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Leading with Care, Trust and Humility with Devin Fuhrman
44 Plays7 days ago
Leadership is not about doing it alone. It is about showing up, building trust, solving the right problems and using your influence to help others succeed.
Devin Fuhrman, Chief Agriculture and Sponsor Relations Officer at Nationwide, joins The Cultivating Leaders Podcast for an honest conversation about servant leadership, building meaningful partnerships and investing in the future of agriculture. With more than 25 years of experience in agriculture, insurance and industry relations, Devin shares how his farm roots, youth experiences and career at Nationwide have shaped the way he leads.
Devin gets real about:
- Strong Partnerships: building on shared values, trust and mutual benefit
- Servant Leadership: shaping your career and strengthening your community
- Balancing High Performance: humility, collaboration and a “healthy dependence on others” matter more than ever
This episode is a reminder that agriculture’s strength has always come from people working together and the future will require leaders who are willing to do the same.
Want to hear more from Devin? Check out his blog here!
Connect with Devin
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About The Cultivating Leaders Series
The Cultivating Leaders Series is the go-to resource for anyone ready to take their leadership to the next level, delivering powerful insights from top voices in food, agriculture and beyond. The podcast offers immediate, actionable advice from the top leaders in food and ag, with guests who break down the skills that set them apart in the real world. Join the live webinars to bring leadership to life, with candid conversations, live Q&A and behind-the-scenes stories from C-suite executives. Together, these virtual experiences are designed to meet you where you are and help you lead with purpose, confidence and clarity.
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Transcript
Building Meaningful Connections
00:00:02
Speaker
first looking at who should we connect with and why should we connect with them and how do those things actually match up. the the day, what you have to lean back on, how can we do things that are right so that we can sustain this, find who you want to connect with and why, and be relevant, and then come together and solve problems together over and over, you create this environment of trust.
00:00:29
Speaker
I think there's some headwinds right now around agriculture, but the more that we can collaborate and find solutions together to offset those risks, the better off we're going to be.
Introduction to the Podcast and Guest
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome to the Cultivating Leaders Podcast. I'm your host and Curiosity Captain, Nicole Urcig. If you are ready to lead better, think bigger, and grow faster, you're in the right place. We bring you real conversations with top leaders across food and agriculture, focused on the practical skills and mindsets you need to lead in today's environment.
00:01:05
Speaker
Today's guest is one of the agriculture industry's most intentional builders of the next generation. Devin Furman, Chief Agriculture and Sponsor Relations Officer at Nationwide, has spent his career championing the people who make agriculture thrive.
00:01:19
Speaker
With more than 20 years inside of one of America's largest and most trusted insurers, Devin has shaped partnerships that power programs like the AgTech Innovation Hub, youth development initiatives, and industry sponsorships that strengthen the backbone of rural communities.
00:01:34
Speaker
He is someone who embodies the idea that leadership isn't only about what you do today, but the legacy you help others build tomorrow.
Devin Furman's Role and Career in Agriculture
00:01:41
Speaker
If you're looking for ways to show up for others and invest in the next generation, this episode has the real-world mindset and tricks to shape you into a servant leader. Devin, welcome to the pod.
00:01:51
Speaker
Thank you for having me. Okay, so what did we miss from your bio? That was a very short, quick about what you do at Nationwide. Tell us about Devin. Well, um so yeah, I've been in this industry for 25 years now and this last assignment is is a unique one.
00:02:08
Speaker
in that I get to work alongside some of America's largest agricultural industry leaders including American Farm Bureau, National Council Farmer Cooperatives, other ag leadership organizations like the National Beef and Cattlemen Association, and a number of different organizations like that really get a unique lens and connection into those communities through their membership.
00:02:31
Speaker
and then find ways to partner with them to educate farmers and ranchers and agribusiness leaders on safety, on risk management, insurance and financial services products. But it also connects us to ways that we can work collectively or together rather than we could on our own as we think about the future of agriculture.
00:02:56
Speaker
which gets into working with organizations like FFA, 4-H, AFA, MANRS, just to name a few, and then working both at a national level and at the state local level.
00:03:09
Speaker
So I get connected across all the different areas of agriculture and get a dabble a little bit in Washington, D.C. on some policy initiatives and in working on things with those organizations around farm bill and trade. and So it's a really unique position.
Nationwide's Agricultural Roots and Growth
00:03:25
Speaker
And it's all grounded in the fact that Nationwide is a an organization that was actually founded by farmers in 1926. Did not know that. That's a fun fact. A lot of people don't know. In fact, just last week on the 14th of April, we turned 100 years old and we were started by the Ohio Farm Bureau.
00:03:48
Speaker
When automobiles were first coming online and and showing up and in on farms, and farmers were saying, you know, we don't really want to pay the same rates that somebody that's driving the city might be paying.
