And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
David Byrne, Once In A Lifetime
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself
Well…How did I get here?
I’m enjoying the work I am doing with Stuart Bretz and our new venture, Valhalla Business Advisors. I am finding a strong connection to our clients, enjoying the work we are doing to create impact, and finding personal satisfaction in helping these firms accomplish objectives. I have found myself ruminating in my journal about the question posed above by the great David Byrne.
I started my career in insurance when I was 20 years old. The office from which I started my career was located in Calder Alley, just across College Avenue from Penn State University. I remember thinking, after a weekly “Client Builder” meeting in 1998, that if I persisted within the business I could be a “veteran” by age forty. I am now forty-four years old!
I wonder what 20 year old Jens would think of the next 24 years of his career if he could preview it; I worked in insurance and financial advisory through the dot.com bust, Bush v Gore, September 11; Then, I moved into the employee benefits space through The Great Recession, Obamacare, and NFIB v Sebelius. Interesting times, indeed. Oh, and Covid.
I remember being on a beach vacation with friends, Becca, and Camilla in June 2012 when the “when is a tax still a tax yet not a tax vis a vis the Anti-Injunction Act” opinion was shared. I had recently moved into the role of president of our firm and, between the implications of the law to our retail clients, as well as our General Agency operation, I definitely had my hands full. I remember getting a “ping” on my cellphone about the decision. (I must have re-read the initial SCOTUS Blog analysis ten times before going back to the beach!) In retrospect, we built a great team, worked hard, and performed well. The biggest disruptions and challenges have all been the most fun.
These reflections took a more tangible form earlier this week; In evaluating options for managing video content for open enrollment services (fyi- we chose Vimeo) I came across a group of videos I produced in 2013. I found the video below to be memorable – I wondered if a well designed and funded private HIX would disrupt employee benefit distribution; It is interesting to me how I spent quite a bit of time over past months talking about these same topics, though today Pennsylvania operates of its own public exchange: Pennie.com. Maybe David Byrne would respond, “Same as it ever was…“
It is 6:49pm on January 22, 2023. Becca, Camilla, and Holger are at a Penn State women’s basketball game (beating Wisconsin 74 to 69 with 4.1 seconds left.) It is really nice to start the new week tomorrow with excitement to advance the interests of our clients and put energy into seeking new clients. I know I have had these same thoughts while working on Sunday nights over the past twenty four years! Same as it ever was, indeed!