Description: To persuade successfully and non-manipulatively, it's important to understand five key principles of influence. Principle #5: A person will more likely be influenced if you help them get to the heart of the matter.

Description: No matter what you do, you are in sales in some way. The word, "sales" or "selling" brings up negative connotations for many people. It may be helpful to think of it as "influence". Whether you're a sales professional, coach, consultant or executive - there are key stakeholders in your world you need to influence. To persuade successfully and non-manipulatively, it's important to understand five key principles of influence. Principle #3 is covered here.

Description: Great lessons come from bad experiences. This is a story of how I learned the importance of influence after a difficult relationship with my supervisor.

Description: This article discusses the global capital standards for Global Systemically Important Insurers (G-SIIs) and Internationally Active Insurance Groups (IAIGs) currently being developed by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

Description: Over the last decade, the actuarial career has gained significant attention of entry level job-seekers as it continues to be one of the consistently top rated jobs in the market. There are different avenues to break into the profession, but one of the most common is through an Actuarial Student Program, where a company formally supports the exam progress of individuals through paid study materials, exam fees, and time off to study. Most programs also include an emphasis on development of leadership and communication skills. As the recruiter for MassMutual’s Actuarial Student Program, I get the opportunity to regularly share with candidates why I believe a student program is such a powerful springboard for a successful actuarial career. Profiled in the article is two actuarial students and one recent actuarial student program “graduate” to highlight the value a student program can bring to one’s professional development.

Description: This article focuses on how a manager should focus on 'influencing' to get their team to be as high-performing as possible.

Description: Personal highlights of a pension actuary's 10 years with the U.S. Social Security Administration and Senate staff, applying his experience and skills to emerging issues. He recommended that the Thrift Savings Plan for federal employees use index funds for common stocks, giving employees an attractive way to invest while keeping politics out of stock selection.

Description: This article is about how to write a compelling engagement bio, which is a personal services version of a resume.

Description: An essay on example of how actuaries have influenced accounting

Description: The SOA's health leadership met earlier this year for an all day meeting in New York. A significant portion of that meeting was spent discussing current challenges facing the U.S. health care system and how the SOA can best serve its members by addressing top priority issues. This article from The Actuary outlines four particular issues.