How does technology fit into your work strategy?

I’m a complete technophile. My day starts and ends with my iPhone, and my entire life is coordinated on Google Calendar. I listen to audio books or business podcasts during my commute. My website also plays a primary role in my digital strategy.

Who do you look toward as a mentor in this industry?

I studied several leaders in the company and the industry found that they shared a dedication to continuously growing themselves and great people skills. I have been working on mirroring that in my own career.

What legislative issues are you interested in?

The National Flood Insurance Program and whether it will continue to be funded.

What are your main priorities as a young agent (work/life balance, charity support, legislative issues, etc.?)

My main priorities are professional growth, education, and keeping a strong personal brand. Helping the industry recruit and retain the best young talent is also one of my passions.

How do you balance work and personal life?

As a single professional with no kids I’m embracing work/life imbalance for now. I love the work I’m doing, and I’ll continue to put in lots of hours as long as it continues to make me happy.

How does your office reflect how you work?

I struggle to keep my desk organized. It really reflects the fact that I’m juggling several projects at once and that as a technophile I tend to accumulate papers and never look at them again. This is something I’m constantly working to improve.

What is an important lesson you learned when joining a professional working environment?

I learned that it’s not just about getting the work done; you also have to make sure the right people know what you’ve done and how well you’ve done it. I also learned that regardless of how smart you are networking is incredibly important, at the end of the game, you can’t get everything done if you don’t have the team in place to help you and support you along the way. Nobody can do it all by themselves.

What do you see Gen Y/Millennials struggle with in a professional environment? What advice do you have?

Realize that even if you’re part of the most educated generation ever you still have a lot to learn and much of it can only be learned from experience. Be humble and appreciative of those who came before you and are willing to share what they’ve learned. Realize that your personal brand matters and manage it from the beginning. Finally, become a lifelong learner and an expert in your field. In insurance, we are very lucky because the educational possibilities to continue your training are almost endless. Don’t just knock off your CE hours with the easiest class you can find, instead really focus on getting a quality technical education. Each CPCU test gives you 25 hours of CE!

Where do you hope to take your career? What direction would you like your career to go?

I’m very open to different opportunities, but the goal is to get a very broad general management experience to best prepare me to run an insurance company.

Have you ever experienced any "generation gap" issues with your carriers in terms of personal interaction or the products they offer?

It has been very surprising to find how outdated the computer systems in every company I’ve worked for are behind what I have available in my personal life. Every insurance company needs to get its system to a place where interacting with the younger agents feels natural and intuitive to them; otherwise they’re likely to take their business elsewhere.

Many young agents enter this industry because other family members work in insurance. What advice do you have when working with family?

I’ve never had to deal with working with family since mine is back in Costa Rica. I’d recommend they treat it like a normal job, from 8 to 5 it’s not “Dad” it’s the boss, treat him as such.

What do you see young agents struggle with in their first years in this industry? What advice do you have?

I think the worst problem my generation has is short-term thinking. We are used to immediate rewards and that is very hard to get in the working world. They need to learn that their career is a marathon not a sprint and start investing early into making their career a long and successful one.

What sales strategies worked for you this past year?

Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. Make sure you illustrate the benefits of the product in a way they can relate with and in simple terms. Tapping into your network for potential clients is very powerful as long as you keep in mind that you’re trying to solve their problems, not just to make a sale. Don’t think about what commission you’ll get from this sale but rather about how thankful they’ll be. Do the right thing and the money will follow.

What was the biggest challenge you faced as a young agent, and how did you handle it?

Figuring out that this is a relationship based business, and it’s not about being the smartest person in the room, but rather about knowing how to create those connections and make the most out of them. Once I figured that out I started asking myself “What can I do for this person or company?” and my career just took off.

What do you see as your biggest strength in this industry?

My passion to understand it and improve it.

Similarly, what is your biggest weakness? How have you addressed that weakness?

I have struggled with coming across as arrogant or cocky, after receiving feedback on this I have worked hard to come across as knowledgeable and confident without crossing the line. I’m very thankful to have managers and mentors who truly cared and were willing to give me the tough, honest feedback to help me improve.

What are some of your career highlights?

Currently my most treasured career moments are: Being featured in the National CPCU Society’s The Edge publication and later in the CPCU Society of Iowa’s newsletter. Getting to shake hands and introduce Nationwide’s CEO during an event where he spoke to the company’s younger employees and getting selected for Nationwide’s Financial Leadership Rotation Program, an amazing accelerated development program meant to accelerate the development of the next wave of leaders in the company through cross functional rotational experiences.

How does social marketing make you a more productive employee?

Nationwide has an enterprise social network called Yammer. I have been very involved in helping it grow by recruiting people to join it, being helpful and coming up with new and innovative ways to create value on it. I post a daily motivational quote every morning and I run a Gen Y Career advice column that has been very successful. I’m also constantly recruiting other Nationwiders into the CPCU program through the site and have made a name for myself as the go-to person for those interested in the program. Finally I’m currently working on launching “Walls of Nationwide”, a crowd-sourced initiative to celebrate the beautiful architecture of our many buildings around the country, and “Ted Talks Talk” a group to discuss interesting Ted Talks. I know my social networking has worked when I introduce myself to someone and they say “You’re Tony from Yammer!”

Antonio Canas was featured in the May 2013 issue of AA&B. He is an associate for Nationwide.