As I read the recent back and forth between Zenefits and ADP, I could almost hear an industry breathing a sigh of relief. Many of you may think this marks the beginning of the end for Zenefits. I don't think so; the company has $500,000,000 worth of pressure to get it right.

Other brokers may not be carrying the weight of $500,000,000 of other people's money on their back, but the weight of your own business' survival likely feels just as heavy. Regardless of the final Zenefits/ADP outcome, there are lessons to be learned and warnings to be heeded.

Lesson No. 1: a free market, by definition, promotes competition

While I think there are many flaws in the approach Zenefits has chosen to take, I also applaud the company for the wake-up call it has have brought to the industry. While not an ideal business model by any stretch of the imagination, Zenefits still is an example of how quickly competition can rise and shake up an industry.

It wasn't that long ago that this industry was (still is) up in arms about the possibility of PPACA. We demanded a fair, open and free market. We argued that a free market encourages innovation. We argued that competition is good for business owners. We argued that true cost control is the result of both. We were right in our arguments and we were right with our demands!

But here's my problem with the arguments and demands. For many, it wasn't truly a free market they were arguing for and demanding; it was protection of the status quo.

However, you have to realize that because a truly free market, by design, fosters and encourages innovation, change and competition, the last thing it guarantees is protection of the status quo. For those of you who aren't willing to innovate; who haven't fostered change-adaptive organizations; who haven't built a differentiated value proposition on which to compete, you are about to become a fatality of the very free market you demanded.

Lesson No. 2: collaboration is healthy for everyone

Like the broker community Zenefits has thumbed its nose at, it too is getting what it demanded. When approached by brokers asking to partner with the company to take its technology solution to the market, Zenefits basically responded, “Screw you, we're going to do this alone.” The company demanded to take an isolationist approach, and now, in a very ironic twist, that's coming back to haunt it.

I believe that if Zenefits had partnered with the broker community to deliver its technology product—and if it had worked hand-in-hand with the payroll vendors—the very brokerage community that sees Zenefits as the new bane of its existence would be hailing the company as one of the most important partners it has.

However, instead of collaborating with the broker community, Zenefits chose to hijack the broker relationship in order to get the commission dollars. And, instead of collaborating with ADP, it appears Zenefits may have hijacked the ADP system in order to bolster its technology solution.

Business owners could have enjoyed the benefits of having a collaborative adviser/technology/payroll team serving their needs at an unprecedented level. Instead, because of Zenefits' determination on isolation over collaboration, the company's clients have lost access to the advice they used to receive from their old broker, and one of their most critical functions (payroll) is in a state of flux. “Free” all of a sudden seems to have a very high cost.

Now, before you get all “holier than thou” in condemning Zenefits' isolationist approach, do a gut check on how truly collaborative you are for the benefit of your clients.

True collaboration starts with the best interest of the client in mind. No single product will best serve the needs of your clients, whether it's a technology product or an insurance product. The needs and interests of today's clients do include insurance and technology, but, as I have identified before, they are only part of a much bigger answer to much broader needs. There's no single company out there that can meet all of those needs, but those who have the most collaborative mindset are going to come closest.

The warning: There is no being saved; there is only saving yourself

I've listened to an industry bemoan the entitlement mentality created by PPACA, while at the same time demanding that its own entitlements be protected. Nobody owes you anything. The government doesn't own you anything (other than perhaps a legitimate opportunity to compete), the carriers don't owe you anything, and your clients don't owe you anything.

I find it insulting to this great industry that every time its “entitlements” have been threatened (and many feel they are entitled to be the distribution model of the carriers and also feel they are entitled to historic commission schedules), so many have sat back and waited, often times demanded, that someone step in and save them.

We've waited for SCOTUS to determine PPACA was unconstitutional. We've waited for the very people who passed the legislation to overturn it. We've waited for changes to the MLR rules to return historical commission schedules.

And now, when faced with Zenefits as a competitor, too many are taking the “save me” approach again.

For those depending on someone else to step in and protect you, I have bad news. Even if the “Wicked Witch of San Francisco” is dead (she's not), there will be another, and then another, and then another after that. Who knows—ADP may prove to be an even more evil witch herself.

If the survival of your business depends on someone else saving you, you probably don't deserve to be saved.

Quit bitching about Zenefits, exchanges, PPACA or your commissions being taken away. Instead, focus on your business and your ability to improve the business of your clients in a way that makes you invaluable. Do that and you can't be separated from your clients; do that and you will always get paid for what you do.