched the old ways may be – anything is possible. Second, my Dad always told me it never hurts to ask. Plumeri came into the City of Chicago believing that despite a bad economy following the tragedy of September 11th and a need to make a powerful statement following their huge merger, Willis could find a new home for all their people in that tower and rename it for their new operation. Not unlike what we do when we help a client rebrand their business, Joe believed anything was possible. He developed a vision, asked stakeholders to share in it and he took action.

Playing in Traffic
This spring, Joe Plumeri gave the commencement address at his alma mater, the College of William and Mary. My college days may be well behind me, but when I read his remarks, I wanted to stand up and cheer. Plumeri is an insurance guy “on fire.”

Joe challenged the class of 2011 to always keep 4 big ideas in mind – vision, passion, integrity and courage – the courage to always remember that anything is possible. He told the graduates to get out there and mix it up, make things happen, which he described as “playing in traffic.” When our team created our new “Ready. Set. Go!” branding, we thought it described much of what we do for our clients. We conduct the brand research and fact-finding needed to get them ready. We develop a vision and creative strategies to set them on a new, fresh path and we help them go, moving them forward by integrating digital and traditional communications.

Little did I know that Plumeri would close his commencement address by telling the graduates to have a vision, to have passion, to have integrity and to believe that anything is possible. He said, “in life, there are Ready-Set people and there are Ready-Set-Go people. While Ready-Set people spend their lives preparing, analyzing and talking, but never jump, the Ready-Set-Go people make things happen.” I knew I loved that guy!