The One Litmus Test for Indispensable Employees

It’s no secret executives value employees who are smart, driven and lifelong learners. However, sometimes organizations can get bogged down with too many key performance indicators (KPIs), copious desirable employee traits and overly complex review processes, so it’s nice to have a quick, “back-of-the-napkin” measure of employee value. According to businessman Mark Cuban, the secret

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Rest in Peace, Jamey Masingill

It has been a sad couple of days. Last Thursday, one of my favorite people in the industry and in life, Jamey Masingill, lost his battle with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease). Many of us at Rising and throughout the workers’ compensation community worked with Jamey over the years. Anyone

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Rest and Fewer Reps Hasten Learning

We all know the saying “Practice makes perfect.” According to Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, at least 10,000 hours is required to be a true expert. Many of us assume that aspiring experts must cram those hours into uninterrupted practice sessions and master one topic at a time before moving on. But the conventional wisdom of “blocking”

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Mutual Trust Key to Claims Advocacy Success

Psychosocial issues pose the biggest barrier to successful claim outcomes, according to Rising’s 2016 Workers’ Compensation Benchmarking Study. Citing best practices from The Hartford, CNA, Nationwide, and Albertsons, Rising recently released a white paper examining how claims advocacy principles are better suited to overcome psychosocial factors than adversarial, compliance-driven, and task-based claims styles. I have

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WD-40 Learning Maniac: Lessons from a Learning-Obsessed Culture

Continued learning and education is a topic I frequently find myself revisiting. Ongoing exploration, innovation, and resourcefulness are three key ingredients needed to become and maintain a fast moving organization. This Harvard Business Review article about WD-40 – yes, the stuff you use for squeaky hinges – illustrates just how important continued learning is for

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The Paradox of Expertise

Why did no one in the taxi industry create a phone app to improve the ride ordering process (Uber)? Why didn’t Sear’s dominate online sales (Amazon)?  Why didn’t the Big Three auto companies design the first really innovative electric car (Tesla)? Expertise and experience should be a competitive advantage when it comes to innovation. Yet, the

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10 Bad Habits to Eliminate from Your Daily Life

A recent Inc. article cited 10 common bad habits that endanger our health, hamper our productivity, and harm our relationships. Some habits identified are widely acknowledged “no-nos,” such as cigarette smoking and using electronic devices before bed. Other cited habits that I personally struggle with are keeping a cluttered desk and snacking out of stress

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