Description: Learn concrete strategies to manage executive dysfunction. The author discusses techniques she has learned along the way to improve productivity and manage time. High-level tips are: 1) Write it down. 2) Plan your day. 3) Don't let email and social media steal all your precious time. 4) Give your brain a little distraction. 5) Find an accountability partner. 6) Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. 7) When distracted, begin again. 8) Give yourself grace.

Description: We are living in a time of significant changes which are taking a toll on some employees. To assist our team members through these tumultuous times, being a supportive manager is key. We discuss using emotional intelligence to help employees have a positive work experience.

Description: After research involving auto insurance is retracted due to fraud, I revisit my own book review and unskeptical quoting of that now-debunked research. A lesson in ASOP 23, on Data Quality, ensues, as it seems data in the research was falsified. There is also a lesson in ASOP 56, Modeling, which includes aspects of relying on outside experts for model input. At the end of it all, the value of our actuarial professional standards, in light of other professions seemingly having no standards (or no serious repercussions for breaching said standards), shines through. Also, be skeptical of 'one simple trick' approaches to transform the insurance industry.

Description: A real life business dilemma faced by an actuary is presented, and readers are invited to answer "What Would You Do?"

Description: We will demonstrate three analytical tools along with a sample case study showing how they might be applied to a fictional actuarial organization within ABC Life. The goal is to highlight how they might be applied to perform a health check of an actuarial function organizational design. This can measure effectiveness quantitatively via benchmarking how an actuarial function might stack up against the industry and management expectations. The tools and techniques are critical for actuarial leaders and managers but are also relevant to all actuaries, since we can all benefit from understanding how our individual work efforts fit into the bigger picture of an organization.

Description: This article is intended to provide young actuarial professionals and job seekers with tips on succeeding in remote interviews.

Description: Fifteenth installment of series applying Buddhist principles to working world of actuaries. This installment focuses on the challenges actuaries face in adapting to the various changes in job and career expectations.

Description: The author, working in his sixth insurance organization, notes the key consideration is having a direction for your life, emphasizing life, not career. The author discusses taking time to write your goals for both your personal and professional life, including career goals, personal goals, and family goals. The author notes that the balance of professional and personal priorities changes over time, so this is definitely not something you only do once in your life, and the goals for your career and the goals of your family need to be reconsidered and discussed throughout your career. From ‘The Stepping Stone’ issue number 43.

Description: Even in published scientific research, we find fraudulent data. What is an actuary to do? Let's consider our actuarial principles and standards of practice to question our data quality and truthfulness. In specific, the article addresses ASOP 56 on Modeling and considerations of model risk as well as ASOP 23 on Data Quality. Recent examples are given from a Harvard research fraud controversy as well as questionable sumo statistics.

Description: A compilation of reader responses is presented to a real life situation posed involving a management, leadership, or other business decision. This issue’s case study involved a career decision by a near FSA.