An Autumn Message from the CEO
November 23, 2020
NOVEMBER 23, 2020: A Special Message from CEO Lisa Bickus
At NCSF we combine the talents of our staff with the quality of our products to provide our members and agents with the service and protection they want and need.
To help drive continual improvement in both, we invest in technology to make our products and services easy to use. This is valuable because it increases efficiency for our staff to help provide members and agents we serve, the best and friendliest service we can give. That ultimately creates value for all our stakeholders. This has been part of our purpose for decades and we remain fully committed to it.
In our efforts to deliver on our purpose and mission, we’re guided by strong and meaningful values, including an unwavering commitment to integrity. We reinforce and build on our ability to deliver on our mission with continuous innovation and the periodic transformation of our business.
In fact, we are currently in the midst of transforming key parts of our business. We have been transforming our product portfolio to offer products that fit the needs of the marketplace today. We are transforming our core products and our service to bring more speed and efficiency to our members and agents.
Our newest transformation effort is occurring in our Operations area where we are moving to a new policy administration system shortly. In the near future, we are also planning to automate portions of our service so that our members and agents can have the information they
need at their fingertips.
Through multiple waves of marketplace change over the past 130 years, we have reacted and responded in ways that have strengthened our company and strengthened our position.
We’ve done it through periodic transformations, complemented by continuous innovation. This spirit of innovation will move us into the future. Our dedication to progress will drive growth and efficiency.
Throughout our history, innovation has often come in the form of new products to generate growth. Our valuable partnerships have also helped and enabled us to bring our vision to life.
There is always more to do, so our innovation will continue. We’ll continue to align key groups – sales, marketing, finance, customer care and operations into a Sales and Service culture focused on membership.
Successful innovation comes from within and is best encouraged through engagement with all stakeholders. Over the last year we have been advising you that NCSF is evolving, changing, and innovating. Over the next few months, we will reveal the changes and the innovations that will move us forward into the future to make us the right choice for millennials and all other generations to protect what is important to them.
We are headed for success – as technology evolves, we will evolve with it. Technology can empower people to do amazing things.
NCSF makes a difference. It inspires and drives our staff every day. It is an incredible honor to serve the Society. As we look forward, we must zero in on what NCSF can uniquely contribute to the world. The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past and do new things.
This starts with clarity of purpose and sense of mission that will lead us to imagine great things and deliver them. We sometimes underestimate what we can do to make things happen. The best performance happens when you know that your efforts will improve other people’s lives. This is the purpose that drives each of us.
Through this time of change, we continue to hold high concepts that we live by each and every day.
- Be of service to our members and our communities
- Have clarity of values
- Create innovation, transparency, and communication
- Be quick and responsive
- Be honest, thoughtful, and decisive
- Hold high integrity and relationships
We continue to honor the commitment inherent in our mission – to secure your future and the future of your communities. Our business is based on protection and financial security, and as risk and uncertainty rise, we will continue to stand tall.
This is a time like no other in our lives. The COVID-19 Pandemic continues to produce uncertainty, stress, and trauma in our communities. By now, we have all been impacted by this virus, which has been devastating for so many. Despite the challenges we are all facing every day, this is also a time that is bringing out the best in many people. Let’s make sure that we are all being our “best selves”.