Tommy Suggs, President of KeenanSuggs Insurance

MidlandsBiz:
How do you balance the demands of running a business and also being the voice of the Gamecocks?

Tommy Suggs:
Todd Ellis is really the voice of the Gamecocks since he does the play-by-play.  I’ve just been around doing the color analysis for 34 years.  Seriously, it’s a focused effort of time management and lots of studying.  Once the season starts, I have to find four to five hours a week to prepare not including going to football practices, broadcasting and traveling.  It consumes 13 weeks.

It does take balance between football, family, business and other community efforts I’m involved with.  However, I’m very fortunate to have a very supportive wife who loves Carolina football, two great children who are Gamecocks and an outstanding team for support at KeenanSuggs.

MidlandsBiz:
So you’re already starting to prepare for the upcoming season?

Tommy Suggs:
It really starts around spring practice, and it builds back up again around the beginning of August. I recently played in Coach Spurrier’s media golf outing and normally that is the real start for me.  

My son and all his buddies came into the house the other day with DVD’s of previous games and magazines about the upcoming season, so the excitement really is starting to build and so is the preparation. 

I’m just looking forward to watching Steve Spurrier coach another year here at South Carolina. He’s a mastermind at calling a football game, putting players in the right positions and getting great matchups.  I’m excited about this year.

Preparation in the off season has been good for these young athletes.  We have gone from middle of the pack to seriously challenging for the SEC championship.  We may not be there yet, but we have a chance. 

MidlandsBiz:
How has football changed since the days when you were a quarterback?

Tommy Suggs:
It is interesting how the fundamentals of life, business, and football are still the same.  I had lunch with Coach Spurrier the other day and we laughed at how few times we threw the football when we played.  We guessed around 15 times per game.  Yes, the game has changed in many ways but it’s still executing the basics – blocking, tackling and thinking

MidlandsBiz:
You were a successful quarterback, did you dream of playing in the NFL?

Tommy Suggs:
I had the opportunity to sign as a free agent with Cincinnati and Dallas.  I talked things over with my offensive coordinator at the time – a guy who had worked with Joe Namath and Johnny Unitas in the pros, and he told me an interesting thing.  If a 6’5 quarterback throws 5 interceptions in a scrimmage and a 5’9 quarterback  like me, lights it up and throws 5 touchdowns, they would get rid of the 5’9 quarterback.  That’s the mentality up there.  So I said, I’m out of here and I went into banking.  It was the best advice I ever got.

MidlandsBiz:
Describe your leadership style.

Tommy Suggs:
I don’t know what my leadership style is exactly, but I try to lead by example, set goals, measure results and hold people accountable for results.  I believe in getting input from all involved, developing a plan and executing it.

I try to stay even keeled and be positive.  I am a disciplinarian and a workaholic to a certain degree.  I think work ethic is important in America today and missing in some cases. 

I recognize that we are all different, but we all have to function as a team.  Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and it’s management’s job to put each in the best position to be successful.  My job is to bring all those people together so we can be the best we can be. 

MidlandsBiz:
Has there a particular coach or mentor who stands out for you?

Tommy Suggs:
I had some good high school coaches that meant a lot to me and who helped form my priorities when I was young.  My father and mother were wonderful people and so was my brother.  All were great influences on me and very supportive.

College coaches were very good to me and in particular, Coach Paul Dietzel.  John Bridges was a special offensive coordinator as well as Dick Weldon.

In business, I have been fortunate to be around some good people:  John Lumpkin, John Folsom, Russ Rooney and Palmer McArthur.  My father always told me, You are who your friends are.  I’ve always tried to associate with people who are smarter than me.  I have always been very active in civic committees and boards and I have learned a lot by osmosis. 

MidlandsBiz:
KeenanSuggs Insurance recently merged with Bowers Elkins & Associates, a leading employee benefits firm to form a new subsidiary, Keenan Suggs Bowers Elkins, LLC. Describe why you decided to join forces and what challenges you faced in going through this process? 

Tommy Suggs:
We had clients asking for more employee benefits services.  We needed to be bigger and better on the employees benefits side and in particular life insurance, deferred compensation programs and 401k administration.  We looked around and I knew Robbie Bowers and Sam Elkins.  After courting them for about a year, we were finally able to put something together. 

It’s been better than we had anticipated.  Those guys have doubled in size since joining us.  There’s a lot of opportunity out there and most importantly, I think we have done a good job for our clients. 

It’s not an easy process.  We have spent a lot of time communicating with employees. 

It’s certainly difficult to blend two different cultures, but if you have a good plan, stay focused and think long term you will be successful.  It’s just like a marriage.  It’s a little give and take here and there.

MidlandsBiz:
What challenges does your industry face over the next decade?  What opportunities are there in your industry?

Tommy Suggs:
Insurance is interesting!  It’s one of those products you buy and hope you never use.  What we have to do is to continue to develop relationships and trust with our client base and our insurance company partners by providing service excellence, proper coverages and competitive premiums.

Our industry is complicated.  You can buy insurance over the Internet these days, but in most cases, the average person really doesn’t know what they are buying.  We have to step in and help our clients make the right selection.  Everyone is so focused on premiums instead of coverage. We try to come at it a little differently.  We feel we have to do what is right for our clients. We may not always be the low cost provider, but sometimes in order to provide the best coverage, you can’t be. Many times the buying public doesn’t know that, so that’s a challenge going forward.  But there’s lots of opportunity out there.

We have had tremendous growth.  Our numbers are strong and we just need to continue to run our firm based on our three values – 1) Service Excellence, 2) Professionalism and 3) Relationships.

MidlandsBiz:
You have been involved in many community efforts, but most recently a committee to help resolve the homeless issue?  What happened?

Tommy Suggs:
Well I think a lot of dynamics came into play and the process just simply got derailed.  It’s a serious problem here in this community and in the state.  If we are going to take our city to a different level, we are going to have to address the issue. 

You know, in life, you find out that it’
s all personal.  I think we found a little of that with this issue, and we just underestimated its power.  We stubbed our toe so to speak on the first go around, but I’m comfortable now that we will as a community come up with a viable long term solution for the homeless. 

MidlandsBiz:
What books are you reading?

Tommy Suggs:
None.  Right now my whole focus is on insurance and Carolina football.  I have to make sure I’m prepared for the season.  And I don’t just read about Carolina football, I’m reading about all of our opponents and beginning to make charts.  The insurance industry is changing rapidly so I’ve got to stay abreast of these as well.   I don’t have time to read a normal book. 

MidlandsBiz:
Can you recommend a business book?

Tommy Suggs:
Yes, I’ve given the 10 Mistakes a Manager Should Never Make to some of my friends.  Also, Blue Ocean Strategy is a great business book.