I was born in St Louis, Missouri and moved to California when I was five. We were only supposed to stay in California for five years and move back closer to my extended family.  We moved to this little town, El Dorado Hills.  When we moved here, there was a Raley’s and Community Center.  Years later, it has grown into a beautiful community.  After five years, our family decided we were staying.  After college, I didn’t go far.  My husband and I purchased a house here in El Dorado Hills.  Funny enough, we just bought a new home in the neighborhood where I grew up.  Grandma loves being close to Mr. Eli.

How many years have you been in insurance?
I was pulled into the industry at an early age; I was 16.  I was determined not to stay in the industry.  I remember an agent warning me, “Don’t get licensed. If you get licensed, it’s all over, you are in.”  I held off on getting licensed until I was 19; we see how well that worked.  In all seriousness, this is a fantastic industry.  We need to shout-it at the rooftops to bring the younger generation onboard. Trap them early.

What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of the job is the people.  I love communicating with our agents, carriers, and the PIIB team.  We have done a great job creating a family culture with PIIB, not just with our team but our relationships with our agents and long-time carrier representatives.  I like creating, whether we are finding a solution for a problem or brainstorming a future initiative.  We have a well-rounded team of problem-solvers and innovators.  The team works hard every day to keep this ship going, but we have a lot of fun along the way.

When thinking about PIIB’s future, what are you most excited about?
Wow. There are so many things I am excited about, anything is possible.  I would say I am most excited about dedicating resources and time to helping our existing affiliate group and deepen the relationship.  Their feedback and conversation will light the path to how PIIB will continue to support them through this rapidly changing time. We must take this uncertain time and create opportunities by equipping our agencies with the resources and support they need.  We have to analyze the long-term implications and re-imagine the next normal.

Our 2020 numbers are resilient which is reflective of our agency partners.  It is no secret we will face challenges during the next few years to our industry and the economy.  We can’t control the external factors but we can control our operation, our technology, and create more value for our affiliates.  To answer the original question, I am most excited about adapting and evolving PIIB while maintaining our original mission to help agencies succeed individually.

Your Father, Larry Manning, of PIIB Legacy, was an amazing man, and help build PIIB to what it is today. What is the best piece of advice you carry with you from him?
This one is hard.  Looking back at my time with my dad in a professional setting, I feel like I learned something from him every day.  If I had to narrow it down, the most important lesson I learned was about respect.  It is not necessarily advice; it is a philosophy about leadership and respect.  To lead, you must earn respect.  Once respect is earned, colleagues and employees will work harder to accomplish a shared goal.  Respect is a two-way street.

Respect seems like such a simple fundamental principle, but my Dad taught me showing respect is just as important as earning respect.  My Dad was known for showing respect to every individual.   We work with 240 agencies, some small and some large. He taught me to treat them all the same, there is no special treatment.  He did not care about titles or status; he treated everyone equally.  Now, if you lied to him, all bets are off.  Show respect, receive respect.  Over the years, he remained incredibly humble in his success.  He did not need credit for victories and he always shared recognition with the PIIB team.  His philosophy translated into our values at PIIB. We are fair, we tell the truth, and we’re transparent in everything we do.

On a personal level, the last thing my dad said to me is “Tiffany, smile.”  I can remember him responding when asked about future retirement, and his response was always, “I am having too much fun to retire.”  His advice to all of us would be to have fun along the way and don’t take life too seriously.

We hear the PIIB team is like a family. Can you share your secrets? 
It is not much of a secret and references back to what I learned from my Dad.  When you lead to not only serve the success of the company but to serve your people and their success both professionally and personally, you create a family dynamic.  We should do a follow-up blog interview with Rachel McClurg, our most senior employee.  Rachel started working at PIIB in college and grew up with the company.  Rachel experienced many of her major milestones, first house, marriage and kids with the support of an amazing leader and company.  My Dad met all of the PIIB kiddos and attended most of the weddings.  Why?  He truly cared about his people, that is family.

What is your favorite activity outside of work?
Pre-motherhood, my answer would have been boating. The water is my happy place and we would go boating every single weekend.  Unfortunately, our boating days are behind us and we had to trade the boat for day-care.  We hope to have a boat again someday when Eli is older.  Currently, we don’t have much time for “activities” but I love to travel and see new places.  My husband and I used to visit a new place every year.  The tradition halted when Eli came into our lives but we are planning a cross-country road trip later this year. Wish us luck.

What’s your favorite 90’s jam?
I love the boy-bands, back-street boys and Nysnc but Spice Girls has to be number one. Karaoke and Spice Girls, let’s do it.

If you weren’t in insurance, what would you be doing?
If I were not in Insurance, I would be running a non-profit.  I am passionate about giving back and was raised to be involved in the community and have been involved with multiple non-profits.  My passion is around dogs and children, so I would likely be involved with a non-profit supporting dogs or children, or maybe both.

We finish the interview and you step outside the office and find a lottery ticket that ends up winning $10 Million. What would you do?
Let’s assume we live in an ordinary world and I have $10 million without taxes. : – )  I would take my family and close friends to Italy.  My husband and I had a chance to travel there before my son was born and I would love to return and stay for a month.  I would arrive back home and do the responsible, boring thing and pay off my house.  I would buy a lake-front property, a boat and I would start a non-profit involving dog and abused children.  Lastly, I would splurge and hire a personal chef because I hate to cook.