As a business owner, I find my thoughts often gravitating to an area I feel very deeply about – taking care of others. At Gibson, we take care of our clients every day – it’s our core business to help them Protect What Matters Most. As CEO of Gibson, Ialso feel paternalistic in my responsibility to provide a great opportunity for our 100 employees. The other executives and I spend a great deal of time considering how our decisions might impact the long-term connection we strive for with our team.

I was chatting with my partner and Gibson’s CFO, Keith Stone. He’s also the lead trustee for our ESOP - GESOP as we say in “Gibson speak”. I asked him what he thought about the subject. Without hesitation, he said “You know what, I feel really good about the way we consider our employees in all we do. Creating the GESOP in 2010 was probably the best thing we could have done for our people over the long haul.”

Even though tornado season in Indiana is typically considered April to July, these severe storms can happen at any time and often come with little warning. It is important to be prepared!

What steps can you take to prepare your home and family for a tornado?

It seems like every week the news is reporting another active shooter incident; these incidents have truly become an epidemic. In the past few years we’ve seen schools, universities; movie theaters, military bases, and businesses face threats, scares and shootings. There are two ways to approach these active shooting situations: 1) Prevention and 2) Damage Control.

As a law enforcement officer, I spent a lot of time focused on damage control. However, as a Risk Advisor I would say that although we absolutely have to be able to respond if an active shooting were to occur, we would be much better served if we were able to recognize and prevent the shooting before it happens.

At Gibson, our mission is “To Protect What Matters Most.” Naturally, as the Director of Health Risk Management at Gibson, I would like to make the argument that health, and perhaps to a greater degree, vitality, matter most. Take a moment and think about that—your personal health. If you are like most people, you might equate health to the absence of disease or illness. Now think about your vitality. The dictionary defines vitality this way: exuberant physical strength or mental vigor; the capacity for survival or for the continuation of a meaningful or purposeful existence. In a way, vitality could also be described as wellbeing—a state characterized by health, happiness, and prosperity.

This brings me back to the mission at Gibson—“To Protect What Matters Most”. For the clients we serve, the “what matters most”, varies by organization and is dynamic in nature. In my role, I have the distinct privilege of serving clients who truly care about the health of their employees and their families. Without healthy employees, they know the work won’t get done—on the job or at home—and the vitality of the organization will suffer.

There are so many leadership theories about what makes a good leader – is it traits, competencies, skills, natural abilities or a combination of all of these? Can leadership be learned or are leaders just born to lead?

I was talking on this topic with one of our partners (and a great leader herself) Liz Misenar. She’s very passionate about it. The optimist in both of us believes that it can be learned or at least nurtured and improved.

Summer is right around the corner, and it’s time to put away the coats and bring out shorts and swim suits. Children all the way from pre-school to high school will soon be released from yet another school year, with a few months of freedom until the fall semester. The summer months are a great time to play sports, go the beach, or ride a bike around the neighborhood. Parents love to see their kids outside having a good time, but when it comes to playing outside…

“Just one more level!” or “My favorite show is on!”

We are committed to teaming at Gibson. Perhaps more than any other firm in our industry.

Purchasing a boat is a substantial investment. In addition to the purchase price of the boat itself, most boat owners also pay for slip fees, fuel, various other costs associated with equipping and maintaining the boat, and insurance.

Today’s business climate requires that companies keep an especially close eye on expenses. One area where this monitoring sometimes escapes the attention of accountants, bookkeepers, and others who are responsible for corporate financials is workers’ compensation.

Workers’ compensation claims are ultimately a liability for an employer, whether the actual money paid to the injured worker is done through the state, through a private insurance company, or through the self-insured employer itself. But the direct costs of claims are not the only potential expense that employers can incur when it comes to workers’ compensation. Two very costly mistakes that often escape oversight but that can ultimately have a devastating effect on an employer's financial position include:

• Overestimating the amount of reserves needed to pay particular claims
• Failing to bring injured workers back to transitional duty

By now it’s certainly no surprise to anyone who reads my blog that I am passionate about leadership. It fascinates and inspires me and I spend a great deal of time and effort trying to learn everything I can about the subject. I am blessed to have the opportunity to lead a great organization that is striving to be better each day.

We have an outstanding group of people that are the best in every way. So, I want to be a student of the game: to learn and constantly be striving to master the craft of leadership. Frankly it’s part of the responsibility of my role to give these folks my very best.