It Ends Where It Began*

In an earlier blog post The Space Between, I mused about the importance of the middle – quite timely then as I was right in the middle of my CCA presidential term.  And now that I near the end of my term (and dear reader, you are now in the midst of my final presidential blog post), it would be timely to take a look back and reflect on this past year’s blog posts.**

Whether secret formulas or synchronicities, cosmic milestones or eclipses, polar bears or polymaths, Kevin Bacon or the Beatles, we covered quite the variety on these pages.  But I specifically wanted to revisit my inaugural blog post The Second C.

In that post I told a story from ancient times with a cast of characters that included a Wise King from one land and a Great Leader from another. It provided a lesson that proved particularly edifying – that through dedication and discipline, one can surpass inherent shortcomings and attain great heights, a testament to hope and self-improvement.

Then I took a look at the story through the lens of an actuary, employing a framework of data, assumptions and models; as it turned out, there was a key assumption that had a bias leading to an initial faulty understanding, which thankfully the Wise King was able to uncover.

But then I took it a step further looking at the story as a consulting actuary.  From this perspective, the Wise King discerned the truth not through analytical analysis, but through personal engagement with the Great Leader, providing us with a lesson in communication and connection, of forging connections through interaction, conversation and engagement.

Or at least that was how I saw things then; over the past year, I have had the opportunity to meet and grow close to actuaries of all types, and I now see things differently. I no longer see the somewhat sharp distinction I made between actuary and consulting actuary. We all use analytical rigor, make assumptions, and employ models; and we all build relationships, communicate and connect, engage and interact;  in fact, you can’t successfully use one set without the other. In the end, we are all actuaries and consulting actuaries.

And so, I leave you with one last lesson that we can learn from the above: revisit what we thought we knew, reassess what we previously concluded, and reflect on what we have since learnt – for that is the mark of a Wise and Great Actuary. 

*Many thanks to fellow actuary, friend, and past CCA Board Member, Melissa Chacko, for inspiring this month’s blog post when she said to me “you should do something ‘retro’ for your final blog post”.

**See my January blog post A Cosmic Spin on CCA’s 75th Anniversary Year, on the importance of looking back and reflecting on the past year.