Advisers Latest

The theme of this month's issue is strategic partnerships. It's one of my favorite issues of the year, and not just because the nerd in me enjoys the way exploring the importance of finding the right partner ties into Valentine's Day.

A couple of years ago Kris Allison was running Burnham Benefits Insurance Services, a well established employee benefits brokerage that offered a respectable level of financial services. Darin Gibson was managing a rising financial services firm with a decent book of benefits business. Today their companies, now Burnham Benefits and Burnham Gibson Financial Group, are a united team with one-stop shopping for their growing client base in Irvine, Calif., and satellite offices across the U.S.

Many of us are growing tired of the colder weather just as we grow weary of the grind of health care reform updates and downdrafts. And all of us are ready for the economy to improve in a meaningful and sustained manner. In some respects it is our winter of discontent. Not to mix literary references, but it is the best of times and it is the worst of times. Which will it be for you? That depends on whether your glass is half empty or half full. And it depends on whether you have a plan to succeed.

Employee assistance programs provide employees with support when they need it - from helping them through relationship difficulties to coordinating treatment for substance abuse. And while 69% of employers offer EAPs through external organizations, the potential still exists for them to be caught in legal entanglements. What are employers' potential liabilities and what can advisers do to help them mitigate risks?

As HR/benefits outsourcing becomes a larger part of employers' overall business strategy, industry professionals' primary job no longer is putting out small fires. Rather, practitioners are blazing trails toward workforce and organizational development.

Not only is it painful for an employee to hear the news that their loved one has suffered a heart attack, but the unforeseen costs of health care will soon take a physical, emotional and financial toll if they are not prepared.

While working for a benefits enrollment firm, I managed to get a coveted appointment with the senior vice president for voluntary benefits at a major regional brokerage. He started the meeting with an invitation to pitch: "We already work with several enrollment firms. Why should we work with you?"

Strategic partnerships come in all shapes and sizes. They can run the range from partnering on service offerings to joint marketing programs, but sometimes they involve technology. And when they do, you want to make sure that your partner's technology is aligned with your market strategy and the technology needs of your clients today and in the future.

What is the difference between a manager and a leader? According to Warren Bennis, founder of the Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California, "Managers do things right, but leaders do the right thing." A world of difference exists between these two individuals. Which camp do you fall into? Most people have some management acumen, but a minority has the stuff it takes to be a great leader.

This month we discuss the use of article writing in your marketing and positioning yourself as an expert in your industry.