Personal Note Archives - Public Relations, Advertising & Social Media

Birthdays and business

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Brian Lee

birthday cake Today is my birthday. When you get older, you care less about the gifts and more about the company, and that’s certainly true for me (although I do want that new Polaroid camera).

I realize that’s not too dissimilar from business. Of course clients and customers want results, as they should, but they also care about the company or consultants with whom they do business. That’s especially true with a commodity product or service.

So, thank you for coming to my birthday party, but no gifts are necessary.

Former HHS Secretary gives update on ACA reform

Posted on February 1, 2017June 8, 2018 by Brian Lee

ACA I attended former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and former Governor of Wisconsin Tommy Thompson’s presentation titled, “The Future of National Healthcare” yesterday in Madison.

He said he speaks regularly with Speaker Paul Ryan and HHS Secretary nominee Tom Price. In Thompson’s estimation, he believes 75-80 percent of the Affordable Care Act “can be changed administratively.”

Providing more detail, Thompson expects that several “piecemeal” bills will be created this year, focusing on:

Keeping people younger than 26 on their parents’ coverage,
Not allowing insurance companies to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions,
Allowing insurance companies to sell anything on the exchange,
Allowing insurance companies to sell across state lines, and
Changing to a block grant model for Medicaid.

“We (also) need long-term care insurance, but Congress won’t take it up (this year) because it’s too complex,” Thompson said.

Healthcare reform, along with transportation and tax reform, was one of three areas that Thompson thought Congress could tackle this year.

The Circle

Posted on August 18, 2016 by Brian Lee

20160813_094130 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are making an economic difference in our country.

I experienced that notion firsthand while attending The Circle: The Premier Gathering of Leading AAPI Entrepreneurs last weekend in Las Vegas. I was honored to be among the select group of “millennial entrepreneurs, business and thought leaders and trendsetters” to be invited.

AAPIs have some incredible stories to share. At a networking event Friday night–hosted by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s Downtown Project–I met the CEO and founder of FiscalNote. In just three years, he’s landed investments from major names such as Mark Cuban, and he’s grown his staff to more than 400. Even better, he was so humble about his accomplishments.

Saturday’s agenda was a mix of professional development and figuring out how we can “advance the conversation” in terms of providing resources and assistance to AAPI business leaders. In my food entrepreneurs break-out group, I was impressed with the mantra of transparency and helping the next generation instilled by the founders of Boba Guys in their company.

Sometimes small businesses need help from big businesses, so I was pleased by the sponsorship and presence of corporations such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Verizon. Their representatives were all ears in terms of how they can further make a difference.

20160813_123638 Finally, my trip was made possible by The LAGRANT Foundation (TLF), which generously sponsored me and two fellow former scholarship winners to attend. Words cannot express my gratitude. In addition, I was happy to reconnect with Bill Imada, who sits on the board of the Foundation and is the Chairman and Chief Connectivity Officer of IW Group.

Bill Imada and TLF Chairman & CEO Kim Hunter have done so much to put minorities in positions to succeed, and I hope to continue their cause.