At my core, I am a salesperson. I can be easily distracted by new technologies, innovative ideas, and data analytics. For many years, I was relegated to getting my innovation fix in places outside my industry. But times, they are a-changing.

At industry events, booths formerly sponsored by carriers have been replaced by tech vendors, new transparency tools, wellness strategies, and tax schemes designed to reduce tax liability and used to fund other products.

For the last five years or so, an innovative, successful consultant could gain clients by bringing new ideas to the table, but now, some consultants are losing business by bringing too many or unproven ideas to their customers. This is a warning to not be distracted by all the "new ideas," but still be careful enough to bring the right ideas to clients.