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 considers ways actuaries can meet the growing demands of senior executives by redefining their role and the actuarial operating model.

Description: Discusses the upcoming 20th Anniversary of the Leadership and Development Section and how some leadership topics are as valid today as they were 20 years ago.

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

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: In “Gearing up for Designing Your Future,” published in the May 2017 issue of Actuary of the Future, the author cited four heroes as his personal inspiration. This article is the successor, showing the glory of these heroes and how they can inspire us actuaries today, as we strive to live our best lives. Identifying your own Noble Purpose as an actuary and in your life makes creating a five-year plan for personal growth meaningful and motivating. What will you gain from reading biographies of famous people and the classics? To aspire, to approach eloquence, to emulate the poetry of how they put their ideas across to mobilize their publics, to elevate our own characters by their examples, to be fully equipped to make moral and ethical judgments, to master the primary tool, verbal communication.

Description: Four ways in which actuaries can effectively work to help successfully implement system development projects.