A CEO’s Insights

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…

Mentors can be the key to a successful career. Yet Pinnacol’s recent research into Colorado workers’ attitudes, needs and aspirations uncovered that a whopping 70 percent of Colorado workers don't have a mentor. And less than half say their supervisor helps them manage their careers.  As Colorado’…

I write a lot in this column about how businesses can think about disruption and transformation in their industries. But a truly fundamental transformation is that of the nature of work and workers. I’m not talking about the rise of robots and artificial intelligence. I’m talking about how our…

A recent MIT/Sloan Management Review survey of digital maturity in businesses across industry and around the world uncovered an intriguing divide. Respondents in insurance, finance and entertainment were more likely to say that their organizations would not exist or would be materially weakened as…

All business leaders want to maximize their company’s profit and efficiency. We develop strategic plans to guide our growth, market to attract customers, implement customer service strategies to retain existing customers, and do our best to staff to those needs. But I expect that most leaders…

Colorado’s legislature was the scene of an extended debate this year over the issue of paid family and medical leave. Ultimately, legislators amended a bill that would have created a state-run paid leave program to a series of studies of potential approaches and costs. As you can imagine, the bill…

The evolution of a company is, in some ways, like human evolution. You’ll find a lot of failed experiments in the homo sapiens family tree: offshoots that didn’t have quite the right physiological makeup to succeed in their environments. Although it’s common to use the phrase “survival of the…

A consistent theme in these reports is workforce availability and development. As a CEO, getting and keeping the employees we need is top of mind. There’s one aspect of workforce development, though, that I don’t think gets enough attention: ongoing skillbuilding to ensure that the employees you…

I recently read an article that compared the CEO’s role in this era of disruptive transformation to both a martial arts master and the leader of a jazz band. I like those images because they convey not only flexibility but speedy reflexes and keen awareness of what’s happening around you. Being…

Digital disruption. Business transformation. Transform now or be left behind. Today is the slowest rate of change you’ll ever see. As business leaders, we read – and probably utter – phrases like these every day. Ironically, concern about the pace of change and the need to get ahead of it has…

Everyone knows the labor market is incredibly tight these days, and every month these reports show it. What’s less clear is how to set one’s company apart to get, and keep, the employees you want. This is a topic we are constantly thinking about at Pinnacol. While I wouldn’t presume to say that we…