D-BEnefits Podcast

This episode is chock-full of nuggets.  Aidan McCullen is a transformation specialist.  His book - Undisruptable - is an outstanding call for individuals and companies to adopt a midset of "permanent reinvention".  His podcast https://theinnovationshow.io/ is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand the effects, of the rapidly changing world, on people and businesses alike.  Having listen to many hours of his podcast and havng read his book - I had many questions - too many to properly manage in the 90 minutes Aidan so generously shared; but he is the ultimate professional and steadily helped manage the flow.  I thouroughly enjoyed.  I hope you do too.  We touch on a wide range of subjects, childhood, parents and parenting, serendibipty, goal setting, talent and discipline, VUCA, Kintsugi Thinking and more.  

The more noisy the world becomes, the more carefully you have to communicate with people that you care about and or you know, such as your employees because you won't be able to control any message, and generally what people do fill that  void with, will not be what you want them to fill it with. - Nolan Bederman, Executive Chair - LifespeakThis is a wonderful conversation with Anne Beutler, KMC Communications and Nolan Bederman, Executive Chair - Lifespeak 

Common Wealth has built a single-stack cloud based Group Savings Platform.  Jonathan Weisstub is a deep thinking business leader who is focussed on identifying complex problems and breaking them down into solvable chunks all in the pursuit of building solutions that deliver support and service to Canadians with an elegant and delightful User Experience that "meet them where they are at".  Speaking with Jonathan is always fun - he challenges conventional thinking and insists  on approaching and framing "problems" through an essentially positive lens.  Jonathan Weisstub is Co-founder and co-CEO of Common Wealth Retirement -he is a lawyer and former senior advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada with senior executive experience in government, professional services, and the corporate sector.  In 2015, he co-founded Common Wealth, a mission-driven financial technology company that provides straightforward, portable retirement plans. To advance our mission to make it possible for everyone to have a financially secure retirement, Common Wealth focuses on serving those not covered by workplace retirement plans, including SMBs, not-for-profits, self-employed professionals, and modest earners. Working together with our partners, Common Wealth's innovations have included helping to create the first retirement plan in Canada for modest earners and the first group retirement plan in Canada for physicians. Common Wealth's plans have received multiple awards for their innovative design, including a WorldPensionSummit innovation award in technology from Pensions & Investments. 

Joel Cadesky - could well be the definitive Insurance Agent. With 44 years of experience selling life and health insurance in both the individual/personal and group markets he has life lessons and wisdom for all of us. As a service maximalist and a person who has lived his life with presence and the humility to learn from his experience - his story is of value for all whether you are an insurance person or not. 

A must listen for advisors and other practitioners in the benefits business. Darwin Forbes is a seasoned leader with a proven track record of success. Anyone thinking of getting into the business or already building a benefits business should take the time to listen.

Bitcoin is here to stay. It is rapidly becoming mainstream. The utility and use cases of Bitcoin in the Workplace cannot be ignored. 

The basics of the Bitcoin network. What is Bitcoin? What is money? What is Fiat? What are Miners? What are nodes?

Greg Foss - explains why 60/40 savings model is dead. The debt spiral. The trouble with Bonds and the elegance and truth of Bitcoin.

Adam O'Brien talks about his journey in Bitcoin. What Bitcoin Well works to solve. What is money? The progression from paper to digital money. Why Bitcoin. And Bitcoin in the Workplace.

Marni Hefner joins me in a wide ranging discussion about Mental Health with Dr. Rachel Toledano. We talk through personal observations and stories. Social responsibility, mental health in the workplace, the employer as a facillitator of mental health services and InkBlot as an innovator in the digital space delivering mental health support.

"In the sanctity of 21 million Bitcoin we have created a technology and social institution that we ourselves cannot corrupt; and that's a big deal!" - Robert Breedlove. On the D-BEnefits Podcast, May 30, 2022.  Bitcoin - a defensive technology. The relevance and utility of government. The impact of technological innovation from gunpowder to cryptology. Printing money as a source of governmental revenue. Gold, fractional banking and fiat. ... and not to leave out THE HUMAN SPIRIT. All through the lense of Bitcoin!

80% of the money in circulation in Canada was created in the last two years. That is a staggering fact. What are the implications? Dr Eric Kam discusses and even seeks to understand the impact on the Mental Health fo Canadians. Employers and advisors will play a key role in supporting Canadians as they grapple with the issues.