00:04:00
Speaker
So with a $10,000 loan from the Ohio Farm Bureau, they started at the Ohio Farm Bureau Automobile Insurance Association, which then grew and grew and grew. And then in 1955, they changed the name to Nationwide because they had had really outgrown Ohio.
00:04:16
Speaker
And eventually now we're doing doing business all over the country and still very much grounded in our agricultural roots. And as a mutual, we maintain our kind of cooperative spirit and that heritage as we think about how we're going to serve the community that founded us.
00:04:33
Speaker
That's amazing. I have seen nationwide around the industry and I live in Ohio. So I've seen like nationwide supports Ohio FA and things like that. I had no idea how how it started.
00:04:45
Speaker
and it is fascinating to me that even as Nationwide has grown into this large brand, I mean, I think everyone knows that Nationwide is on your side, Jingle, like people have seen the commercials. It's incredible to me that that even with that growth, it's maintained the the roots in agriculture and coming back and giving back to the industry where I started.
00:05:05
Speaker
Yeah, since our founding, our chairman of the board has always been in agriculture, and most most of them have been farmers. In fact, all the ones I can think of are farmers, and we still have eight of our 14 board members are farmers, which, of course, grounds us back into that as well. you know i grew I grew up around agriculture. My mom and dad just retired from farming, and I was a part of FFA, and I've been around agriculture pretty much my my whole
Devin's Personal Journey and Mentorship
00:05:30
Speaker
life. In fact, my first job out of college, I was an agronomist in a local farmer's cooperative, and so I've always been around it.
00:05:37
Speaker
And then finding my way into insurance and doing all the different roles that I did. Coming into this specific role where I get to lean in on what I know or don't know about and tying it to something I'm very passionate about that ties back to my own personal roots, um it's it's been a very, very rewarding experience.
00:05:59
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So tell me a little bit about how you get to that today. and And this is a podcast all about leadership. So tell us a little bit about what your leadership journey has has been like. Yeah, so like I mentioned, I grew up here in central Iowa.
00:06:15
Speaker
I've always been involved in sports. I've had some great coaches that kind of leave those marks on on your own journey and things that you learn from. and and then as I kind of progressed, I had some great personal mentors who have helped me make decisions on what next step to take or where I need to be educated on my development.
00:06:34
Speaker
And so really... Most of my time has been in sales or I'll call it like industry affairs or community and relationship-driven type of roles.
00:06:45
Speaker
And so I've always been personally looking for people who can help me understand how to be the very best at that. But then secondarily, in this role now for 10 years, and and I'm connected to things like FFA and 4-H and MANRS and AFA, and looking at saying, how do we actually help build for the next generation of leaders in agriculture specifically and you know hopefully maybe tell them a few stories about how great Nationwide is and they want to come work for us someday.
00:07:14
Speaker
um But more so it's about trying to build our industry so it's sustainable. That has a lot of practical applications to our communities and to our, I'll call it to our nation.
00:07:27
Speaker
I'm a firm believer that food security is national security, so we need that next generation to come up and do a good job.
Fostering Future Agriculture Leaders
00:07:34
Speaker
But also for our own business. We we want to continue to be the premier protector of farm and ranch and agribusiness across the country. And so what we need is a healthy business environment to do that.
00:07:46
Speaker
So if I can tell that story and get people interested in looking at internships or helping them focus their own skills and talents in a way that, that, uh, interest them in doing things that I've had a chance to do, well, then that's the story I like to tell.
00:08:01
Speaker
So if you're asking, like, if I could sum up my leadership journey in a few words, it would be, I've learned a lot from some great people, and I want to pass it along the best I can and kind of a later part of my career. here Yeah, absolutely. In the position you get to work in today, you get to engage with young people, but also you get to engage with leaders across the industry too. It provides a unique perspective, I think. What have you noticed or do you think we really need in this next generation of agriculture leaders for our industry? Yeah.
00:08:35
Speaker
Well, I think about, and I'll use myself and then some examples of folks I've worked with, but i've I've got two daughters now that are 23 and 21, and so they're kind of on their own. But when I was younger, I was very busy with them, and so it was hard for me to kind of step outside of my day-to-day role and participate in things.
00:08:55
Speaker
and I see young people across the country that are wanting to get involved in Farm Bureau or be a part of the cooperative leadership on a board or participate in mentoring with FFA students and leaders.
00:09:10
Speaker
leaders I just want to encourage people to continue to step out even though they might feel like they they're busy and volunteer for committees and get involved in some of these organizations that where two things happen.
00:09:27
Speaker
One, you get to do something collectively with a group who cares about similar issues or has your shared values. and you create a community around you that you can help move forward, but it also creates a network of people that you can count on um when you need help.
00:09:46
Speaker
And so I think there's a real need for people to understand you're not in this alone if you are willing to step out and participate in some of these other areas.
