Kristen Allison is a 30-year veteran of the employee benefits industry and CEO of Burnham Benefits Insurance Services, a leading employee benefits brokerage in California.

Hire the best. I grew Burnham Benefits by welcoming smart, healthy-minded people I knew were talented. Be humble and don’t be intimidated by those that are stronger in different disciplines. Never let ego prevent you from building an outstanding team. And once you attract, invest the time and resources to ensure each employee can succeed.

Believe in abundance. Think abundance, not scarcity. The employee benefits sector went haywire when health reform first passed, and many prepared for the worst. My team embraced it, aware our clients need us more than ever to understand the law, implement the best planning and to communicate with their staffs. We increased our staff-to-client ratio, brought on an in-house attorney and expanded our underwriting staffs.