The Wind Down 27

Hey Gang,

Alright, it's been a few weeks since the last Wind Down.

And look, I'll be honest—I was over it. I decided long ago that if I don’t like something, I change it, or I’m out. That goes for emails, coffee orders, and newsletters, too.

Now, down to business.

Summer’s pretty much in the rearview, and now it’s time for everyone to go a little overboard on the pumpkin spice. You know who you are.

So, this week at Dinsmore Steele?

Wild ride. We’re testing some new email scripts. And let me tell ya, it’s like trying to swim laps in a pool of maple syrup—frustrating, sticky, but kinda necessary.

Caught some clips from the All In Summit this week—big names. Elon is doing Elon things, and Kyrsten Sinema and others are making some waves. It’s solid stuff—worth checking out if you need a break from staring at spreadsheets.

And let’s talk about a tough one that we cracked wide open this week.

A CFO and HR Director walk into a bar... just kidding, no bar—but they did walk into my office with a PEO disaster. They left ADP TotalSource 'cause of a big renewal, switched to another PEO.

Problem?

Their old Oxford plans had IVF coverage and 225% out-of-network reimbursement. Their new plans under UHC (which owns Oxford, ironically) didn’t cover IVF and had some weak sauce 110%-140% reimbursement.

There was no broker involved, and no one reviewed the plans. The employees got the short end of the stick on coverage, and man, did they feel it.

So we came in and found them a new PEO with IVF coverage, a 225% reimbursement rate, and UCR options. Happy employees. Happy management.

Oh, and we saved them $39,861.33 in the process. Not bad for a day's work.

On the lighter side, I have been diving into?Bad Monkey?on Apple TV+ with Vince Vaughn. 8 episodes in—it’s good. If you’re into that kind of thing (and you should be).

Listening to Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari. It’s fast, it’s got energy—it’s one of those "keep you thinking after it's over" books.

Some stories you might like

• Tony Robbins teaming up with Stanford? That’s a new one.
• Titan Sub disaster—it turns out it’s a bigger mess than we knew.
• Last year got a key to the city, and this year arrested. Oh, Diddy.

Posts that grabbed my attention:

• 12 Quotes on Self-Care, for when you need to, well, care.
• How to build a high-converting landing page. Spoiler alert: don't overthink it.
• Mira Murati leaves OpenAI—big moves.
• How can bonuses work for you, not against you?

My Observations

• Most people don’t follow up. Seriously, 90% of the time, someone asks me for something, and if I don’t commit right away, they disappear faster than leftovers at Thanksgiving.
• Most people are... let’s say, "underqualified." You’ve been there—end a call and instantly realize the person on the other end is paddling without a lifejacket. It happens a lot more than it should.

Now, a little business: Self-employed and having a tough time with health insurance? Yeah, it’s a beast. Finding affordable plans from Aetna, Cigna, or Anthem is no easy feat.

The good news: We’ve got Association Health plans that require zero payroll. And if you do have payroll? We’ve got you covered with some solid PEO plans, too.

Check out the rates and the options, and if you’re scratching your head, give Barb a shout. She’s got you.

Lastly, our thoughts are with everyone affected by Hurricane Helene. Stay strong.

Have a killer weekend, Rodney