I’m a bit ashamed to say that I’ve been in the financial world for almost 20 years but didn’t know anything about Art Williams. Yes, I’d heard his name and knew he was someone important, but I never took the time to learn his story. I didn’t know that one amazing man named Art Williams turned an one of the largest industries of his day upside down.
Last week a dear friend of mine invited me on an impromptu trip to Atlanta, GA for a sold out one day conference featuring Art Williams. After conferring with my wife that she could hold down the fort and our six kids for 24 hours, I packed up my Jeep with 3 sidekicks and headed to Atlanta.
At the event, the speakers relived the early days of A.L. Williams, a company that turned the life insurance industry upside down in the late 70s and 80s. A leader, Art Williams, and a company, A.L. Williams, that took on the giants of the day and beat them. The stories of the struggles Art’s early team of believers and warriors were truly inspiring. I call them believers and warriors because they believed they could beat the industry giants and change the life insurance industry to better serve people and families, but it was a battle. The industry fought them at every turn trying protect their profits and market ownership. The industry giants lost.
Over a ten year period of time, Art’s little band of believers grew from 85 agents to over 225,000 agents to become the market leader for life insurance. Well, Art Williams tells the story much better than ever could (YouTube). Watch and enjoy the story of Art Williams, an extraordinary businessman and leader.
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