00:09:57
Speaker
um I had to find a way to do that
Community and Policy through Farm Bureau
00:10:00
Speaker
myself. And then now as I work, I'll give you an example specifically around Farm Bureau. So Farm Bureau is a grassroots organization, which means every county has board.
00:10:09
Speaker
And then that board works to serve their community, their members, and build policy that ultimately goes up to the state level. And they have opportunities from going from a county leadership to a state leadership position.
00:10:22
Speaker
And then really influencing at that state level around the type of public policy that will be good for agriculture and agribusiness and for their own communities in which they live in and serve.
00:10:33
Speaker
And then it goes to the next level with the federal federal level and really have an impact on big issues around labor, trade, the Farm Bill and and the type of programs that farmers need and environmental issues and being connected at the national level.
00:10:53
Speaker
But the first thing you have to do is make a decision that you're willing to commit that time, that energy, and a little bit of yourself from a know your time perspective.
00:11:03
Speaker
your talent, your treasure, as as you hear often, and really committing to it and sticking with it, even though it might be hard. and My grandpa always told me sometimes the hardest things in life are worth doing.
00:11:15
Speaker
And that is a good example of it is hard, but at the end of the day, I've never heard anybody say, boy, I was really sorry that i took this journey and got into leadership with an organization named the organization. I rarely hear people say, i really wish I wouldn't have done that.
00:11:31
Speaker
So, but you have to take that step and encouraging, you know, I'll say people who have maybe have young families or they're exploring their own career right now and figuring out what they can do, encouraging them to continue to push themselves outside of that framework and to do more than what they thought they previously could do.
00:11:52
Speaker
Yeah. I appreciate you sharing that, Devin, because I think it's so easy, especially when you're in a season of like Young children or even mid-career where like you're just so busy with so many things and it can feel like that volunteer, whether it's Farm Bureau or some other type of volunteer thing, can feel like how is this helping me move forward? And it can be really hard to prioritize among all of the things. So I really appreciate that advice because I think.
00:12:16
Speaker
I'll be honest, maybe even I needed to hear it. ah You know, some of some of the things that like it's easy to cut being on that board or, you know, being on that volunteer committee or or something like that. But how valuable valuable it can be to your own leadership journey, but also the industry.
00:12:32
Speaker
right. So Devin, your role is all about partnerships and and creating partnerships across the industry.
Building Beneficial Partnerships
00:12:38
Speaker
I'm curious from your perspective, tell me what makes a good partnership and how do you how do you go through that journey of of building what is what is a win-win partnership for Nationwide and and someone else that you're working with?
00:12:49
Speaker
Yeah, so we've worked really hard on, kind of I'll call it a repeatable process, but it makes a ton of sense. And I'm a pretty simple-minded linear thinker.
00:13:01
Speaker
And so i always think about process. And for me, it's it's first of all understanding what do you on whatever objectives you have or goals you have or end game or strategy you might have is finding ways to connect and first looking at who should we connect with and why should we connect with them and how do those things actually match up pretty well. And then creating really strong dialogue with them about, i used the term earlier about shared values. It could be shared objectives or it could be anything that might be aligned as you're thinking about what you're trying to accomplish together and having relevant conversations and identifying the ways that,
00:13:47
Speaker
The two organizations that you're trying to partner can actually align in a relevant way that not only shows up internally with your own organization, but also as you think about the audience, whether it's a membership group or customers or whatever it might be. Your community um could be you know trying to reach out collectively to youth pathway organizations or what have you.
00:14:09
Speaker
But being relevant in that space um and understanding why each organization is trying to partner is really important. They have to understand they've got something in common.
00:14:20
Speaker
That commonality links them together. And then when you find out, well, what problems are we trying to solve collectively, identifying those really clearly. And then figuring out, okay, what are those implications and who else do we need to bring to the table and partner even further or just from our own teams saying let's put these two pieces together and let's try a B, and C to see if we can move this forward.
00:14:46
Speaker
I believe that if you do that over and over again, kind of repeat that process, find who you want to connect with and why, and be relevant, and then come together and solve problems together over and over, you create this environment of trust.
00:15:01
Speaker
And once you're in that environment of trust, you can start to ask yourself and them to do about anything. And then ultimately thinking about, at the end of the day, what are we trying to accomplish?
00:15:12
Speaker
Mutually beneficial outcomes. Something that benefits us, something benefits you. And the example that i I used earlier was Farm Bureau. Another one that I could give you is um Golden Owl with FFA.
00:15:27
Speaker
So we partnered with the FFA because what do we want to do collectively? One, we connect with them because we're an ag organization. They're ag organization primarily. And they they want to develop the next generation leaders. So do we.
