The Icarus Deception and Insurance Compliance

I’ve been reading Seth Godin’s book, The Icarus Deception. Before I started I read some of the reviews on  Goodreads and saw mentions of being in Godin’s tribe:  One had to be a member of the tribe to appreciate the book. That concerned me because this is the first of his books that I have read. That makes it hard to believe I could be one of the tribe.  

But I’ve been reading it - that sounds like its long and tedious, that is not the case at all. In fact it is very easy reading and there is lots of white space on every page. However, I find I enjoy reading small bits at a time.

That said, it seems Mr. Godin’s thinks ‘compliance’ is the opposite of art. And art is what he recommends for those of us who are brave enough.  He writes about the economy of connection and how approaching work as art helps make connections, whereas an approach based on compliance is old-economy and leads to stagnation and dissatisfaction.

My company’s name has the word compliance in the title.  I don’t want to think of it as old economy!  That makes it hard not to have a gut reaction to his terminology. But in reality I see much of what we do at Currin Compliance as the type of art he promotes.

I think it is most clear in the advertising review area. There one of the things we look for is whether a particular product or group or type of product is touted as right for everyone.  By taking those claims out of any given piece  we are encouraging the kinds of real connections that Godin’s book says is the new economy.

Godin also talks about changing safety zones and those safety zones moving away from our personal comfort zones.  That has happened to many of our producer and FMO clients. That is why they seek us out. They know the safety zone has moved and they want our help at bringing their comfort zone back in alignment with the safety zone.  Compliance is the way to do that.  

In both of these examples, compliance is the art that makes success possible. Godin says art is frightening and that is often true about compliance if it means doing things differently. Our compliance  is not the example of old economy thinking that Godin’s book suggests.

But then I don’t think Godin is talking about compliance in the way I use the word. I think he uses it to represent going along with all the rules mindlessly, without thinking. He uses the word to describe an approach to life and career that avoids critical thinking.  In that context I agree with his conclusions.

But that is not how we view compliance. To us, compliance is art and we view it as vibrant, constantly-evolving and all about making the connections.  

On the back cover of the book, the last excerpt is “Art isn’t a result: it’s a journey.  The challenge of our time is to find a journey worthy of your heart and soul.”  I have found mine. I think my brand of compliance is such a journey. I may be a member of the tribe after all!