<p class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152p1"><span class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152s1">Insurance is a fairly modern concept, credited in its current form to Ben Franklin, who established the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire in 1752. Centuries prior, merchants were forced to diversify and send loads through multiple routes, assuring that if one ship sank or cargo seized, others may reach their destination. In the 14th Century, pools or estates would wager on shipments by backing them against loss.</span></p>
<p class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152p1"><span class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152s1">Today, in the wake of floods and hurricanes, those without coverage become part of a hard-luck story. A colleague told me of a friend who had purchased a home in Houston immediately before Harvey struck, noting that he had not opted yet for flood insurance. It was a thousand dollar gamble that cost him everything.</span></p>
<p class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152p1"><span class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152s1">While we wisely protect our investments, home, and livelihood with insurance, this same security can make the workplace stale. Not every unforeseen harm is negative, and we stifle growth if too much effort is placed in attempts to protect ourselves from disaster. Caution keeps to the familiar, and no one has claimed that the world was changed through familiarity.</span></p>
<p class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152p1"><span class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152s1">Ed Catmull writes in <a href="http://www.creativityincbook.com">Creativity, Inc.</a> that we tend to attach value to random patterns we can see simply because we are unable to evaluate what we cannot. We are likely to recognize near misses or actual catastrophes but fail to see how a similar series of happenstances may have otherwise facilitated success. We sweat the close calls without understanding that they could easily be life changing positives. Random acts are in play constantly, yet these same destructive forces own creative possibilities. Lay the groundwork of safety under a blanket of insurance and your business will neither fail nor succeed as you forge a known path.</span></p>
<p class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152p1"><span class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152s1">This brings to mind the Biblical story of the Pharisees, a religious group who held power at the time of Jesus. So focused on rules while they awaited the Messiah, they could not recognize what God had placed directly in front of them. To the Pharisees, Jesus was too radical, dismissing Him as "a voice crying in the wilderness." Rules were safer, so they created 613 extraneous laws (365 negative commands and 248 positives), building such a berth around the Ten Commandments to further shield their people from mistakes. A noble pursuit, perhaps, but their stubbornness and fear were crippling and short-sighted.</span></p>

<h4 class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152p1"><span class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152s1">Questions on Insurance:</span></h4>
<p class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152p1"><span class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152s1">What are you insuring against? Is it a failure - or worse, the label of failure? Catmull writes, "Management's job is not to prevent risk but to build the ability to recover." Accepting losses and missteps as inevitable opens time for managers to plan restoration and even unexpected improvements. When I used to practice jiu-jitsu I regularly picked the strongest grapplers to roll with. Every night I both lost and learned.</span></p>
<p class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152p1"><span class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152s1">Are you insuring against small mistakes or calamities? Roger Boisjoly was a booster rocket engineer at NASA contractor Morton Thiokol in Utah in January 1986 prior to the launch of the space shuttle Challenger. With many millions of contract dollars and the need to perform, NASA ignored Boisjoly and a handful of other engineers who begged for a re-examination of the booster's O-rings. One NASA program manager questioned Boisjoly, <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/02/06/146490064/remembering-roger-boisjoly-he-tried-to-stop-shuttle-challenger-launch">"When do you want me to launch - next April?"</a>  Accepting momentary disgrace would have saved the lives of seven astronauts and the trauma to a nation that watched. But our space administration feared to look bad in the immediate.</span></p>
<p class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152p1"><span class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152s1">Is there a selfish purpose behind the insurance? The Pharisees built walls of rules not merely for purity's sake, it was also a construct to maintain dominion. A new prophet threatened their tight grip on Jewish society by simplifying God's regulations to "Love the Lord...and love your neighbor." This devastating new command put free thinking into the hearts and minds of the people and cut out middle management so that employees could relate directly to the Executive Branch. Take care that your insurance has a purpose other than to only preserve control.<span class="m_-5946193260555314169m_-6665156582342657152Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>
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<em>Elliot Anderson is the pseudonym of a midwestern father and writer who wishes work were not such a painful place for people. He believes if leaders would invoke simple courtesies, they could help employees thrive. As a team player, he brings joy to his workplace by cracking jokes and sharing food. He’s worked in both nonprofit and government organizations. He studied religion, journalism, and intercultural studies. Though you won’t find Elliot on social channels, he will respond to comments on his articles here.</em>

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