12 hours Ago
To thrive in today’s business environment, companies must align their technological and cultural foundations with their ultimate goals. This requires reflecting on the fundamental question: The answer informs how you integrate innovation into your operations and balance competing priorities to drive long-term success. At Brown & Brown, we constantly focus on articulating the value of technology in terms of business outcomes.
If we don’t ground ourselves in that, we risk losing sight of what really matters. For us, that means remembering our core mission: providing risk management and insurance solutions to our customers in a way that helps them protect their businesses and families. It doesn’t matter what desk we sit at or what department we work in—every decision we make and every technology we adopt has to align with that purpose.
The phrase “every company is a tech company” gets thrown around a lot, but what does that actually mean? To us, it’s not just about using technology — it’s about thinking like a tech company. The most successful tech companies don’t just refine what they already do; they reinvent themselves in anticipation of what’s next. They place bets.
They ask: And then, they start moving in that direction while staying flexible enough to adapt as the market evolves. A great example of this is the semiconductor industry. Companies like Qualcomm have to plan and commit well in advance, estimating chip production cycles while simultaneously innovating at breakneck speed.
They don’t just react to change; they engineer it. That’s the mindset we need to bring into every business, whether we’re selling insurance, financial services, or something else entirely. That’s why we view technology through three interconnected lenses: The real challenge is balancing all three while ensuring innovation leads the way.
And right now, there’s no greater test of that than AI. Preparing for what’s next (AI) AI is already here, and it’s reshaping the way businesses operate. But we’re still in the early days of figuring out what it really means for our industry.
We’ve taken a structured approach to prepare for AI — one that balances risk, opportunity and education. One of the first things we asked ourselves was: What does AI mean for us? If we didn’t define it, our teams would — and that could lead to inconsistency, risk or even legal exposure. We developed clear governance policies that outlined: The reality is that if you don’t actively shape your approach to AI, the market will shape it for you.
Having clear AI policies isn’t just about risk mitigation; it’s about controlling our own destiny in this rapidly evolving space. With generative AI, for example, its adoption has surged from 50% to 72% in the past year, according to . By early 2024, according to a , 75% of employees reported using AI at work, with 80% of that population using tools not sanctioned by their employers.
Those stats made us realize we needed to educate our teams, not just regulate them. So, we developed training that: One of the biggest drivers of unsanctioned AI usage is workplace pressure. People feel overwhelmed; they need solutions fast, and if we don’t give them the right tools, they’ll find their own.
So, our goal is to meet them where they are — providing guidance that’s both practical and easy to follow. Risk management is part of our DNA, but AI presents new types of risks that businesses haven’t dealt with before. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we asked: How can we incorporate AI risk management into our existing processes? For example, when we evaluate third-party vendors, we now ask: These questions didn’t exist a few years ago, but they’re essential now.
We’ve seen contracts from different partners with wildly varying AI clauses, and we’ve recognized the need to have our own standardized language to protect ourselves. AI risk will only become more common, and companies that don’t adapt now will find themselves playing catch-up later. We don’t just want to control AI — we want to help our organization use it effectively.
We’ve created pilot programs, starting with tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot, to experiment with AI in a structured, low-risk environment. We also launched an internal AI user community where employees can: Some companies have completely blocked AI, fearing security risks. But the problem is, when AI adoption inevitably becomes a business necessity, they’ll have to spend enormous resources catching up.
We’d rather stay ahead of the curve. Hiring the right people for the future No matter how good our technology is, our success ultimately comes down to people. And we’ve learned that mindset matters more than skill set.
When we launched an AI proof-of-concept project for our interns, we didn’t recruit based on technical acumen. Instead, we looked for curious, self-starting individuals willing to experiment and learn. What we found was eye-opening—these interns thrived despite having little prior experience with AI.
Why? Because they asked great questions, adapted quickly, and weren’t afraid to explore. It reinforced something we already believed: Our industry is changing fast, and the only way to keep up is by hiring people who are willing to learn, try and grow. Investing in the future Now is the time to dedicate the necessary resources to prepare your business for what lies ahead.
The pace of change isn’t slowing down, and neither are we. Aligning your culture, processes and technology strategy ensures you can adapt to a rapidly changing landscape while staying true to your core purpose. By fostering a culture of innovation, embracing emerging technologies like AI, and assembling a forward-thinking team, your organization will be well-positioned to lead, adapt and thrive.
The future is coming fast — make sure you’re ready to meet it head-on..
