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: 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.

Description: The Stepping Stone issue 60, November 2015

Description: Humor in the workplace can improve productivity. This article describes a typical office relationship problem and how humor helped disparate teams work together.

Description: Effective communication

Description: Based on a decades-long study, honesty is the most important quality in a leader. This article addresses ways to establish trust with their co-workers.

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: This article defines "elevator pitch" and why one is needed. A great elevator pitch is an indispensable competitive advantage that will accelerate your career progress. A poor one can leave you toiling in anonymity.

Description: This article gives suggestions for overcoming the design and presentation challenges of the 60-second personal networking or branding pitch.