00:15:40
Speaker
And then we start having relevant conversations of where does this actually manifest the best? And it's with ag educators. and the FFA advisors. So we formulated a plan and worked it to create the Golden Owl Award.
00:15:56
Speaker
And now we're in 15 states where we take nominations from the community of their ag advisor or ag educator or ag advisor. And they nominate them. Then the state association takes the ball and runs with it and carves down to 10.
00:16:11
Speaker
And we recognize all 10 of those as top nominees. And then we select one Golden Owl award winner each year. And the community comes together to celebrate this individual, but it also celebrates all ag educators at the same time.
00:16:29
Speaker
I know that my ag educator, my FFA advisor, was very influential in my early years in high school. And this is just a great way for us to say, how do we encourage more people to do this? Because at the end of the day, our mutually beneficial outcome is that we're celebrating a community that cares about agriculture, cares about kids and youth pathways, and then helps us maybe find the next generation of ag educator He says, I saw my e educator get recognized.
00:16:58
Speaker
That's something I think I want do. And then go into that field. And so that's an example of how that process or that model comes to life. And we've got a bunch of those things that we do across the industry. Yeah, that's incredible. I love the story of of the Golden Owl Award. That's really neat.
00:17:18
Speaker
I'm curious as like nationwide, I'm sure you also get approached for lots of
Evaluating Partnerships for Shared Values
00:17:22
Speaker
different partnerships. How do you identify like what is a good partnership for nationwide and what makes sense and what you guys are willing to invest in?
00:17:30
Speaker
Yeah, I think it does come back to kind of those shared values, shared objectives. And, you know, yes, we get approached all the time about, hey, we want you to partner with us on this or that. And and what we're looking for is, does it really align with I'll say, let's call it four different objectives.
00:17:51
Speaker
I'm looking for someone who wants to grow and sustain their organization through things like membership or engagement of community. Somebody who wants to create reach around their messages so that we then have a joint platform for doing things like on-farm safety, risk management, or utilizing different tools like insurance and financial services to help better their their family business or their whatever business that they might be involved in, is a way for us say, does that actually kind of link into the things that we do best?
00:18:29
Speaker
And if so, then it's worth exploring. And then ultimately get down to how do we actually connect and help them grow their organization so that it creates reach.
00:18:41
Speaker
And you know we've we've done that number of farm bureaus, but we've done that with ag cooperatives, we've done it with farm credit, we've done it with other ag associations because they are we're trying to grow their organization and then provide their members with a valuable tool or resources and they want to bring more member value or any constituency that they have value around what they're doing.
00:19:05
Speaker
So when someone comes to us, we're looking for not only the shared values and being working in agriculture, but we're looking, are we can we bring tools and resources to bring value to that individual that's a part of that organization?
00:19:19
Speaker
If those things kind of line up, then we've got something to talk about and something to work on, and it gets right into that relevance lane really, really quickly. And which once you do that, then you can start building some solutions.
00:19:32
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, everything's a process really if you think about it. Yes, yes, for sure. um So in a in a partnerships world, bringing people together, do you have a unique partnership or something that seems unconventional that you've done at Nationwide that people might not expect that you guys partner with or do?
00:19:53
Speaker
Yeah, so I mentioned Farm Credit just a um ah minute ago. um We have a program nationwide called Land as Your Legacy.
The Land is Your Legacy Program
00:20:02
Speaker
So Land as Your Legacy.
00:20:04
Speaker
And its whole purpose is to help family farms transition to the next generation where you don't have to sell the land to do it so that you can avoid some of those heavy tax burdens.
00:20:18
Speaker
Or ah give you another example. We always said that farmers never want to retire. Not necessarily true. They just might not know how to retire.
00:20:29
Speaker
So we created a program called Land is Your Legacy. and's a veryary It's a free process to any farmer and rancher across United States where they can have an advisor that walks them through that process.
00:20:41
Speaker
And it and is great it's great. Not many people know that Nationwide was founded by farmers that we care about agriculture. So our relevance to that customer is to why do we want to talk to them about this? They may think, well, they just want to sell me a product.
00:20:56
Speaker
But when we partner with somebody else who has brand recognition, trust in that environment, and get them to advocate for a program, well, now it's coming from a different source. It's coming from somebody that they know and trust, and they might be more willing to listen.
00:21:14
Speaker
Farm Credit, they want this program because the next generation of farmers also their customers, but they don want to see the ag community thrive. And so they actually promote the program for Nationwide and with Nationwide. We partner together to deliver that program.
00:21:33
Speaker
And a lot of people might wonder, why would you do something for free? So there's the quirkiness in it, right? Well, at the end of the day, we we' all We're all more successful if farmers and ranchers and farm families can find a way to pass that that farm on to the next generation where and think we've all probably heard a story or two where somebody didn't prepare for that and it breaks families up. And if we can prevent that from happening, that's a win.
