WebCE's Weekly Wrap-Up: August 29, 2025
WebCE Staff
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August 29, 2025
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This week, we're looking at some surprising strategies for getting ahead, including why an article in Harvard Business Review argues that you actually need to be bored. We also explore how one financial advisor found that writing a book can be a more memorable and cost-effective marketing tool than a simple business card. Plus, essential industry updates on a new Medicare model being tested across 6 states in 2026, a critical FinCEN money laundering advisory, and even some practical SEO tips for real estate professionals.
To wind down into the holiday weekend, we're taking a peek inside the most expensive house currently for sale in America, a jaw-dropping $300 million Aspen estate with 18 bedrooms and a private lake.
Let’s dive in.
Top Stories of the Week
Employers demand risk leadership from brokers as expectations rise: Zywave survey (Insurance Business Magazine)
“Ninety-four percent (94%) of respondents said they expect brokers to deliver quality risk management support, but only half believe they are receiving it. A similar gap exists in market guidance, with 98% of employers said they want updates on conditions, while just 64% said their brokers provide them.”
Gen X investors feeling underserved as affluent investors split on advisor satisfaction (Investment News)
Gen X and Millennials “revealed very different views on investing from Boomers, potentially creating an opportunity for advisors to build stronger relationships with these investors by thoughtfully addressing their unique needs and concerns."
Map Shows 6 States Testing New Medicare Model In 2026 (Newsweek)
“The model will bring in a prior authorization process relative to Medicare's existing processes, meaning recipients will either have to submit prior authorization requests for selected services or their claim will be subject to pre-payment medical review - but the model does not change Medicare coverage or payment criteria. Enhanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, will also be used to see if they can speed up prior authorization processes.”
Book value: Writing can still be good for business (Investment Executive)
“I don’t expect a large number of book sales. It’s about proving expertise. It’s raising brand awareness. I can buy these for like $2.50 from Amazon, and it costs me 70 cents for a business card. [The book is] way more helpful for the person that I hand it to, or the person that buys it.”
Equip Agents to Manage Buyer Expectations (REALTOR Magazine)
“Proactively communicating the homebuying process and managing buyer expectations is key to streamlining the transaction for both the buyer and the agent.”
7 Things Realtors Should Know About Local SEO (Realty Times)
“The first thing to do as a real estate agent who wants to rank for local keywords is complete your Google Business Profile if you haven’t already. This is a local listing that has information about you and your business. It’s a free listing, and when you complete it, you can show up in the map pack and Google Maps.”
How to Keep Your Foot on the Gas Through Year-End (Funeral Business Solutions Magazine)
“One of the most effective ways to keep momentum alive is by maintaining robust preneed outreach. This is one of the greatest sources of revenue potential that many firms leave underleveraged.”
FinCEN Issues Advisory and Financial Trend Analysis on Chinese Money Laundering Networks (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network)
“Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is raising the alarm on Chinese money laundering networks (CMLNs), which pose a significant threat to the U.S. financial system. FinCEN is issuing: (1) an Advisory to urge financial institutions to be vigilant in detecting the use of CMLNs by Mexico-based drug cartels, including several designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations; and (2) a Financial Trend Analysis (FTA) highlighting the scope and breadth of CMLN activity in the United States.”
You Need to Be Bored. Here’s Why. (Harvard Business Review)
“Why is boredom so bad? Well, because the default mode network makes us think about things that might be kind of uncomfortable. When you think about nothing while your mind wanders and thinks about, for example, big questions of meaning in your life. What does my life mean? You go to uncomfortable existential questions when you’re bored. That turns out to be incredibly important, incredibly good.”
10 Steps to Starting a Career-Advising Program (Talent Development Magazine)
“Company and HR leaders once thought of career-advising programs as simply a perk, but such initiatives have quickly become a necessity for employers that want to attract, retain, and develop top talent in a rapidly evolving workforce. By integrating career advising into workplace initiatives, companies support both individual growth and cultivate a more motivated workforce.”
Top Podcast of the Week
Take a Bold Leap Instead of a Tentative Step
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
20 Minutes
“Maybe I never will change the whole world. But every day, I can change my world.”
Those are the words of Lindsay Stevenson, CPA, CGMA, and chief transformation officer at the firm BPM. She’s back on the JofA podcast discussing technology adoption, how her firm approaches remote work, why keeping a journal at least for part of the year is important to her, and how she addresses the fear surrounding career moves.
Weekend Wind-Down
Most Expensive House For Sale In America Hits Aspen Market (The Aspen Times)
“The most expensive house for sale in the country hit the housing market in Aspen last week, a 74.1 acre property listed at $300,000,000.”
“The property’s residence, referred to as the Little Lake Lodge, has 18 bedrooms, 20 full bathrooms, and four partial bathrooms. It was built by California billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick, who co-own The Wonderful Company and founded the Aspen Institute’s Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies.”
“Mandy Welgos, global real estate advisor and broker associate for Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s International Realty who is the listing agent of the property, credited the significant asking price to a number of features — its assemblage of four parcels of land one mile from downtown Aspen, a private six acre lake, its 19,500 square foot already-built home, entitlements to build another 19,500 square foot home, its privacy, three additional homes, 45 parking spaces, and trail system built for hiking, cross country skiing, and biking.”
Check out the listing on Sotheby’s website.