Tim Benak (QLI) and I hosted Episode 3 of our Between Two Coasts podcast on December 19. Our guests were Rafael Gonzalez of Cattie & Gonzalez and Claire Muselman of Continental Western Group. Our theme was “Having Fun in a Suit” and they both epitomize what that means. They take their jobs very seriously (and …
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This is a feel good story for the holidays that offers lessons for every single person. I published an article on October 15, 2020 entitled “A Woman of Integrity” (originally published on April 4, 2018) that focused on Justine Irizarry. She saw it on LinkedIn and reached out to me. Her profile showed her being …
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Originally published on WorkersCompensation.com’s Experts View on December 3, 2020 Tim Benak (QLI) and I hosted Episode 2 of our Between Two Coasts podcast on November 24. Our guests were Becky Curtis of Take Courage Coaching and Dr. Geralyn Datz of Southern Behavioral Medicine Associates. They both help people, including injured workers, find the best way to manage chronic …
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“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” That’s how Mike Tyson responded to media’s concerns about a competitor’s boxing strategy. In case you only know Mike Tyson from “The Hangover” with the tiger and playing air drums to “In the Air Tonight” (one of my favorite movie scenes), he was the …
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I know. Everybody has COVID fatigue, whether it’s talking about it, listening about it, or living with it. Everybody has an opinion, and some of them are even right. For all that has gone wrong, from “predictive models” (air quotes intended) to the negative impacts (which made Black Swan models look tame), there have been …
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Tim Benak and I were extremely excited to have our launch – Episode 1 – of the monthly “Between Two Coasts” podcast on October 8. We are very thankful to our employers, QLI and Preferred Medical, for sponsoring our efforts. Our goal is to recreate the environment at a conference where we have informal hallway …
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I’m not sure if you know it but each October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, “an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease.” It just got my full attention in a fresh new way. On October 14, a friend (who will remain anonymous) told me she had breast cancer. I received the same news …
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I had the privilege of being on a panel with Lisa Anne Bickford (Director of Government Relations, Coventry) and Don Lipsy (AVP, Managed Care Government Relations, Sedgwick) at the National Workers’ Compensation and Disability virtual conference on October 21. Our session was entitled “Workers’ Comp Regulatory and Legislative Trends that Belong on Your Radar for …
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I have a hero. Her name is Justine. She is the daughter of a former colleague of mine. Her story is one of overcoming and paying forward. In other words, a “success story”. We are surrounded by heartbreaking stories (“One family loses two sons to opioid epidemic: It’s ‘overwhelming’“) including COVID-19’s “deaths of despair” so …
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Having been in the professional workplace since 1980 and in workers’ compensation since 1990, I have observed a few things about people. They’re all different (thanks, Captain Obvious). Some people are competent at their assigned tasks and some are not. Some people’s attitude about their work, workplace, colleagues and life in general is very positive …
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