00:22:01
Speaker
And secondly, if you can create a resiliency type plan for a farm family, how it will transition and everybody's roles and responsibilities in doing that, it takes that pressure off of them.
00:22:17
Speaker
And they can actually keep farming for some of those same reasons that they might have been farming for in the first place. One is, yes, they want to make a living doing it. Second, it's a lifestyle choice.
00:22:29
Speaker
and they want their next generation, their kids, to have the same chances that they had to participate. And that's a win for not only Farm Credit Nationwide, but really any organization that supports farming communities.
00:22:43
Speaker
So it's a different program in the fact that at the end of the day, they get through that program, and do they need a life insurance policy or annuity or a retirement solution or something like that? It may say that. They do not have to buy it from us.
00:22:57
Speaker
We just want them to do it. And at the end of the day, we think that's something that really does drive a better outcome because of the partnership. and you know, one of our our founders, um his name was Murray Lincoln, and he was actually one of the founders of the Ohio Farm Bureau and then ultimately the first CEO of Nationwide in 1955.
00:23:18
Speaker
He had a saying he used all the time. He says, we're just so much stronger together than we could possibly be on our own. And I think that's a perfect example of that kind of cooperative mindset that brings a solution that's unique and different to the marketplace and actually delivers something that's of value.
00:23:35
Speaker
Okay, so Devin, you have like such a warm and fuzzy, I feel like, job and the good things that that Nationwide gets to do. So tell me, like it feels deeply personal for you who have have a background in agriculture and the history of Nationwide. So spending your a lot of your career inside of this large company, how do you keep people at the center of such a large, big, well-known organization?
Nationwide's People-Centered Culture
00:24:02
Speaker
Well, it starts at the very top. Our current CEO, Mr. Kurt Walker, also a farm kid from Iowa, also an FFA um participant. He was involved deeply in 4-H, his dad was. So in you know his at his core, he's ah he's a farm kid, right?
00:24:20
Speaker
And when he first became CEO in 2019, he was farm
00:24:25
Speaker
He changed our mission and vision. and our mission and vision, I couldn't tell you what it was before he got here. But now I know it because he condensed it down to nine words.
00:24:36
Speaker
And it's very simple. We are a protection company. We protect people, businesses, and futures with extraordinary care. So at the end of the day, we are a protection company.
00:24:49
Speaker
And then the vision is like, how do you get that done? Well, we want to be the most caring, most trusted, most customer-centric protection company. So if you put all that together, it's all about people.
00:25:02
Speaker
It is really all about people at the end the day, and it comes right from the top. And all the way through our organization, we think about how can we be a better protector of people,
00:25:13
Speaker
businesses, and futures as an organization. And every part of the organization is aligned to that and supports it. And that keeps us really grounded, which I think comes from that heritage of being founded by farmers.
00:25:29
Speaker
Farming is a very unique community. I can tell you firsthand when my dad had some health issues and the crop needed to come out, know, there were 17 individuals that came out and helped take out his crop when he was unable to do that.
00:25:45
Speaker
And that is people taking care of people. And at the end of the day, you know, nationwide, we are an organization that sells a promise. We sell an insurance policy that says, you buy this policy and when you need us at your very worst moment, you have a claim.
00:26:01
Speaker
We are going to be there. It's a promise to take care of you. And... Otherwise, that's what we're selling. So we're just people protecting people. And that has helped kind of ground us around all these things and gives us a little bit more of the freedom to explore into these areas of doing things that make us more than an insurance company, makes us more than an insurance and financial services company.
00:26:29
Speaker
And we support a lot of different organizations. We've got a lot of support that goes into the food bank system. You've probably heard Nationwide Children's Hospital, where we invest a ton of money into to research and into caring for kids who are very sick and making sure that their parents, in partnership with the Ronald McDonald House, are taken care of.
00:26:50
Speaker
And that's just to name a couple things. and We've been supporters of the Red Cross for, I'm sure, is the entire time the Red Cross has been around. So those that gives us that freedom to have that philanthropy so philanthropy and have a foundation around serving others because we've been very fortunate as an insurance company.
00:27:10
Speaker
And the type of growth that we've experienced affords us a little bit of that. But it's also the mindset of why do we exist? And that's to protect people, businesses, and futures with extraordinary care. That feels like such an incredible way and incredible culture, but incredible way to lead people and to be a business leader in the all the different things. I don't know that anyone has ever made me feel so like touched about insurance before. So it's good marketing as well, I will say. But I think it's ah it's ah it's a good leadership lesson too, in starting with the story of you know your CEO and and how it's permeated the culture of nationwide. yeah I'm curious, Devin, how do you balance the like wonderful stories that like you just got to tell and being able to do that work with true business metrics? Because at the end of the day, right, like you are a people-centered business, but there's also a bottom line that needs to be managed.
