Im a small businessman. My company offers health insurance through Emblem. As our plan is winding down in a month, were supposed to automatically receive a renewal letter that offers a continuation, or new plan options. Of course, the letter doesnt come. The clock keeps ticking. To get that letter--a formality if there ever was--Ive been on the phone three times with Emblem this week. Ive been cut off. Ive been transferred at least four times around their maze of silos and fiefdoms. Ive been promised a callback from what they amusingly call their sales department. It doesnt come. The clock ticks some more. And I start getting that uncomfortable feeling, once again. The one that I get every year with these health insurance companies at plan renewal time. Not just Emblem, but Oxford, and so on. Dont know what Im talking about? Think of how you feel when your cable mysteriously goes out and you get on the phone with Time Warner. Or the sense of hopelessness that envelopes you when youre stuck on some runway by United with no clue of how long your misery will last. Now apply that feeling to an organization that might be larger than your family--in fact, one that other families rely upon for their income. Emblem, TimeWarner, United, and on and on: big isnt always better, folks. Economies of scale are always tempting, but when efficiency trumps innovation, organizations begin to die deaths of a thousand cuts. As do the ecosystems that surround those organizations--the partners, the vendors and suppliers, their employees, and most of all, the customers who suffer from declining service, fewer options, and--perhaps worst of all--the abject lack of pride we encounter when doing business with those organizations. Many take joy in throwing rocks at big government. But if thats you, be sure to lob at least as many at big business. I dont recall any government clients telling my small business that payment terms are now 90 days, making my company into their bank. (At least real banks get to set payment terms.) And we still get a say in our governments decisions, though the Supreme Court seems intent on making pay for play the law of the land. If were going to have inefficient, soul-sucking big businesses, we need inefficient, soul-sucking big governments as a counterweight. But I think wed be much better off with smaller, more human versions of both. Anyway, this is a small businessmans rant. My apologies. I just wish our policy-makers--and our voters--would keep in mind that job creation and innovation comes from the little guys. And someone needs to stand up for us.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 16:16:42 +0000
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