‘Don’t Answer Their Question, Solve Their Problem’

CEBE is incredibly unique in our industry. What we’re able to do as these employee benefits executives in this role as broker-consultants for clients, it’s really to kind of understand that it’s an intersection, right? We come in with what we see in the market every single day, what we’re seeing clients struggle with, their wishes, desires, what they’re dealing with [with] their people, and then come into an organization like The Council and CEBE to see, how does that translate into the broader industry direction? What does that mean from a policy perspective? So, it’s bringing together the reality of it and then the government side of it and trying to mesh that together. I think that is incredibly unique, and we have a really important responsibility to make sure that we’re bringing forward those insights.

Having such a diverse group of professionals as part of that group, I think we take something from it every day and we take it back to our firm. So, you get what you give. And I think for Ken, he has been such a giver this entire time he’s been involved with CEBE. Again, you look at what it gives you, the joy it brings you, the professional insights it gives you. And it comes from people like you, people like Ken, individuals who have given their time, talent, their treasure to an organization like The Council. My advice for him is to enjoy the ride.

I think it’s important to think about because I’m not sure that they’ve changed significantly. What I would tell you is that they’ve migrated a little bit. Clients always cared about us supporting them, managing costs. How do we translate this very complicated world of health insurance to their employee population? How do we demonstrate value? I don’t think themes have changed. I think the complexity has changed. We’ve evolved as the complexity has changed. I always tell people throughout my career, don’t answer their question, solve their problem. So, if our first question with our client isn’t around the why, what are you trying to solve for…we kind of leave them with less than they deserve.

I also think that we’ve got to catch up to that full advisory mindset, not the broker mindset. There was a time when I started in this industry, which is almost 30 years ago now, where it was so transactional. I could go out, I could go to three or four markets, I could get you a great deal. That transaction is still an important part of it, but I think that truly embracing the advisory nature of it, truly understanding the importance of data, and not just data for data’s sake, but data for the insights that we can glean and the advice that we can give clients, because they still have to connect the dots between the dollars they’re spending and the value it’s providing. So, has it changed? I don’t think that thematic component has changed, but their expectations have elevated. And I love that.

It has. And I would tell you that talent is what we have, right? We sell an idea, we sell advice, we sell counsel. We don’t sell a product. There’s a product that goes along with it. But the beauty of being a broker-consultant is that the world is our oyster. You know, I don’t sell a widget, I have access to everything. And so I think we’ve got to have our talent.

Understanding that as the industry continues to evolve, it provides new opportunity. In the old days, you were, I use the phrase a lot, chief cook and bottle washer, right? I knew enough about compliance. I knew enough about pharmacy. I knew enough about population health or wellness, as we used to call it. I knew enough that I could come in and sort of bring the client along. But as technology has evolved, as claims have continued to rise, as even the payment structures and how the industry works have changed, our needs have changed. So, we have to look for talent that can do multiple things—[talent] that can still be the generalist and pull things together more like a project manager and talent that can get really deep and really specialized. So, I think it provides a lot of opportunity, but it also is changing. You think about technology, you think about AI, it’s changing the way we train, the way we develop people. This whole idea that I can know everything is gone.

I was a student of the craft, and I still believe being a student of the craft is the best way to be successful in our industry. You have to want it. You have to be professionally curious every day. But I also think that we have to recognize that what took us three hours, four hours before can happen in moments. So, getting past the rote task and getting them to think and making them better technicians for using artificial intelligence, I think that’s really where we go. And giving them early at bats…we’ve got to give people some latitude to make mistakes. Not mistakes that are going to be detrimental, but we’ve got to get them in there early. We have to have them getting that opportunity to understand the why. We are a talent industry, that’s what we’ve got to sell. And we’ve got to make sure that we’re continuing to bring folks along as this industry continues to grow and evolve.

I would say that plan sponsors’ responsibility as the costs have gone up, as the industry has shifted a little bit, that responsibility as a fiduciary is so top of mind now, whether it’s from a legal perspective, from a cost perspective. And so I think our members have to put their plan sponsor hat on even though they’re not the plan sponsor. They have to think about it in the same respect. No, brokers-consultants aren’t fiduciaries, but they’ve got to think about what their clients are thinking. I think they always have. But before I think it was much more about a value conversation. Now I think it’s a financial conversation.

And, you know, for a long time our main constituency was HR. Finance really stayed out of it. The cost curve and the fiduciary component of that has shifted that. And so our ability to help paint that picture, the value proposition of providing benefits coupled with the fiduciary responsibility of providing benefits is an intersection that we have to make sure we’re bridging for them as well.

I have met the smartest people of my life. Being part of CEBE and interacting with The Council and meeting members from other firms, I forged some of the longest-term friendships that I’ve had. I’ve been involved in the organization for 18 years. Every single one of those people, they’ve made me better, they’ve made me think deeper. They are truly not just people I see once or twice a year. They are people that I’ve sat on study groups with, become friends with, now vacationed with. What I love about our organization, and what I love about being part of CEBE, is when we’re in that room together, we are thinking for our industry. We’re going to leave tomorrow, and we’re going to be vehement competitors again. But when we come together, we are a group of colleagues who think about our industry and love our industry for the purpose of our clients and creating that value.

I’ve just been so blessed doing that and the ability to bring that back to my firm and the ability to pass that along and to mentor and take those nuggets. But also, you get out of it what you put into it. I like to believe I’ve poured my blood, sweat, and tears into it. For that reason, I know that when I retire I will have this group of people who mean so much to me. When you have that at the end of your career, you know that you have not only made a mark, but a mark’s been made on your heart. And that brings me joy every day.

Yeah, I mean, I guess so. I’m a mom first, and what I want is my kids to see that I’ve poured myself into something. I want the people that I work with to know that I care about them not just as professionals, but as people, and that not only as the people in my organization, but anyone that I’ve ever had an opportunity to mentor, anyone that’s mentored me and all of the friends that I’ve made through it. So, if there’s a legacy, I hope it’s that I gave a damn.