John Wilson 0:00

Michael, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to be on the CO Global Network podcast today. Thank you. Thank you for being with us. We really appreciate it. John, it's a pleasure to be here. Oh, that's great. Let me just let all of our listeners know and those watching. I just want them to know a little bit about you. I don't want to take too much time here because I really want to get to your answers to the questions. But I want everybody to know that today's guest is Michael Malfa. He is the co-founder and CEO of Board and Walk Insurance, where he is reimagining commercial insurance through technology, training, and a culture that empowers top brokers in the field. With nearly two decades in the industry, hard to believe, eh, Michael? Two decades already. He's passionate about building businesses that scale by developing people first. He's a graduate of Griffiths University in Australia and a graduate of Seneca College. Very importantly, Michael, I just want to mention you're a member of CEO Global Network and you're in Scott Ray's group. And it's really great to have you there too. And so why don't we just move right into the questions, Michael, if you're ready for them?

Michael Malfa 1:07

Yeah, what a wonderful introduction. Thanks for that, John. As always. I was I was feeling a little under the weather today, but I didn't want to pass up this opportunity to join you on the CEO Global podcast with the one and only John Wilson. So I'm looking forward to that.

John Wilson 1:21

Well, thank you for that. I'm glad I really appreciate you doing it, you know. And I'm sorry to hear you're under the weather.

Michael Malfa 1:26

So don't worry, at least you can't get sick through the scream from me.

John Wilson 1:29

That's right, exactly. Now, I've heard you say that culture is a competitive advantage. And I agree with you 100%. What does that look like in practice for you when you're scaling your business, Michael?

Michael Malfa 1:42

Yeah, that's a great question, John, and something that we're very passionate and we hold near and dear at Boardwalk. A healthy culture really starts at the top. Firstly, like with a clear vision, one that really employees understand and people feel pride standing behind. And that vision is followed by a shared mission as well, kind of like that big, hairy, audacious goal. And this mission is usually shared across the organization and it motivates individuals to be working towards something, giving them purpose and direction in the good and the bad times. And what that mission does is it really sets the stage for the individuals within the organization to celebrate the milestones along the way as a collective group. Another thing that's really important with the culture is the core values. And these are kind of like the company's compass. It's an internal compass and it's shared across everyone at the organization and it shapes who the organization is, really, who the organization attracts, and why the individuals want to continue to be a part of the organization. So strong leadership recognizes this and they remain true to it. So strong leaders really lead by example and they empower others within the organization to do the same. Those are the precursors to a really healthy culture. The last thing that I want to mention as well, there's a lot that goes into culture, but the last thing is recognition. I feel recognition goes such a long way, and it's definitely something that's underrated out there. It has such a strong impact on culture. So those are kind of a few of the things that we do to try to boost that culture and overall get a better experience from everyone working within the company.

John Wilson 3:23

Yeah, those are terrific comments. Great lessons there. And you're so right. I agree with you 100%. As AI reshapes insurance, which it's reshaping everything that we do. What leadership qualities do you believe technology can never replace Michael?

Michael Malfa 3:39

That's right at the forefront of what we're doing at Boardwalk. Boardwalk is deeply embedded on the tech side, and now obviously AI. So we're living in unprecedented times. Like never has there been this much information and processing power at our fingertips, at every individual's fingertips with a simple subscription. So knowledge was much more valuable in the past, and it's becoming a little less valuable now, knowledge. Busy work is starting to become abolished, but people skills and leadership skills are becoming even more important because that's one thing AI cannot replace. One thing that I keep trying to come back to is trying to bring out the best version of people by listening to them, by understanding them, by uncovering their superpowers and really what fills their cup and what drains their cup. Once you really understand people and the people component of the business, and you can really cut through the noise and focus on how those individuals can generate the highest leverage by operating more frequently in their zone of genius rather than doing the things that they're not really optimized to do or enjoy doing. So I think in this unprecedented times, John, focusing on the people is going to be even more important.

John Wilson 4:51

Yeah, 100% zone of genius. I love that phrase. Thanks for that. You've built boardwalk around enabling great brokers. What have you learned about helping high performers reach the next level, Michael?

