While business people generally know the fourth quarter of every year as “Q4,” health benefits professionals, in particular, observe a disproportionate share of work during this period that probably seems most analogous to the workload of a CPA as April 15 approaches. When you consider Q4 as the renewal months of November, December, and January, …
I woke up this Labor Day thinking about the good fortune conferred on those of us living in the developed world. As an American, I am grateful for the good fortune to be born in New Jersey, to live in Pennsylvania, and have the opportunity to raise our children in a nice community and school …
I love the business of insurance brokerage and employee benefit advisory. I wrote a blog post about it here. Even though I stepped away from agency leadership last year, as I relayed here, I continue to consult with some employers, insurance agencies, and other organizations (e.g. biotechnology firms). But, I miss being “in the mix” …
We enjoyed a lovely trip to Denmark this summertime. I wanted to share some photos but have been delayed due to some travel detours, etc. We arrived in DK on a trip we planned about a year earlier. We were sad to miss the companionship of friends, who were unable to join due to an …
An important part of my business between 2010 and 2017 was pension advisory. The role of an advisor to plan sponsors was evolving as regulatory reforms were placing employers under higher scrutiny as ERISA fiduciaries. Questions that retirement services professionals had to consider included: “What should our process look like for investment selection and monitoring?” …
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” Vladimir Lenin I have found the past weeks to be unsettling. My personal reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and all the concomitant saber rattling, has included bouts of anxiety, sadness, anger, and confusion. My investment into reading various stoic letters …
The exponential information age is like a verbally incontinent person: he talks more and more as fewer and fewer people listen. Nassim Nicholas Taleb: The Bed of Procrustes As a young businessman consulting clients, I recall feeling a tension between two forms of advice from elder consultants. The first form was to always prepare for …
Becca and I joined some friends last week to see David Byrne’s American Utopia. While I was familiar with David Byrne, I was pleasantly shocked by how wonderful the show was. I previously thought that his voice was special, but mostly just idiosyncratic; In fact, his voice is remarkable. I expected his message to be …
I wanted to review photos from this year. I spent a little time this evening (1/1/22) reviewing photos on my computer. What a year! The beginning of 2021 was very much like the end of 2020. Of course, vaccinations hadn’t yet started flowing… The early part of the year included continued investment into learning computer …
Over the holiday, I spent time reflecting on my time in the insurance brokerage industry. One interesting area that drew some of my attention was the sale of Zenefits to TriNet Group Inc. I was personally invested into the impacts of Zenefits on our legacy employee benefits brokerage as Zenefits experienced its meteoric rise; The …