Balancing Performance and Culture for Success
00:28:05
Speaker
Yeah. So the other thing that Kurt says, and I hear him say it often, is we are a high-performing, caring culture. So you have to perform in order to have the capital in order to reinvest it into these things that matter. you know So high performance is important. So if you think about what we do every single day, excuse me.
00:28:31
Speaker
We do have to perform by selling more policies, retaining those policies, helping manage our claims expense, managing our own expenses internally, and being good stewards of the money that is afforded to us through the sale of our products.
00:28:48
Speaker
And that's, it's just, you have to have good business sense in order to do that. We've been very, very fortunate with having great distribution partners with our agents. We have independent agents across the country who sell our products for us.
00:29:00
Speaker
Having great partnerships with them is is important. And at the end of the day, that internally, we really do focus a lot on that performance piece but also the culture of working as one team and it's it's a really big component.
00:29:17
Speaker
If you ever really want to get in trouble here at work, yeah, if you miss your numbers, you're probably going to get a talking to, but if you're not working as a good teammate, That is worse.
00:29:27
Speaker
And so it's just something that we really do care deeply about. And um we're very focused on having good team collaboration across things like sales, underwriting, claims, risk management, IT, human resources, and having those collaborative opportunities and what we call creating meaningful connections.
00:29:47
Speaker
so that we can understand how can we, as a servant leader, which that's a very important term. Some people kind of glaze over and say, oh, it's just, you know, you're just trying to help. No, no.
00:30:00
Speaker
Servant leader is when you come to work every day, how you can make somebody else's day better. And if we can maintain that and have the resiliency to carry that through on everything that we do and every day, we're going to be okay at the end of the day. And that performance will follow really good collaboration, teamwork, and accountability.
00:30:26
Speaker
The other part of it is being very customer-centric. We believe that every customer-centric thing that we do actually turns into some sort of a positive performance metric. And so we're working really hard to have the right strategies and think about where are those pain points for our customer and resolving those first.
00:30:44
Speaker
And then ultimately you do get to a position of performance because your customer story is as good as any part of your your business. Absolutely. I love that I asked about business metrics and you flipped it back to people and how people are the way that, that you guys seem to perform or or create high performing teams and get that outcome that you that you're looking for from a bottom line standpoint.
00:31:08
Speaker
Yeah, it's important. I mean, we, we are basically an organization of people serving people. That's what we are. And, um, But we are accountable, again, that you have to have high performance in order to have a truly outward-facing caring culture.
00:31:24
Speaker
And so it's it's really important. We talk about performance every single day. Devin, what would you say to someone listening who is thinking about where they're at in their career and and maybe they haven't been in the corporate world and feeling like, hey, what Devin is saying sounds too good to be true. Can you really have like this type of fulfilling experience and this type of culture inside large, big organizations?
Responding to Disasters and Challenges
00:31:51
Speaker
Yeah, i mean, that's some some things are hard to define in words, but I'll tell you a story, and maybe this will help. But in 2020, we had that thing called COVID that came along.
00:32:05
Speaker
And then shortly after that, we had one of the worst storms go across the Midwest here was a derecho. And in about, let's call it 15, 20 minutes, we had billions of dollars in losses and cornfields were flattened and corn bins were blown away. And it was probably one of the worst natural disasters that we've had in the Midwest that I think anybody can recall.
00:32:29
Speaker
And, um, That put a dent in that performance. And we had to take some pretty drastic steps to what we call remediate the problem which was severe losses.
00:32:45
Speaker
So again, if we're not high performing, can't, you high performing caring culture need to perform. So we did have to make some really hard decisions around how we were going to be priced in the marketplace, how much we were going to sell versus not sell.
00:33:01
Speaker
How are we going to change terms and conditions on our policy to make sure that we had some balance between when claims happened and and how we would actually mitigate those claims and get people back to where they were before. And so lot of process orientation, you had to work through that.
00:33:16
Speaker
And, you know, i think if you look at anybody's business, anybody's, let's just even talk about your own family's finances, you are going to hit those walls.
00:33:28
Speaker
You're going to hit those walls. And at the end of the day, what you have to lean back on How can we do things that are right so that we can sustain this? And making those tough decisions, sometimes the right decisions are the hardest to make.
Devin's Problem-Solving Approach
00:33:43
Speaker
and But if you believe in what you're doing, you believe in the organization, you believe in what you're trying to accomplish, you'll make those calls.
00:33:51
Speaker
You won't get them all right. And we we didn't get them all right during that time. But we did over time and about took three or four years for us to really get our footing back. after that had happened and get earn the trust back with everybody. and It was a hard time. On top of that, we had, in March of 2020, we had sent everybody home.
