Mickey’s Corner: A Tribute to Will Romero

Will Romero loved the insurance business and was famous for saying, “I don’t know if America is great because of the life insurance industry or if the life insurance industry is great because this is America. I just know it makes an incredible difference in people’s lives.”

As you may already know, Will. Romero raised himself up from humble, if not impoverished beginnings, to becoming a very successful agent, manager, general manager and a regional Vice President with New York Life. He traveled the world freely, owning homes across the country and even one in Costa Rica and after he retired, his reputation spread beyond his alma mater as he continued consulting across the industry.

There was something special about Mr. Romero (as I preferred to call him) and you knew it from the moment you shook his hand. He had a sparkle in his eye and an incredible zest for life, but what really jumped out at me was his passion for helping others. Though I only met him once and spoke less than a dozen times, he was always earnest to offer assistance wherever and whenever possible. He also had a strong sense of fairness and balance. After I helped him put the finishing touches to his book, The Platinum Leader, he insisted on helping me design a prospect evaluator form that appears in many of our planners and is dedicated to him to this day.

It seemed only fitting to dedicate this issue to an industry leader who was a great mentor to so many and to ask one of his closest protgs to reflect on his life and lessons. Few knew him better than Dan Cunningham, whom Mr. Romero continued to coach on almost a weekly basis until his passing. Though this article is longer than customary, I hope you find this reflection and the lessons contained within beneficial.

Thinking Bigger - A Soliloquy to Will Romero

Remembrances by Dan Cunningham, CLU, LTCF

I think of Will Romero as a renaissance man, an individual who started out from humble beginnings in Louisiana, but honored his mother and his community by using his incredible intellect to be an outstanding student, as well as a great citizen. He went on to be involved in philanthropy, the arts, and world traveler by being involved in big game-hunting and most of all…to serve as a great mentor to me and people like me focusing on doing things right and always thinking bigger. Thinking bigger in the way we treat people, the way we run our business, and the way you influence others…with phrases such as this to drive home his message that I will never forget, “Cheap things are of little value, and valuable things are not cheap.”

He was an individual who touched many great people. He taught us to follow systems like the field development activity system, disciplining ourselves to follow a systematic way to conduct the monthly plan. He would always say that, “Systems don’t fail, people fail.” There are many, many sayings such as these that I will continue to quote and remember forever.

I remember traveling with Mr. Romero to Spain with his wife, Joan, and my wife, Jenny, and he took such great care in planning and organizing as we traveled to Toledo, Spain, Costa del Sol, always staying in four-star hotels and experiencing some of the finer things such as the restaurant where Hemingway used to frequent. He was always leading by example, even on vacation, which he displayed by his very friendly manner, as well as being very organized, very professional and always speaking properly. He knew that as a manager and a leader you are always being observed, always being watched and that his people were shaping their lives by being good leaders, and they needed a great example. He was flexible, versatile and yet inflexible at times. Some people didn’t always like his style, reading it as a big egotistical, but I always thought he was just being thorough, tough and teaching, always teaching, always leading by example. That trip was just one of many times I was able to share in his wisdom.

Mr. Romero always said “Once the mind expands and changes, it never goes back to its original narrowness.” These are just a few of the things I remember while traveling to many meetings and even seeing the diamonds that he purchased and how he purchased them. How he would act like a spend-thrift but always watch his money. Everything was planned and organized, from taking top producers and managers out on limousine rides to the professional way that he approached life. He touched so many lives through public speaking, a motivational speaker extraordinaire. He could bring you to tears, anger and many other emotions, always being respectful and honoring his family, his company and his friends.

One of the other things that I remember from Will was the phrase, “Formality creates discipline”. He made the comment that, “I’m not big on casual Friday”. Maybe it’s a bit old-fashioned, but I think people judge us, even if they choose to be casual in their line of work where their uniform may be something different. In our business, in our industry, formality creates discipline.

This is just one man’s opinion, but I always respected the fact that he took a stand, that he stuck to his guns, and that he didn’t cave in to whatever the current attitudes were of society. He was a man of tradition, a man of renaissance, a man of style, and a man of grace. And these aren’t just words and gut feelings…I watched him for many years. He would get in the trenches and demonstrate how to conduct a certain type of meeting, what to say, how to say it, and why to say it, and when he critiqued, he did it with caring. He never made fun of you. He always tried to make you better, to make you think differently.

If he was teaching how to plan, he would teach you to plan to win, not plan to fail, and he would talk to you about why the components of your plan maybe didn’t make sense. He thought it through. He knew the mathematics and knew the background. He knew where you needed to go, and he always suggested ways to improve. “If you have a weakness,” he said, “figure out who can help you. If you need to know how to dress, hire a clothing specialist. If you have an emotional problem, hire a psychiatrist. If you need to know how to network, hire someone who specializes in that area. Reach out.” Will always taught you to think bigger and realize that someone out there can help you be better at what you do, adding “Get a coach. Do what the coach says.” I finish by remembering one of Mr. Romero’s many calls to me. It was a short conversation, as they frequently were, early last Easter Sunday at about 6:30 in the morning as my family and I were preparing to go to church. Will simply said, “I’ve been to mass. I prayed for you. I prayed for your family. God loves you and I love you.” What better way to remember someone.