Focusing on a bright future
The challenges are daunting and the goals posts keep shifting, but the benefits industry remains undaunted.
“It’s hard not to look around and wonder, are we going forward or are we going backward?” When Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Eugene Robinson spoke these words at the recent BenefitsPRO Broker Expo, he was talking about the current state of our country. But over the past few years, many of us have probably had similar misgivings about our industry and health care in the U.S.
Despite acknowledging the ongoing challenges and roadblocks, Robinson’s message was ultimately one of perseverance and progress, a theme that carried on throughout the Expo’s three days. In keynote sessions, breakout panels and conversations in the halls and on the exhibit floor, enthusiasm and optimism about the future was palpable and contagious.
Related: ‘Awesome,’ ‘incredible,’ ‘inspiring’: BenefitsPRO Expo was a hit in person and on LinkedIn
As Nancy Giacolone put it during her BEN Talk, “You need to pay attention to where you are but also where you’re going, and not focus on what’s behind you.”
This month’s issue provides perspective on lessons our industry continues to learn from the past while focusing on a bright future featuring those who are making positive changes.
In “The next wave,” we highlight Bukola Ishola and Michael Smith, two examples of the many newcomers who have taken various paths to get here and are ready to provide much-needed ideas and energy.
We also take a look at the DEI movement in our industry two years after the death of George Floyd. As Scott Wooldridge writes in “Progress, uncertainty and backlash,” “Many companies have devoted time and energy to talking about DEI, but at this point, the reviews … are mixed. Like so many social issues in America, progress is slow or hard to see at all. Many times, what you see depends on where you stand.”
Yes, progress is slow. And it’s easy to get discouraged and burned out. But as Erica Kasperkowiak says in this month’s Face of Change, “This is a marathon … Sometimes it feels like you can’t keep pace, and I try to have grace with myself about that.”
I’m never more encouraged about the future of this industry than after spending time with so many of you in person. Yes, the challenges are daunting and the goals posts keep shifting, but there are countless passionate and creative people working every day to make a difference.
And it is working.
“I’ve been told often that I’m fearless,” Jessica Du Bois said during her closing BEN Talk. “It couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m just more scared of staying where I am than getting where I want to be.”
Based on what I see from all of you every day, she’s not the only one.
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