Michael Malfa 5:03

Clear the path and get out of their way. High performers, they don't want to get, they don't want to get caught up in the minutiae of things. They see right through inefficient processes and they don't want to work with low-performing teams. They want to be working amongst high-performing teams. So our job as leaders is to make sure the processes are dialed in, make sure the systems are optimized for them and the team is performing at the highest standard. This really allows these high performance brokers to move swiftly and they're not getting hindered by the systems that surround them, which is often a challenge in our industry. And regular planning, annual planning, giving them access to data, having those data insights is also an important component because this allows us to really define what is success along with them. So it's a collaborative exercise, and then we can track their progression towards that and try to remove those barriers along the way. Yeah.

John Wilson 6:01

You've written that experience develops leaders more than education alone. Education is important, but experience is critical. How do you intentionally create those growth moments for people on your team, Michael?

Michael Malfa 6:13

Yeah, this one's very relevant because when we started boardwalking, my business partner and I, Andrew, we made the joke that we were going to be getting a real world MBA. And boy, does that hold true, John. That couldn't be more accurate. We were forced to learn a plethora of things that we were never exposed to. We had to learn leadership, corporate governance, strategic planning, shareholder management, corporate finance. The list goes on. MA, mergers and acquisitions, all by ourselves. However, joining a group like CEO Global has really helped flatten that learning curve. I just wish we had discovered it a little bit sooner because for the first four years, we had to just figure it out in the dark. And some of the mistakes we made in the lessons, while sometimes we lost some money and they hurt, the learning's really stuck because when you make a mistake, you typically don't make that mistake twice, especially when there's a consequence. And you could take all the courses you want, but the most of the learning was from the experience of working in the field. And as I mentioned, having a good advisory group behind you. But we try to give people the same opportunities that we had. So those same leadership opportunities, John, albeit small to begin, at least we can start with giving them more and more opportunities to expand the horizon and try different opportunities and watch them develop along the way. The only way to learn is to do.

John Wilson 7:35

Yeah, get in the game and make it happen, right? Yeah, 100%. I've heard you talk several times about raising standards and how important those standards are for you. And it's one of your values. How do CEOs raise the bar on their standards without burning people out?

Michael Malfa 7:52

That's a constant challenge for sure. In the early years, we faced burnout along with some of our key people. I think what led to that, John, was the lack of focus. We were trying to conquer too many beachheads rather than a really defined and coordinated effort to take just a few at a time. So rather than trying to boil the ocean, we began to plan better. And therefore, we coordinated our efforts better. This allowed us to achieve like more meaningful results in the areas we apply ourselves without burning our people out. And this continues to remain a challenge as a startup, because as a startup, there's so many things that you need to figure out, but it's not impossible. It just requires a little bit of patience and discipline, which sometimes is easier said than done. Yeah, for sure.

John Wilson 8:40

Sometimes it's easier said than done. No question about it. Michael, I got one last question for you, and then we're gonna wrap up. Looking ahead five years, what do you think the best CEOs will be doing differently then than they are today?

Michael Malfa 8:54

Yeah, there's definitely gonna be um a change in the landscape with where AI is going. While CEOs will differ in roles depending on the size of the enterprise, if it's a mature enterprise or a smaller enterprise, I think one thing remains consistent across the board is that CEOs must really oversee the direction of the company, ensuring that the course is well defined and charted out. So they're responsible for that strategic direction, the capital allocation, culture, et cetera, et cetera. But they have to make sure the organization is attracting and developing great leaders that sit in the right seats and they're doing their part to ensure the organization is moving towards a direction. Now, bringing AI into the picture five years from now, I believe that CEOs are gonna have to adapt and be able to balance the direction of the company along with people and AI agents that'll get them there. And we're seeing a big progress in this right now with the advent of personal AI agents. It's a hot topic right now. And I think CEOs are gonna have a plethora of people and AI agents to manage collectively to get the organization to that defined destination.

John Wilson 10:06

Yeah, thank you for that. Look, this time just flew by. We're gonna wrap up now, Michael. But thank you so much. I mean, you really shared with us some really strong lessons that that you've lived. You've learned them along the way, and we really appreciate you sharing them with us. We wish you all the best going forward. Thank you again. Thank you, John. Always a pleasure. Great seeing you. Likewise. Yeah. Thank you.