S4 EP34: Building a high-performance team & measuring the right things - with Jamie Yoder, President & General Manager North America, Sapiens

““Don't compromise. Too often we're going through a process and have a deadline to get people so you kind of take what's there. There are great folks out there. Never compromise”, says Jamie. “It's all about how strong the talent is that you can attract, develop and nurture.”On the podcast this week, Jamie Yoder shares his career background with the world’s largest consultancy firms. He was Managing Partner, Global Insurance Practice at Diamond before going on to be Insurance Advisory Practice Leader at PwC. “We used to run this fiercest competitor exercise. You'd remove all constraints and ask, ‘How would you build a company that could destroy your current business?’  Through that exercise, people would come up with really fascinating, quite progressive models.”Through his consultancy work with hundreds of insurance executive leaders, Jamie reconnected with a former colleague who was CEO of digital first claims insurtech, Snapsheet. Jamie joined as President of the business in 2018. "It was actually bringing together a lot of the things we always talked about around. About the bionic organization around how humans and machines can interoperate and how that changes business and your operating model.”Jamie explains the three factors that convinced him to join Sapiens in 2021, when the opportunity to lead growth in North America presented itself. Sapiens is one of the largest insurance technology providers of core systems and core foundational capabilities that insurers need. Headquartered in Israel, Sapiens benefits from an exceptional pool of global talent. 5,000 team members across the world, with 1200 in North America. “We are a very strong global organization.  We get to tap into real skill sets locally but such an incredibly strong talent pool in Israel and a very large team in India, our fastest growth area.”Jamie emphasizes how to build high-performing teams and attract the very best talent to the insurance industry. “The war for talent means you have to attract strong technologists and strong business people to insurance.What I found in my insurance consulting days, was if we could just get them onto a project, they would realize that the problems that we were working on and what we were trying to achieve was actually some of the most exciting stuff being done.”“Insurance is an information intensive business. Of all the innovations happening around the capture, consumption, interpretation and use of information in new and exciting ways, what better place to be than in an information space.”At its core, it's working with the best people, putting them in a position to work well together. Giving them the tools to collaborate and strengthen is the difference.”Sharing his one recommendation for insurance professionals coming to interview at Sapiens, Jamie says, “Be extremely passionate and energetic about whatever subject you believe is your dream job. I want people who are super excited. Attitude is everything.” Jamie advises those looking to hire exceptional insurance talent to take a long view."I wouldn't do it just because you have certain targets. Often, we fall prey to that because you get what you're measured for and sometimes we don't measure the right things.”As for the one lesson his career has taught him, he wants everyone to learn. “Look at those things that can stretch you. Find people that help stretch you. Have a continuous thirst for learning and getting something from every person around you.I’ve had the great fortune of getting to work with amazing talent, a very diverse set of people and I’ve learned something from every one of them.”Connect with Jamie Yoder on LinkedIn or find out more about how