Description: Effective strategic planning can have a profound effect on the development of your team and the growth and direction of your actuarial organization. This article shares the elements that will set you up for success before the meeting even begins.

Description: Dovel Technologies started as a two-person company, and by the time we sold to Private Equity in late 2019, Dovel had more than 1,200 people on its payroll. In this article, the authors (and cofounders of Dovel) describe two concepts that helped Dovel grow that actuaries can apply to help grow their firms.

Description: In "Are You Leading Your Actuarial Organization with the Right Mind?" by Tim Hebert, the author explores leading with emotional intelligence amid challenges. Distinguishing between reactive and thoughtful responses, the article underscores the importance of intentional leadership and urges actuarial leaders to develop mindfulness skills. The "right mind" is introduced as a state of emotional intelligence, advocating for leaders to choose thoughtful responses over impulsive reactions. The article delves into the dual nature of the human mind, highlighting the cluttered and reactive "thinking mind" and the neutral "observing mind" that provides a broader perspective. Actuarial leaders are encouraged to leverage their observing minds for intentional and thoughtful decision-making. Emphasizing the balance between leadership and management, the article urges leaders to increase their consciousness levels for objective responses in times of change. Overall, Tim Hebert promotes the mastery of the mind as essential for effective leadership in the actuarial realm, inviting readers to cultivate intentional and mindful approaches even during crises.

Description: What would happen when the use of computerized two-digit date fields used through all of the latter half of the 1900s encountered the date 01/01/2000? No one knew. As Jan. 1, 2000, drew closer, self-preservation forces, competition, liability shifts, and disclaimers heated up essentially across all commercial sectors. The contemporaneous documents of those pressures tell a story about those who did not know the outcome of the Y2K issue, primarily as related to liability, risk and insurance. In this exciting article, Nancy P. James, Licensed Insurance Adviser and Y2K expert, shares the untold story of risk and insurance at the dawn of the Millenium.

Description: Highlight how actuaries can extend their influence beyond traditional insurance roles. Drawing on personal experiences, it illustrates how problem-solving, data analysis, and cross-functional collaboration enable actuaries to tackle healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurial challenges. The article encourages actuaries to embrace innovation and reimagine their career paths, ultimately amplifying their impact on organizations and society.

Description: As a dynamic entrepreneur, the question is not if you’ll need to prepare for high-stakes, emotionally charged conversations, but when you will have them. If you’re looking toward a business conversation where you want the outcome to be positive-oriented and forward-looking, there is some risk involved. It is worth your time to prepare and differentiate yourself before any words are spoken. Risk, in this situation, means that it could negatively or positively impact one or more of the following: Relationships, business outcomes, timing/efficiency, quality metrics, performance, or more. There is a literal cost to this kind of conversation going wrong! In this article, Libby Wagner shows actuarial entrepreneurs how to hold tough conversations that demonstrate respect and bring about the results they want.

Description: Read the June 2020 issue of Innovators & Entrepreneurs published by Entrepreneurial and Innovation Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: James Dunseth's MBA journey at Yale’s School of Management and his startup internship taught him invaluable entrepreneurial lessons. Key takeaways include the importance of customer feedback, flexibility, technical skills, effective metrics, and achieving product-market fit. These insights emphasize customer-centric approaches, agile methodologies, technical understanding, and strategic metric use to guide business decisions and foster innovation.

Description: The momentum in value-based care has produced an opportunity for actuaries to become pioneers in health care