I've been AWOL from the blog this week because I've been heads-down on some work I'm doing regarding the future of the insurance industry (hey, gotta pay the bills...). Because I do the majority of my work in the high-tech sector, which for all its issues tends to have a fairly progressive culture, I'm always a little bit surprised by how things work in "old economy" businesses. Today while talking to an insurance industry analyst, I heard the words "apprenticeship culture." That is to say, it is fairly common practice in the industry to spend ten years learning the trade before you get to do underwriting.

There's some catnip for Millennials. Ten-year apprenticeship. What else? Green screen computers, probably older than they are. Cabinets stuffed with paper files. Deep-seated resistance to collaboration and transparency. Secretive, command-and-control management. Signs on supervisors desks that say, "stay the hell off my lawn!"

OK, I made that last one up, but would it make much of a difference if I hadn't? From the people I spoke with, the industry realizes it has a bit of an aging workforce problem and is looking for ways to impove its image. There appear to actually be some interesting trends toward innovation in the years ahead, forced by the twin terrors of regulation and outside competition. It will be interesting to see how the need to compete for young workers adds to the pressures mounting against this most conservative of businesses.