There is a “nebbish” who has been on the local school board for 12 years. Both of his daughters are in college. Yet, he is running for re-election. More importantly, in his re-election announcement, he announced no accomplishments in 12 years. I can tell you, that as a parent in the district for the past 14 years, the district has gone down the toilet. He will have no opposition because people fear running (the school district is our biggest employer). Yet, he will not step aside because he doesn’t think he’s done a bad job. He thinks he’s great.

When dealing with plan sponsors and their plans, the poor decision-makers are still in their jobs, probably because they own the business. Some have it in, with their bosses, if they’re just the head of Human Resources. If these poor decision-makers made the decisions that landed their plan in trouble, they will go to great lengths to deny it, even rejecting some of your suggestions out of spite. When dealing with the egos of the incompetent, you have to walk on eggshells because something innocuous you say, may be too insulting.