DIY Attention Rehab: When AI Becomes Your Chief of Staff Instead of Your Junk Drawer (July 14, 2026)

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:00:00 GMT

REMINDER - Presentation will be at our new location,
MEM (formerly Missouri Employers Mutual)

Breakfast and networking from 7:45am to 8:10am

Presentation starting at 8:15am

Your attention is now your scarcest resource. Most professionals are carrying too many ideas, tasks, and decisions in their heads—and for many, AI has made that overload worse instead of better. HR professionals, in particular, sit at the intersection of leadership expectations, employee experience, and operational reality, constantly absorbing friction, detecting signals others miss, and translating executive direction into human conversations. That role makes AI incredibly powerful when structured well—and deeply exhausting when it’s not.

This session reframes how HR can work with large language models by treating them not as shortcuts or productivity hacks, but as a structured thinking workspace. Much like a workshop or craft room, the real value isn’t the tools themselves—it’s having space to spread ideas out, test assumptions, make mistakes, and build something personally useful.

Participants will explore why AI often turns into a digital junk drawer instead of a support system, and how to intentionally design an organized AI thinking space that supports clarity rather than chaos. The discussion will unpack why people adopt AI so differently, how invisible obstacles undermine productivity, and why one-size-fits-all approaches to adoption rarely stick. Attendees will learn a practical framework for turning scattered experimentation into a structured environment that supports real thinking and decision-making, while also identifying which workforce adoption archetype best represents their current state and what that means for the easiest path forward.

By the end of the session, participants will leave with concrete, immediately usable actions and downloadable tools to help make AI work for them and their teams—no technical expertise required. This program is designed to help HR professionals reclaim focus, reduce cognitive load, and use AI in a way that aligns with how humans actually think and work.

Angie Bailey

Angie Bailey brings a rare blend of media, education, and business transformation experience to conversations about the future of work. She spent years delivering the news on KOMU-TV and continues to teach journalism and strategic communication at the University of Missouri. Most recently, Angie has been building go-to-market operations and e‑commerce strategy at EquipmentShare, supporting the company ahead of its recent IPO.

After nearly four years designing digital infrastructure, Angie has turned her attention to a largely unsolved workforce challenge: making innovation—and particularly AI—actually stick for non-technical humans. She approaches AI not as an expert, but as a highly engaged super-user who has spent nearly two years delegating daily work to tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Along the way, she’s asked critical questions many professionals quietly share: Why aren’t more smart, capable people using AI productively? And what is the real cost of waiting?

Angie believes there’s no requirement to pretend AI is harmless—which is exactly why more professionals deserve a seat at the table as decisions about their work are being made. Her goal is deeply practical: to help participants engage with AI on their own terms so they can confidently participate in—and influence—a near-future workforce where humans and AI work side by side.

Your Health Plan Is a Liability (If You're Not Paying Attention) (October 13, 2026)

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

REMINDER - Presentation will be at our new location,
MEM (formerly Missouri Employers Mutual)

Breakfast and networking from 7:45am to 8:10am

Presentation starting at 8:15am

This session will explore the critical importance of fiduciary responsibility in employer‑sponsored group health plans. Employers are legally obligated to act in the best interests of plan participants, and with plaintiff attorneys increasingly shifting their focus from 401(k) litigation to healthcare plans, passive or undocumented plan management can expose organizations—and individuals responsible for oversight—to significant financial and legal risk. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of fiduciary oversight, including why structured governance and documented decision‑making are essential in today’s regulatory and litigation environment.

The discussion will also focus on how to critically evaluate medical and pharmacy benefit arrangements, including vendor partners, network and formulary design, contract terms, compensation structures, data transparency, and alternative funding strategies that may offer meaningful cost‑saving opportunities. Speakers will highlight the importance of access to claims data to support routine audits and informed decision‑making. In addition, the session will address current dynamics in the stop‑loss market, where specialty drugs, gene therapies, and shock claims are driving higher‑cost claimants and significant renewal increases, and what employers should consider when negotiating coverage in this evolving landscape.

Robert Aschentrop

Robert Aschentrop brings nearly two decades of experience in employee benefits consulting, following an early career in the banking industry. He has spent the past ten years with Lockton, where he advises employers on complex benefit strategies with a focus on insurance underwriting, alternative risk financing, pharmacy strategy, and financial and claims analytics. Robert is known for his deep understanding of how benefit programs function at both a strategic and operational level. He closely tracks innovation and emerging trends in the employee benefits space, identifying, evaluating, and implementing forward‑thinking solutions and vendor partnerships that drive positive disruption and deliver meaningful, sustainable cost savings for his clients.

Max Danner

Max Danner has spent the past seven years at Lockton serving in a variety of roles, partnering with employers across both the public and private sectors. Throughout his tenure, he has supported organizations with key initiatives including open enrollment, regulatory compliance, financial budgeting, and long‑term strategic planning. Max is dedicated to helping clients navigate their evolving benefits needs by delivering thoughtful, strategic solutions and seamless service, enabling organizations to move forward with confidence and clarity.

HRACMO upcoming events

DIY Attention Rehab: When AI Becomes Your Chief of Staff Instead of Your Junk Drawer (July 14, 2026)

Your Health Plan Is a Liability (If You're Not Paying Attention) (October 13, 2026)