Description: Explores the importance of, and best practices in seeking effective feedback.

Description: By relating to his own experience, Steven Chin reveals the meaning of networking and how it can affect one's life. His advice helps guide us on how to interact in a business setting and find mentorship within and outside the actuarial community.

Description: A discussion of survey results including responses to meeting topics, webcast topics and participation, the section newsletter, demographics and top challenges.

Description: Discussion of the Society of Actuaries' first consumer education program, dealing with Social Security funding and the contributors to the program. There is a hint of a discussion of the results of a survey of the value of the program, but the sentence ends in mid stream. There is also a discussion that there will be a similar education program directed at Medicare in the future but there is no discussion of this future program in the article.

Description: Description of focus group research conducted in 2013 by the Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks. The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of how people make decisions about when to retire and about managing financial risks in retirement. Eight focus groups of financially resource constrained retirees who had retired voluntarily were interviewed. The report offers many quotes from retirees and a chance to “give a face” to much of what we say about retirement.

Description: Update on section activities related to membership engagement.

Description: Discusses the duality of the market-consistent and traditional actuarial approaches to pricing and valuations, and the need to exercise flexibility of thought to reconcile the opposing viewpoints.

Description: The author identifies miscommunication challenges that may exist in the workplace, including misunderstandings and communication mishaps, assumption of motive, and relational tension, and suggests clarifying conversation as a way to address these challenges.

Description: Two actuaries describe how taking an improvisational acting class can help in the business world, with specific examples of improvisational techniques as they relate to actuarial work.

Description: The right mindset is essential to success in any number of arenas.