By Dave Kester, President and Owner of Coaching Actuaries
There’s a story that some of you may have heard before, especially if you are familiar with the Bible. The story goes that God promised Abraham, a man who lived a long time ago, that he would have many children. However, Abraham was getting old, and he and his wife, Sarah, did not yet have any children. So, he went to God with his doubts and said that it doesn’t seem things were going as planned.
God took Abraham outside and told him to look at the stars and count them. God said that the number of the stars will be the number of children and descendants that Abraham will have.
This is a simple little story, but I find it is interesting and full of meaning. The intent of the story is more of a spiritual lesson, but I think it also has a message for us actuaries. We live in a world where there is struggle. People have doubts about the future. As they look at their current circumstance, fear can set in. People, much like Abraham, can have doubts and fears about the future.
Who we are as actuaries
We, as actuaries, are in the business of looking into the future. We can’t predict the future, but we can create a path to a better future. With our training in math and business, we can identify ways to a better place, a place where we replace fears of uncertainty, not with certainty, but with perspective. We find a way to move the odds in people’s favor.
We do this by instilling discipline in others to save a little money every month and to invest it. We do this by investing in the long term to let compound interest work for us. We do this by grouping people together so we can use the law of large numbers to reduce the risk for each person. We recognize that we are better together than apart.
This is not magic, but it is sound math. When we apply math to the future, we don’t guarantee the outcome. We can, however, create a clear and safer path for others to follow.
It’s more than numbers
For actuaries to create a path to a better future, we cannot just be good with technical skills. God could have given Abraham all the facts, or given him a lesson on how it was going to work. That method of communication would likely not have helped Abraham. He needed something simple, something he could see. Notice God took him outside to show him a picture—a picture of the stars. There is a lot of complexity in the sky. When we run models into the future, there is a tremendous amount of complexity as well. As actuaries, we will need to understand that complexity. But what we communicate to others needs to hide that complexity and speak to them in a picture they can understand.
We need to think analytically but communicate visually.
At the end of this story of Abraham, he believed God. His doubts were removed. He believed in a better future. His descendants became the nation of Israel.
A path to a better tomorrow
As actuaries, we deal with the future. Although we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, we can create a path that will improve other people’s lives. We need to replace their fears with hope. In order to build hope, we must learn how to communicate in a way that others can understand.
They don’t need to understand our models. They can’t understand them. We must understand our models and we must believe in our models. Most importantly, we must develop a skill to communicate the results of those models so others will believe and follow.
A next step
Communicating visually may be new to you, or perhaps you don’t think you are good at it. But I do believe it is a skill that can be learned by most with a little practice. It is somewhat like riding a bike. At first, it may seem painful because it can take longer to acquire the skill and patience can become thin. But if it is important to communicate, then it is important to be clear. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy or require any sophisticated tool. Drawing on a piece of paper is still a good option, and they still make color markers so you have everything you need.
When I take the time to communicate something visually, it forces me to rethink what I’m communicating. In the process, I am creating a new perspective, which always improves understanding. Ironically, I often benefit the most by taking the time to create something visual because it forces me to consolidate lots of data into something meaningful to others. It is always good to find someone who can help you in this process. The person needs to be someone who you think is a good visual communicator. They may not have the same technical knowledge as you, but that isn’t needed.
HUGE thank you to President and Owner of Coaching Actuaries Dave Kester for this encouraging and thoughtful piece! If you meet Dave, you’ll quickly learn how much he cares about others and delights in investing in the next generation. Beyond being one of the most bright actuarial minds, Dave is genuine, kind and full of life! It was an absolute pleasure meeting him and I’m honored he offered to contribute to my blog.
If you’ve never checked out Coaching Actuaries, I’d highly recommend it! They offer study support for many SOA and CAS exams. While I haven’t personally used the study materials, I’ve heard nothing but great things from all my friends and peers who have used them. Thank you Dave for writing this great blog and for all you do to invest in the actuarial community!
