Description: The authors reflect on the 2023 SOA ImpACT Conference. They share some of the networking opportunities, and give overviews of the general sessions as well as some of the breakout sessions. They discuss reasons for attending an in-person meeting beyond getting continuing professional development credits.

Description: This article covers the importance of letting teams lead you as a leader, that it's okay to admit you're not okay even at work, and that it's important to find informal ways for virtual teams to connect.

Description: The average person spends from one third to one half of every waking hour thinking about the past or present. We talk to ourselves when we do. Psychologists have identified three steps you can take to make your self-talk more positive. This will make you happier and better able to achieve the goals you set at home and at work.

Description: Actuarial functions are being asked to do more with less: being challenged to provide more value to the business through applying insight and foresight. This article examines ways in which actuaries can provide business insights with very limited investment. The article provides actionable steps that actuaries easily apply to their daily work.

Description: Investing in and taking care of employees can result in many-faceted positive results, for your team and for your firm. We first state the case for "taking care of employees," then exhibit several practical methods for showing you care for your employees.

Description: How to design a meeting's environment to maximize participants’ positive mood, energy, and opinion of your meeting.

Description: Article describes accomplishments as Chair during the year. Four accomplishments are mentioned: i) Actuarial Research Conference ii) Early Career Award, iii) Establishment of Outstanding Educator Award, iv) Push to create surveys from the section containing a reservoir of ideas that can be used for webinars, podcasts, etc.

Description: A compilation of reader responses is presented to a real life situation posed involving a management, leadership, or other business decision. This issue’s case study involved a very new actuarial manager trying to deal with a disruptive employee.

Description: Learning excellence is of value to both candidates and credentialed actuaries learning new areas. Learning mastery and excellence requires 1) use of executive function (EF), multiple brain areas, for example, verbal, formal (algebraic), computational, and geometric (rule of four), and 2) goal-setting, skillful breaking down of complex tasks into subtasks each of which are simultaneously 2a) clear and specific, 2b) achievable in a short time and 2c) challenging. 10 examples are presented illustrating use of the "rule of four" to achieve elegant solutions to otherwise complex problems as well as goal setting using fellowship-exam approaches, approaches to multi-component problems, and skillful use of databases as visual organizers. The material reflects a new approach to learning complexity that is easier to use than the pedagogic hierarchies and unifies them.

Description: Emails are to the business world what cars are to a road trip: we can't get anywhere without them. This article offers 6 specific strategies to write emails more effectively. The theme is that re-reading your emails to check for a clear goal, conciseness, appropriate tone, etc. is a worthwhile time investment as it saves your reader time and prevents problems caused by miscommunication.