Pat Marotta

Pat Marotta, MBA, CPA is a distinguished and experienced executive who has continuously shown his commitment to civic duty through volunteerism, non-profit support, public speaking, and his devotion to his faith.

As the Vice President of Client Experience Strategy for American National Insurance / Financial Services, Pat engages the leadership team to deliver enhanced value to clients that results in both top and bottom-line growth to the business. An MBA and experienced businessperson, he practices his knowledge that truly successful companies focus on their commitment to their customers and the value the company creates before everything else. He is committed to the company values of financial strength, integrity, respect, service, and teamwork.

American National is a nationwide company that operates in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The company includes subsidiaries that underwrite and issue policies for health, property, life, and casualty insurance. Additionally, the company offers annuities. It is ranked an A in both Standard and Poor’s and A.M.

Where did the idea for your career come from?

Over the last 2 decades, having worked as a management consultant for one of the largest international consulting firms as well as being an executive with a Fortune 500 company, I’ve developed an appreciation for the power of leadership and its impact on the lives of others. As John Maxwell often says, everything rises or falls on leadership. Over the last decade, my focus has been working with executives and their leadership teams to be clear about who their clients are and to mobilize teams to deliver exceptional products and services that yields value to the client, employees, and the business.

But the real magic … and what excites me about the work … is connecting teams into the vision and mission of being a client-centered organization. So many people come to work not understanding how their work ties into the “bigger” picture … not understanding how their works makes a difference in the lives of others. And one thing I know about people is that we all want to feel that our work makes a difference.

So, one of the organizations we started is Value Consultancy which helps teams align day-to-day execution to the stated value proposition of the organization. We bring expertise that is only afforded to prestigious, large-capitalized organizations to small and mid-market organizations that are the backbone of our nation.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

Start off each day reading my bible to anchor me to lives truths and to be encouraged by the good news of God’s Grace in Christ. I spend at least 30 min focused on my personal development plan where I will read books and listen to podcasts focused on leadership, culture, values, vision, etc. 6 days a week, I carve out at least an hour to spent at the gym. As I am there, I will listen to leadership podcasts to continue to sharpen my skills in this space.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Anytime an idea comes to mind about how to solve a problem or capitalize on an opportunity I will immediately capture my thoughts on my I-Phone. I will then take time once a day to review those ideal and brainstorm with team members around potential solutions. As a result of this disciplined exercise, companies have been started and solutions delivered to client problems.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Increased value around diverse thoughts and opinions. I strongly believe every person has something to teach me. Therefore, the more our culture values diverse thoughts and opinions the better we become.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Being a learner not a knower. This ties directly with my intentionality around capturing idea and making time and space to tease those thoughts out. To reflect on what problem the idea solves? What opportunity the idea present? Who would benefit from it? How it will be realized?, etc.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Be intentional about everything. If not, you will “go with the flow” and your greatest gifts and contributions will never be fully realized … life will just pass you by.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

If you don’t love people, you can’t lead them

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Block time … every day on your calendar … to THINK. What is important, what problem can only I address, what needs to be delegated, what is the main purpose of my day today … how will I best get that accomplished … How Will I add value as only I can (to my team, clients, spouse, children, etc.).

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Have a story to tell that is supported by measurable results. In other words, connect the heart (story) with the mind (action, results).

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

This is related to my Real Estate Holding Company. My Brother (also my Partner) and I put $100K of our own money into a land deal and lost it all. It sucked … it hurt … but boy did we learn for our next project what NOT to do. As the statement goes, we fell but we fell forward. It was an expensive education but without a doubt the learnings have returned us a lot more than what was lost.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Web3. Web3 is an extension of cryptocurrency in a way. If we use Web3 we will not have to give out personal information to use certain apps or services. The opportunities that can come from this are endless.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

My wife and I love coffee. So my in-laws gave us a Nespresso Machine as a gift. So I recently bought $100 of Nespresso Vertuo Coffee Pods … FANTASTIC!!! (Bye-Bye Starbucks).

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

It was hard to come up with just one but I will have to say shift. Shift is a software that puts all your emails and messaging apps together. It helps a lot with organization and decluttering.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

4 Disciplines of Execution (I’ve had the opportunity to work with the Franklin Covey Organization – who are the authors of this book). What I love about this book is that it highlights the importance of Execution. So many times, we think Strategy is everything. But the reality is that Strategy is not the difficult work. What is difficult is mobilizing team members to carry out that Strategy. That is when Execution, in many ways, becomes the differentiator.

What is your favorite quote?

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” – Albert Einstein

Key Learnings:

• Do not be afraid to fail. Every great entrepreneur learns from their mistakes and comes back even better having learned from the pain.
• Find a mentor to gain a new perspective.
• Learn that neither rejection nor failure is the end of the world.