Scuttled The Sinking of The Palmer Cay eBook Ron Collins
Download As PDF : Scuttled The Sinking of The Palmer Cay eBook Ron Collins 
“In some respects, Palmer & Cay was too good to be true—a great place to work with snowballing success. Good leadership, talented personnel, personal freedom, and generous compensation contributed to the overall success of The Ship. This is a story not of evil wrongdoing, but of runaway egos, greed, and the lack of entrepreneurial skill or knowledge to lead the company forward. Those egos were willing to bet everything on an unproven scheme and ride The Ship to the bottom, if allowed.”
For years, Palmer & Cay, a small but highly successful commercial insurance–brokerage firm, was a name synonymous with unbeatable talent, honest work, and a soaring drive to exceed all expectations. Everyone—employees, customers, and peers alike—wanted to climb aboard “The Ship” and be a part of the ride to success. Things could not have been looking better, until in 2003, when a sudden and unexpected change in management took a turn for the worse, and piece by piece dismantled everything that the 135-year-old company stood for.
“Scuttled The Sinking of the Palmer Cay” tells the full story from the perspective of insider Ron Collins, former senior vice president of Palmer & Cay’s flagship department, and evaluates the roots of the poor decision-making that would eventually devastate other companies across the nation. From start to finish, Collins provides acute and heartfelt insight into what businesses need to succeed, and what will ultimately make them sink.
Scuttled The Sinking of The Palmer Cay eBook Ron Collins
Having boarded “The Ship” without knowledge it was already doomed in Titanic measure, I found Ron Collin’s work both riveting and educational. A business book for sure, but it reads like a well written novel that Hollywood should love. The insurance brokerage industry has a fascinating cast of characters and probably endless stories of success and failure. Say what you will about Jim Meathe, but one thing he did describe well was the “greed model” of insurance brokerage as represented by the Lockton firm headquartered in Kansas City versus the behemoths’, Marsh/Mercer and Towers Perrin, and the throwback culture of Palmer Cay where creative client focused work was still treasured. John Cay represented “integrity” in a business that was fraught with some who in their greed considered integrity to be a weakness. I’ve had a ringside seat to the industry for more than 30 years and am thankful for the thoughtful review of the scuttling of the Palmer Cay. With the sinking of The Ship, our industry has lost something special.Mel Mendenhall
President
CMI Health, Inc.
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Scuttled The Sinking of The Palmer Cay eBook Ron Collins Reviews
I received this book on a Saturday and was so engrossed that I finished it by Sunday evening. It is so well written it reads like a novel but it is a nonfiction. While I was in a related industry, I knew Palmer & Cay and many of the individuals in the book. But I did not know the inside story of the organization. It is a compelling and well written book and can be applied to so many companies. Companies buy a successful company and bring in outsiders that do not know the company and what made it successful. Or they try to merge their structure on the successful company. They change the culture and the company and then wonder why it doesn't succeed.
This should be required reading for all business students. Most business books tell you how to succeed but not many tell you how not to fail.
This story functions on an almost mythological level. It’s a cautionary morality tale with an Icarus like hero / villain (Jim Meathe) who flew beyond his talents and means straight into a burning sun. Enabling Icarus was an aging “King Lear” (John Cay) who watched with self-blinded eyes as his once prosperous kingdom was laid to waste by that very Icarus and his minions. Standing by as helpless spectators was a “Greek Chorus” of employees new and old who were unwitting pawns of “the gods” who moved their lives and futures around on an all too fragile chessboard.
My credentials – I reported to Icarus / Jim Meathe in his “salad days” when he was head of the Johnson & Higgins office in Cleveland. He then went on to more prominent corporate roles when Johnson & Higgins was acquired by Marsh. What you will not understand from Mr. Collins’ book is that Jim, in his brief prime, was a truly inspirational leader – his example pushed many of his colleagues, myself included, to expand their boundaries and take calculated risks to advance their talents and careers.
Collins also seems to discredit Meathe as being a “Corporate” type rather than an “Entrepreneur.” This too struck me as simplistic because the very reason Jim was so respected by his cohorts within J&H and later Marsh was his ability to advocate for his region within the larger corporate system. It was never quite the same after his departure…Cleveland and the Midwest went from an “Imperial City” to a provincial outpost.
What went wrong? From my standpoint when Marsh fired Jim for exercising those very “Entrepreneurial” talents mentioned above, his association with Palmer & Cay became more a vehicle of revenge against Marsh rather than a legitimate attempt to re-invent himself and foster the interests of his new company. This is no “foresight” on my part, but rather hindsight based on my reading of the Collins book combined with my prior experience.
It is a grandly mythic struggle played out on a relatively small stage. That shouldn't suggest there are not bigger truths to be learned from this book if you discount the author’s “axe to grind” which he does frequently without bothering to fill in the broader context. Collins seems willing to excuse John Cay, without allowing that Mr.Cay saw qualities in Jim Meathe that justified his confidence. Of course, hindsight is easy...everybody could have predicted that Napoleon would end up on St. Helena - once he was on St. Helena. That prediction might not have been so easy to make after Austerlitz.
I've never worked in the insurance industry, but as a retired HR professional, it's clear that Ron's account of the pillaging of Palmer Cay is not at all removed from what happens in other industries, and for the same reason Unbridled greed. Of particular interest to me was Ron's description of the peripheral effects on existing employees during their 2 year down-spiral. In that kind of toxic environment, an employee's entire life, and even family life, is impacted. And, particularly in a senior management position, watching the company's positive reputation deteriorate, and personal savings evaporate, is horrifying.
For me, Ron's book was easily readable, very effective, and took the message of corporate greed to a starkly visible level.
As I started reading this fast moving well written book, I soon saw the connection with the Palmer Cay logo and the book's title. Not knowing very much about this industry, I found many similarities between other professions and businesses that I was familiar with. Example, I have seen a university president hired without proper vetting almost destroy a computer science department. Another case occurred when a well run mom and pop architectural firm with a 22 year success rate was brought to it's knees. Like Palmer Cay, everyone was content working there. Our clients were pleased with our services, we were making money and at the end of the year everyone received a nice bonus. This all ended when we brought in a hot shot partner with a diametrically apposed philosophy just like Palmer Cay. I especially liked how Palmer Cay used an industrial psychologist as part of their interview process for their top executives. This book is an excellent guide for what and what not to do for a small or large organization. The cast of players and titles used might be different, however, the story line is the same. Everyone reading this book will be able to relate to the plight of the Palmer Cay. I therefore highly recommend this very informative book.
Having boarded “The Ship” without knowledge it was already doomed in Titanic measure, I found Ron Collin’s work both riveting and educational. A business book for sure, but it reads like a well written novel that Hollywood should love. The insurance brokerage industry has a fascinating cast of characters and probably endless stories of success and failure. Say what you will about Jim Meathe, but one thing he did describe well was the “greed model” of insurance brokerage as represented by the Lockton firm headquartered in Kansas City versus the behemoths’, Marsh/Mercer and Towers Perrin, and the throwback culture of Palmer Cay where creative client focused work was still treasured. John Cay represented “integrity” in a business that was fraught with some who in their greed considered integrity to be a weakness. I’ve had a ringside seat to the industry for more than 30 years and am thankful for the thoughtful review of the scuttling of the Palmer Cay. With the sinking of The Ship, our industry has lost something special.
Mel Mendenhall
President
CMI Health, Inc.
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