Description: Negotiation has been a critical skill for me for most of my career. I’ve worked as a product actuary, represented a major distributor and now I’m a reinsurance intermediary. Technical actuarial skills were never my strength. However, I’m often able to get parties with differing goals to find a common ground, enabling a project to be completed to everyone’s satisfaction. From The Stepping Stone, April 2005, Issue No. 18.

Description: A look at the "The Power of Nice" by Ron Shapiro and how we can learn some important lessons from his work.

Description: In the Leadership & Development Section’s Leadership Inspiration Contest, entrants were asked to tell us what inspired them to be a better actuarial leader. This is Fraser Smart's entry from the “Defining Moment/Event” category.

Description: Principle #4: People make buying decisions based on emotion and justify these decisions with logic. To be influential, we need to take into account both logic and emotion. Of the two, emotion is a much more powerful motivating force. Unfortunately, too many people ignore the emotional component and focus solely on logic - neglecting what compels people to buy.

Description: To persuade successfully and non-manipulatively, it’s important to understand five key principles of influence. In this four-part series, I’ll be covering these five principles that are based on human psychology and behavior. Let’s look at the first two now.

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Description: This article is a comprehensive outline of the steps involved in a successful job search, specifically for actuaries seeking new opportunities. Drawing on my many years of experience placing actuaries, this article assists in managing the potential pitfalls of the process from the time you decide to start investigating new opportunities, until you have accepted an offer.

Description: Adapted from Chapter 1 of the book "Awake at Work" by Michael Carroll, the article discusses the ongoing dilemma the actuary faces in determining the appropriate amount of effort and analysis to put into a given actuarial assignment being juggled with several competing priorities.

Description: This article discusses how your leadership style should vary depending on the person you are leading, the situation and goal. 4 syles of leadership are discussed.

Description: The Stepping Stone issue 60, November 2015