00:34:13
Speaker
So we weren't in the building together to go through somebody's city. We had to do this all virtually. So at the bottom line, if you're if you run up against these things, um and it probably happens in anybody's organization or anybody's family, what we did is we just like
00:34:31
Speaker
know what the percentage would be, but it's a lot. We communicated. We communicated more than we had ever communicated, utilizing technology the very best that we could to make sure everybody was understanding what we were trying to do. We communicated.
00:34:45
Speaker
And what I always like to say is up, out, across. So we communicated up and down the chain of command to make sure everybody was on the same page. We communicated out to our partners and to our customers as much as we possibly could say understood what we were doing.
00:34:58
Speaker
And then ultimately across the organization. So going from sales, underwriting, risk management claims, and that you're going across those different disciplines to make sure you're covering everybody with those communications and keeping people aligned with what needed to be done to remediate the issues and get things back And now, I mean, right now nationwide continues to grow.
00:35:20
Speaker
ah we're we're We're putting capital back into the the company so that we can reinvest it in things that we want to reinvest in, which is people and technology and communities and those types of things. So it was really hard. But, you know, at the end of the day, i think ah a lesson around whether it's a large corporation or you're dealing with your own family's finances on the farm or any business is – You need to know what you need to accomplish, make the tough calls, and then communicate, communicate, communicate.
00:35:50
Speaker
Absolutely. It's amazing how those fundamentals scale, whether it's personal relationships or massive corporate corporate companies. Yep. it's Well, what we would say is, you know, we're we're an insurance company and we're not we're not rocket scientists, but, you know, it does take a lot of smart people here to figure out what those priorities are, make the right calls the best that they very can they can, and then communicate those things so everybody understands where we're coming from.
00:36:20
Speaker
I got hand it handed to our board and to our board. The whole office of the CEO, they worked really, really hard to communicate, make sure everybody understood what we were trying to accomplish and when.
00:36:33
Speaker
And also, just i think there's a kind of a simple formula to everybody's life and everybody's business and everybody's job is to, at the end of the kind of solve problems.
00:36:47
Speaker
And the formula I kind of live by is identify the problem in the most simplest terms that you can. Then understand how that what implications that problem has for the organization and clearly define it so everyone understands problem and why it matters.
00:37:05
Speaker
And then you can make a whole list of things about what you could do to solve that problem. But the real critical question where the communication really needs to take place is understanding what you should do.
00:37:18
Speaker
Not just what you can do, but what you should do. How do those things align with your objectives? How they align with your values? How do they align with your people and the talent and the things that you can do better than anybody else?
00:37:30
Speaker
And then finally, asking yourself the question, how will we know we' we've been successful? and when, when we know we're successful. Again, if you can repeat that process, whether whatever it is, I think that's the best way to solve problems.
00:37:45
Speaker
And I think anybody who's going through, either it's a personal decision what they want to do with their career, or it's what are we going to do with our farm? what are we gonna What am I going to do when I graduate college?
00:37:56
Speaker
Identify that problem. Understand the implications of that problem. Think about what you can do, what you should do, and then what would success look like? I had a coach one time tell me, what what end do we have in mind?
00:38:10
Speaker
So going into it, kind of understanding what end you have in mind is really important. Yeah. Absolutely. Well, thank you. That's wonderful, Devin. We are going switch it up just a little bit now and go into our rapid fire segment. So as answer these questions as short as you can, and I will do my best not to ask follow-up questions. I'm quite verbose, so or answering short will be my challenge. Okay. ah Okay, Devin, who is a mentor who still influences your leadership today?
Importance of Mentors and Caring Culture
00:38:41
Speaker
Um... Hmm...
00:38:46
Speaker
I'd have to say my you know a He's always giving me... He's a farmer. um he's He's usually pretty blunt and to the point. I get really good guidance from him. He gives me the choice whether I'm going to take it or not, but he continues to kind of help shape the decisions I still make today.
00:39:06
Speaker
What is one trait that you hope defines the next generation of ag leaders? I'm going to go with the caring culture. so I think there's there's a unique culture in agriculture that's you know really established around the the things you everybody knows, which is the hard work, the resiliency, the...
00:39:32
Speaker
I'll call it a very ah self-reliant mindset, but then a healthy dependence on others. And I think that's the most important thing is that understanding you can do a lot of things on your own, but at the end of the day, having that healthy dependence on others is is really important. And so having a mindset around that is what I think will help carry future leaders if they are able to really carve out what they what they kind of stand on every single day.
00:40:00
Speaker
I will say as a highly independent person, that one hit me, Devin, of a healthy dependence on others. That's good advice. ah What is one thing that keeps you grounded? Well, my family, number one, and I have a tremendous network of of family members who I count on, but of course, starting with my wife and my two girls who definitely hold me accountable every single day.
00:40:29
Speaker
What is a book pod book, podcast, or quote that has shaped how you think about generosity or leadership? Oh, wow. So I'm not really a book guy. I do listen to podcasts, but my favorite thing to do is watch movies.
