Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the news by now.

Aon just dropped $17 billion to acquire USI.

I've been around this industry a long time, and I can't point to a bigger single-day talent shakeup than this one. Two firms with genuinely different DNA are about to become one. Not to mention NFP. So, does that make it a thruple?

Who knows how this will shake out, if it ever fully does.

No matter if you're a USI Producer, or not, this news just reminds all of us nothing is guaranteed in this industry, the ground can shift under you overnight, and it's never a bad idea to be thinking about "what if" scenarios.

I've been on both sides of this. I left Federated for the indy side years ago, spent time at a legacy agency acquired by MMA, and eventually made the jump to a ESOP regional shop because I wanted something more entrepreneurial, with better splits, and less bureaucracy.

This newsletter's for anyone weighing a change.

Whether you're a stud Producer sitting on a massive book and a great team looking to "lift-out," or a noob on his third shop trying to make it in this industry, here's what I've learned to actually look for.

Anybody can say "this is the best agency ever."

What do you think they're gonna say? They‘re awful?

The best place to start is by doing your due diligence into their past and their future.

Who owns the agency? How did it start? Is it PE-backed? What's their timeline for trying to sell? Has this shop changed hands before? How many times, and why or why not? Whats your 3, 5, 10 year vision for the agency? What does perpetuation look like, etc?

Get a macro view of the agency, then go granular at the producer level:

Tell me about the last three Producers you hired new. Tell me about the last three Producers you brought over. Where are they now? Who's crushing it, who isn't, and why? What did you do right? What did you do wrong? What will you change moving forward?

If they can't answer specifically, they haven't actually done this well, or they haven't done it enough to know what they're doing.

Remember, you're interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you. You are a professional and an asset. Not a commodity. Act like one. This is your future. You're not just picking a place to work, you're making a bet on the next five, ten, twenty years of your life.

Be direct, don't pull your punches. Ask the uncomfortable questions. Watch how confidently they answer. That confidence, or lack of it, tells you almost as much as the words do.

"Resources" is the sexy buzzword every agency will throw at you.

I've been at the biggest in the world, a captive writer, and an indy regional, and I'm here to tell you it's mostly kool-aid. Don't drink it. Drill down and get specifics.