A CEO’s Insights

It’s been seven months since the coronavirus pandemic led companies like mine, with white collar workforces, to shift to almost entirely virtual work. As much as we all want the world to return to “normal,” many of us are adapting to remote work – and liking what we see. Can we make it our next…

I recently addressed a group of military officers about “leadership in a time of crisis.” We’re certainly facing no shortage of crises now: pandemic, economic collapse for workers and businesses, racial unrest. Perhaps most worrying, we’re experiencing a crisis of trust in the institutions of…

Six months into the pandemic, most of us have mostly figured out things like remote work and workplace hygiene. Minding our employees’ emotional health remains a challenge, and leaders in especially hard-hit sectors like hotels, restaurants and performing arts are still racking their brains to…

At a time of unprecedented uncertainty, what does business planning look like? How do you budget when you don’t know whether the recovery curve will look like a U or a V or a W? How do you find out what’s really going on with your customers and in your market, rather than relying solely on received…

As a leader – as an American – these recent weeks have been a cause for self-reflection. Like, I’m sure, all of you, I’ve been examining my own beliefs and behavior and that of my company. My board and I are proud of our company, and believe we set a good example of fair employment practices and…

As the CEO of a workers’ comp insurance company, I’m all about risk management. But making the decision not to reopen our building for the rest of the year was one of the hardest I’ve ever confronted. And determining how to handle our field operations, especially our safety consultants, was harder…

Welcome to the new reality of remote work. My VP of HR recently participated in a virtual conference with a few hundred counterparts from insurance companies around the world, and the consensus was that none of them will return to the kind of physical work arrangements they had pre-COVID. In fact,…

In times of crisis, you have to both meet people where they are and at the same time point them towards the future. Only by understanding the first can you accomplish the second. However strong your crisis plan, nothing prepares you for being CEO at a time of unprecedented uncertainty and fear.…

These are the days when crisis planning pays off. Like all of you, I’m carefully watching the impact of COVID-19 on our economy and preparing for its impact on my business. Our investment portfolio, just like everyone else’s, is taking a hit, but we’ll weather that. The bigger question for me is:…

How is your office configured? And is it maximizing, or detracting from, your employees’ productivity? This question is looming large for me right now, and I know that many of my colleagues grapple with it too. In fact, I suspect that the scenario my company is facing will resonate for many of my…

Every company, regardless of industry sector, is becoming a technology company. That’s necessary, but not sufficient, to succeed in this new era of business. What will win the day is how quickly learning can be applied to meeting customer needs through the orchestration of technology and human…

Think flexible work means working from home? Think again: Colorado workers care more about when they work than where, according to research my company, Pinnacol Assurance, recently commissioned. While Colorado has the highest percentage of employees who work from home, our research shows that only…