Author Archive for: Dev

In recent months, you might have heard “cognitive offloading” tossed around in articles about the impact of AI in our classrooms. The concept isn’t new, but in today’s world, it’s become increasingly relevant. Cognitive offloading refers to our tendency to use tools to support mental tasks we might otherwise rely on our own brains to perform. Writing notes instead of memorizing information, using a calculator, or relying on AI to summarize a meeting are all examples. In many cases, cognitive offloading is helpful. It allows us to manage complexity and work more efficiently. However, as our tools have advanced, this natural tendency is beginning to produce concerning consequences. A new study found that people who increasingly rely on AI are seeing a significant decrease in their critical thinking skills. This phenomenon, referred to as cognitive atrophy, highlights a dangerous side effect of AI use that warrants greater attention. Schools and universities around the world are scrambling to mitigate the impact of AI in learning environments, with varying levels of success. But it’s not only schools that need to be worried about the ramifications. Business leaders need to start taking this just as seriously.

Employer-sponsored health coverage is entering another year of significant cost pressure. Medical costs are projected to rise 8.5% this year, with overall increases ranging from 6.5% to 10% per employee, one of the steepest hikes in over a decade. More than half of employers plan to raise deductibles or annual out-of-pocket limits to offset those increases. Meanwhile, employees have seen their share of premiums climb dramatically over the past two decades—up 272% for individual coverage and 243% for family coverage. For business leaders, these are significant numbers that affect operating budgets, with health insurance often among the top three expenses. While national trends are outside an individual employer’s control, plan strategy and design, as well as employee engagement, can influence long-term outcomes.

Growing a company means living with change. Teams shift as the business evolves, and roles tend to stretch before they are fully redefined. It can also create pressure that shows up in day-to-day work. Most employers recognize the signs quickly. Communication takes more effort. Decisions slow down. Accountability feels less clear across teams. In many cases, leaders focus on fixing the issue right in front of them without stepping back to assess how the team is developing. The Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing model offers a useful way to zoom out. Developed in the mid-1960s by Bruce W. Tuckman, it provides employers with a simple framework for assessing their team, understanding how teams evolve over time, and why certain challenges tend to resurface as organizations grow. Used as a reference point, this model helps leaders respond with intention. It also creates shared language that makes team challenges easier to discuss without immediately assigning blame.

At Q4intelligence, we choose a theme every year to drive our thinking and actions.  Last year, our theme was “community.” We obsessed over what it means to be an active participant in the communities we’re part of, our clients, peers, industry, and the people we learn from every day.   Community requires people to show up regularly, not just when it’s convenient. The most impactful communities only happen when we’re actively contributing, listening, supporting, and helping move the collective forward.  We’re building on that foundation this year with our 2026 theme, “Connection.”  As we think about the relationship between these two themes, we see community as our critically important environment, and meaningful connections as what makes the communities work.

    Join Jennifer Berman, JD, MBA, Lumelight, for the latest Compliance Corner!  When: Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:30 AM Pacific / 10:30 AM Mountain / 11:30 AM Central / 12:30 PM Eastern Where: Save my seat     Fiduciary Compliance 101: The New Year Strategy By now, most of us in the health and benefit plans space have listened, learned, and lamented over fiduciary duty cases such as Johnson & Johnson or Stern v. JP Morgan. Although ERISA has long applied fiduciary roles and responsibilities to health and welfare benefit plans, regulatory guidance tailored specifically to these plan designs has remained largely stagnant. This has resulted in a huge uptick in federal court cases related to fiduciary duties and the ongoing conversations around what it means to be a good fiduciary.  January’s compliance webinar will cover Fiduciary Compliance 101, providing a high-level overview of fiduciary compliance, fiduciary duties, and best practices to implement at the start of 2026, and every calendar year going forward. Join us for our monthly webinar as we unpack fiduciary compliance for health and benefit plans and explain why it’s an essential discussion to start the year. Let us clarify the mess, so you can spend your time doing what you do best. Who is Lumelight?  Lumelight is a boutique ACA and benefits compliance consultancy helping people navigate the complex world of employee benefits compliance through deep expertise and superb client service. Want to attend? Save your seat by clicking here.  {% module_block module “widget_1cab5fe7-992d-479b-b8d1-f854882928af” %}{% module_attribute “btn” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}{“link”:{“no_follow”:false,”open_in_new_tab”:true,”rel”:”noopener”,”sponsored”:false,”url”:{“content_id”:null,”href”:”https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAlfu2tqTotEt1u6mruOOyUF0X8PKz5CHJu#/registration”,”href_with_scheme”:”https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAlfu2tqTotEt1u6mruOOyUF0X8PKz5CHJu#/registration”,”type”:”EXTERNAL”},”user_generated_content”:false},”title”:”I want to attend”}{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “btn_type” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}”cta”{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “child_css” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}{}{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “css” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}{}{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “cta” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}”160409781517″{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “definition_id” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}null{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “field_types” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}{“animation”:”group”,”layout”:”group”,”custom_class”:”text”,”is_in_viewport”:”boolean”,”cta”:”cta”,”style”:”group”,”anchor_link_id”:”text”,”btn”:”group”,”btn_type”:”choice”}{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “label” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}null{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “layout” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}{“alignment”:”center”,”margin_top”:0}{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “module_id” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}100522671426{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “path” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}”2023 Power Theme child/modules/mini-cta”{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “schema_version” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}2{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “smart_objects” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}[]{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “smart_type” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}”NOT_SMART”{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “style” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}{“cta_size”:”pwr-cta–full-width”,”cta_style”:”pwr-cta–primary-solid”}{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “tag” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}”module”{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “type” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}”module”{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute “wrap_field_tag” is_json=”true” %}{% raw %}”div”{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% end_module_block %}