00:40:46
Speaker
And so... I have to carefully date myself when I mention this one, but um I love the movie Hoosiers and Coach Normandale in there. And he...
00:41:01
Speaker
He showed tremendous leadership under a ton of pressure. But at the end of the day, it's because he cared so much about the kids. And that one, i can watch that movie anytime. And yeah there's so many great lessons in there about leadership that I could watch it over and over again. I've used it number of times in speeches and conversations with kids. And some people raise their hand and I've never seen the movie Hoosiers. i'm like, well, there's your first assignment.
00:41:29
Speaker
I love that, Devin. You are the first person to ever recommend a movie to learn about leadership. And I love it because, yes, now and now you even have me thinking about like, oh, how many other movies have we seen like good leadership or even bad leadership modeled where we can learn how to be better leaders from entertainment?
00:41:46
Speaker
Love that.
Cooperation in Agriculture for Food Security
00:41:47
Speaker
i I love movies. so Awesome. Okay, Devin, well, AFA, we love hot takes. So these are unconventional or bold opinions. So we are curious, Devin, what is a hot take that you have about leadership or the future of agriculture?
00:42:04
Speaker
oof um Humility goes a long, long way. and understanding that you have not only the opportunity to lead, but the obligation to lead in a way where you are making your team the very best that they can be.
00:42:24
Speaker
and that it is not about you as a leader. You get to make the calls and you are obligated to make the calls when they need to be made. But at the end of the day, your job is to make everybody around you better and more successful than they possibly thought they could do.
00:42:45
Speaker
And agriculture There are certain things right now that are emerging and there's all kinds of new emerging risks, I will call it, to agriculture.
00:42:58
Speaker
Some of those are domestic, some of them are global.
00:43:03
Speaker
There is a consistent, I'll call it consolidation, whether it's in the ag business world or on the farms. But the end of the day, we need to find solutions collectively.
00:43:14
Speaker
as to how we're going to continue to keep American food power as strong as we can. know, I reflect all the time on, you know, when we we went into COVID and people were fighting over toilet paper.
00:43:29
Speaker
What would it be like if they were fighting over a loaf of bread? And so food is so important. And you do have to think about how do we continue to work collectively as consolidation continues to happen, whether it's an ag business or on the farm.
00:43:47
Speaker
I worry a little bit that people will become more individual. and they'll forget about the collective nature and the cooperative nature of agriculture and how that has served us for, well, 250 years as a country.
00:44:02
Speaker
And if we don't maintain that, then what we're going to end up with is more risk to our food system, to the ag economy, and ultimately to our communities that we want to live in.
00:44:15
Speaker
so So hot take on that is I think there's some headwinds right now around agriculture, and but the more that we can collaborate and find solutions together to offset those risks, the better off we're going to be Yeah.
00:44:28
Speaker
What an incredible take, Devin. And I think one that so many people can benefit from hearing right now, because when we face those headwinds, I think often our our intuition or our the first thing we reach toward is more like individual, like
Connecting with Devin Furman and Nationwide
00:44:43
Speaker
protectionism. And I think it's a wonderful way to wrap up this conversation where from the work that you do at Nationwide ah to the story of Nationwide and and leadership in general, how it's all about people. And um I am going to carry with me the healthy dependence on other people. good. I like that. As a leadership lesson or as we think about your take just there on on the future of agriculture. So Devon, thank you so much for this conversation. And at AFA, we are all about building bridges. So help us ah know where people can connect with you or the work that is happening at Nationwide.
00:45:20
Speaker
Yeah, well, I'll invite him. Obviously, nationwide.com is a great resource for understanding a lot of that history and heritage I just shared. In fact, if you go out there now, there's 100 days of fun facts about Nationwide, so you can learn some fun facts. um But also, you know, just connecting. if you If you go out there, you can actually probably find me out there, too, if you'd like to connect that way.
00:45:42
Speaker
ah Reach out to me on LinkedIn. I'm very active on LinkedIn, and it's a great way to connect with a broader community of not just agriculture leaders, but anybody who's leading in any industry.
00:45:53
Speaker
um It's a great way to have a network. and you know i And anytime you guys want to reach out and and talk more about these things, I'd be more than happy to join you. Well, thank you, Devin. Really appreciate you spending the time with us today. This has been a wonderful conversation. And to our listeners, thanks for joining and listening to another episode of the Cultivating Leaders podcast, where leaders grow.
00:46:16
Speaker
Thanks for listening to the Cultivating Leaders podcast, where leaders grow. If this episode challenged your thinking, be sure to share it with someone else who is on a similar leadership journey. You can stay connected with the Cultivating Leaders podcast by following AgFutureAmerica on social media or drop a comment in the episode description. We'll see you again on the next episode.