The employer healthcare costs in the United States increased 6.1 percent in 2007, from the previous year. According to the National Coalition on Healthcare, employers now pay a premium of around $12000 for a family of four. Similarly the average cost for a single individual accounted to nearly $4400. The impact of such an increase was also felt by the small businesses...

What is the best job search strategy? Should you send out thousands of applications or should you focus on just a few? The internet has provided the opportunity to blast your rsum or CV out to thousands of sites with one click of the mouse, but is this an effective way to find a job? And is it worth paying for? It is true that you sometimes need to send out quite a...

Zodiac Disc black from Crestock Photos Imagine you are going on vacation and are in the process of checking into the resort hotel. The counter staff smiles at you, and enthusiastically tells you that if you were to add an additional 10 per night, you can upgrade to a bigger room. Thinking that you will be hosting a barbecue pool party with some friends, and the extra...

Portrait of a beautiful businesswoman from Yuri Arcurs Website The United States is the only nation in the industrialized world without a universal health care system. The oldest universal health care system is in Germany, which had its inception in 1883 under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Let’s lay an important ground rule before we begin. Traditional insurance...

push from Crestock Creative Images I recently received an intriguing comment on my blog. It raised a question I’ve asked myself many times over the years, and I continue to fine-tune my answer. First, an excerpt from the comment:   Based on call results, how do you know you’re either working with the wrong list or giving the wrong pitch? I’ve just...

Insurance claims are getting more and more complicated. Insurance companies are on a mission to increase their profits. That may mean that your insurance company will deny claims, delay claims and defend claims to beef up their bottom line. The fabled management consulting firm of McKinsey and Company was retained a short time ago by three of the largest Property/Casualty...

United Business Team. from Yuri Arcurs Website It is official. We are now in the grips of a recession and, as a result, most conversations in board rooms today are about how to cut costs and downsize. However, in the best companies, board members are having a different discussion: how to grow market share and create value from their existing product range. Research...

isolated green plant from Crestock Stock Images Today more than ever, companies are looking for innovative people who can help them to maximize their profits and increase the bottom line. If you can provide these companies with solutions to the most common problems in business, you may be able to find a consulting job or start your own consulting business. Consulting...

big N from Stock Photo CNN anchor Anderson Cooper recently did a two-part series on the business practices of the nation’s largest property/casualty insurance company and Allstate Insurance. It was the culmination of an 18-month CNN investigation of low-impact, soft-tissue injury accidents around the country. The series was then broadcast on CNN. The video links...

“I’m feeling a lot better now that I’ve given up all hope.” That humorous quote came from one of my lieutenant’s. He was reporting on the morning change update by my boss. Our company had been working on change forever. Unfortunately, it was coming off like Alfred E. Newman once said, “Just because everything is different doesnt mean...