In 2005, Nate Cook’s mission was Route Irish, the road into Baghdad where more improvised explosive devices went off than almost anywhere in Iraq. He was a field artillery officer. His job was targeting.
Twenty years later, his job is targeting again. Different adversary. Same discipline.
Nate is the chief strategy officer at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. Brody and I have had dozens of guests on The Deciders, and none of them came to advocacy the way he did: West Point, deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, then years as the Army’s liaison to the Senate out of Russell 183.
He didn’t apply for the job. A mutual friend sent him to APCIA CEO David Sampson to help find someone else for it.
“But you realize I don’t know that much about property and casualty insurance. And he said, no, that’s okay. I got lots of people who know about that. I’m looking for a fresh perspective.”
Brody asked if he’d pulled a Dick Cheney. Nate didn’t argue.
Washington has a measurement problem. Most bills never become law. Most policy never gets enacted. So most advocacy shops can’t say with a straight face whether they’re winning, and plenty would rather nobody asked.
Nate asked. He moved APCIA’s board reporting from twice a year to every quarter, by strategic objective. What happened last quarter and how the plan changes for the next one. The Army would call it holding your azimuth while the ground moves under you. And the ground is moving. Nate was blunt that populism is creating more chaos in both parties. He isn’t fighting it. He’s mapping it.
“You’re looking at where is the key terrain that you want to occupy, so that you can best set conditions for success in the environment where you’re operating.”
What struck me most was how carefully he walked into that building. He knew the staff might see the military guy coming to impose discipline, so he made himself the person who lightened their load. His one do-over: for 18 months he moved slower than he should have, unsure a guy from outside insurance belonged in the role.
Then I asked about the industry’s reputation, and he gave the answer every trade association should hang over the door.
“That’s what builds the reputation and trust, not just telling someone how insurance works or trust me, it’s going to be okay. We have to show it.”
Brody thinks more associations will start hiring people like Nate. The smart ones already are.
The rest will find the terrain already taken.
Takeaway line: The organizations that win in this Washington know where the key terrain is before the fight starts.
Want more about this conversation — I’ve got a long form discussion on my Insights page here — > https://fridayreporter.com/blog