Joe's Blomeley's experience in government. How that informs his work in the private sector. Healthcare, funding, national Phamramcare, Mental Health, the workplace, the impact of COVID - and what we need to know....

A sweeping conversation about Ai. IS that really Ai? What is Ai. Fabian Shramm talks all things Ai the components, a bit of the history, use cases, some philosophy and even gets to Ai for the Insurance and Benefits Industry. Thoroughly engaging 90 minutes or so. Hope you enjoy.

35 of years of group insurance history packed into one hour. Where we've been, where we are going. Favourite memories. The Human element of benefits. Communications. What we've got right and what we could maybe do better. This podcast is a fun conversation - but don't take it lightly we discuss some real issues our industry is facing. Something for everyone - advisors, employers and insurers.

Student debt is corrosive to the economy. "In 2018 student debt contributed to more than 1 in 6 (17.6%) insolvencies in Ontario" (hoyes.com). YR Plans offers employers a solution that meets employees where they are - and offers a program that links employer contibutions to Retirement Savings plans with Student Debt reduction. John Kenny is an innovator and a problem solver. It's a delight to talk with him. 

Entrepeneurship, life challenges, deep mindfullness, the hidden value of benefit plans, abundance, and her very own Chronically Simple. Workplace Benefits for 2022 and beyond. Some sage advice for Benefits Advisors and HR Practitioners. ... AND ALL THE WHILE FOCUSSED ON HELPING OTHERS. INSPIRATIONAL! 

Matt Lister, Co-Founder and CEO of Cloud Advisor engages with the D-BEnefits Podcast in a discussion about Group Benefits. We discuss Group Insurance and it's history its limiations and it's place in teh world of Total Compensation today. We get into the requesite capabilities of the Group Benefits Advisor in 2021. If you are in the group insurance industry or looking at moving into it - this podcast is a must listen.

You'll have to listen. 

A wide ranging conversation focussed on communciation with Nadia Bilchik.  Nadia is the President of Greater Impact Communication, is an internationally renowned television personality, communication and professional development training expert, author and keynote speaker - not to mention an old classmate and a truly nice person.

A discussion with Michelle Hilscher  in an effort to understand Behavioural Science.  Why does the application of this area of Psychology research seem to be coming of age? Is it a signal in the noise and a pointer to the inflection point we are traversing from modern times into the Gig Age?  Why do we make the decisions we make?  Does the volume of infomration we have at our finger tips impact our ability to use our reflexive decision making processess?  How does Behavioural Science help?  WE ARE PREDICTABLY IRRATIONAL!

A reminder that we are living in a new age and we need to think differently about how we plan for our years of decumulation. This discussion is equally relevant for financial advisors as well as consumers of financial products. From Not-Retirement-Planning to Annuities and Tontines a wide-ranging discussion about the DECUMULATION phase of life.  Biologic Age, what's-inflation-anyway? and what the world of decumulation is today vs say - the 1960's and 70's.  

 The source of the conversation is Katherine's New York Times best seller - Bottle of Lies.  From corporate malfeasance to efficacy of bioequivalence - this discussion covers a sweeping subject.  This podcast has real relevance for health insurers, benefits advisors and employers who implement, manage and deliver drug insurance  . The time for this conversation is past due.   At the end of the day it's about the patients who rely on these drugs daily - either to sustain quality of life or perhaps even to sustain life.  On any given day each of us is either a patient or could become one!  Do we know how these dugs are manufactured, how they work and what goes into them?

A terrific hour with Adrian Gore.  Purpose and values.  Positive Signals.  Healthy living.  26 years old and his experience disrupting the Life and Health Insurance industry.  

Public - Private Solutions for the delivery of Prescription Drug coverage (and all that implies) for Canadians.  Helen Stevenson is a thought leader and played a significant role in successfully disrupting the RX drug system in Ontario - at some personal risk it should be noted - and managed a process that lead to $1.5bn in savings.   Here we discuss challenges in both the public and private systems.  Listen to Helen explain aspects of the Reformulary offering - a robust solution that reduces complexity of drug plan implementation for advisors and their employers and empowers employees/plan members with tools to ease the purchase of their prescription drugs by providing effective actionable information in an easy to use mobile interface.  Lastly --- some discussion on the roll-out of COVID-19 Vaccine in Canada.Enjoy.