Description: The article discusses how to have important conversations with the people who make up your circle of influence, including those who work for you, peers and colleagues, clients, superiors, governing boards, and vendors and contractors. The author states that “your ability to use language well, to enter into conversations boldly and confidently, and to create strong relationships and demonstrate understanding across multiple groups and situations will absolutely determine your ability to create, sustain and maintain a profitable culture.”

Description: The author applies actuarial skills to solve a perceived problem with respect to objectively determining an annual champion in college football.

Description: The editor of The Independent Consultant offered brief notes about the articles covered in the current issue.

Description: The author encourages actuaries to market their product by speaking to groups. He offers tips to jump start the process.

Description: In this article, the section chair of the Entrepreneurial Actuaries Section, ‘EAS,’ addresses the growth of the life actuarial profession. The author notes the significant growth in size of the profession in terms of membership, but cautions that calling us a growing profession on this basis only addresses the supply of actuaries, not the demand. The article then discusses current efforts to address the question of demand, noting that the EAS is in early discussions with other sections and the SOA staff to develop some measure of future demand for actuaries.

Description: The incoming chairperson of the Entrepreneurial Actuaries Section discussed the section initiative for the coming year.

Description: In his farewell article, the outgoing chairperson of the Entrepreneurial Actuaries Section solicits more ideas regarding how the section can better meet the needs of its members.

Description: In this Column, the editor of The Independent Consultant discussed section activities and goals and solicited ideas for how the members' needs could be better met.

Description: The author, outgoing chairperson of the Entrepreneurial Actuaries Section, ‘EAS,’ relays thanks to various individuals who have helped advance the goals of the section, and describes a request to the SOA, submitted by the EAS to develop a separate website for finding actuaries. “This would not be an extension of the SOA Directory which allows actuaries to find actuaries but a website for public access to actuaries who would register as independent entrepreneurs, small business and larger consulting firms.”

Description: Article describing how actuaries can contribute to solutions to climate change and other environmental issues.