Australasia CPD Tour
“Thought provoking ● Loved it –brilliant communicator! ● An interesting presentation from proven entrepreneur Matthew Michalewicz on how to maximise your contribution and success through belief led goals and actions, careful nurturing of your personal brand, whilst striving to be a business actuary”.
– event participants’ comments.
PERTH
Peter Lurie
The Perth leg kicked off the Australasia CPD Tour for 2014 on Tuesday 11 February. The Perth session was keenly attended by 16 Western Australian members including Fellow Peter Lurie who said of the session.
“In my opinion the best CPD Tour so far. The 2014 Australasia CPD Tour seamlessly presented by Matt was content rich, fast paced with relevant and interesting stories and practical takeaways to build brand and credibility.” …
and Fellow Janice Jones who said:
“I found MM really engaging and his stories about his own early career decisions very interesting for the younger members/ students to reflect on. We were very challenged when he asked us to articulate what we love doing and get down to the heart of our personal drivers – in order to build our personal brand on a strong foundation. Hopefully many of the guests will reflect on these personal matters over coming months to their benefit.”
There was much for attendees to take away from the session, with actionable advice from success expert presenter Matthew Michalewicz on improving your personal brand, establishing and achieving career objectives and successful customer engagement.
Matt’s interactive style encouraged attendees to reveal what truly motivates us, more so than we normally would. The case studies showed how stretch targets can be achieved, as Mandela said “It always seems impossible until it’s done”.
The occasion also gave Perth members the chance to meet and converse with the President, Daniel Smith and CEO, David Bell and the social dinner at Halo was once again a great success with an even stronger turnout. Daniel spoke pre-dinner and acknowledged Ian Hyland for attaining Fellowship.
The Institute’s Lisa Pronesti ensured a seamlessly smooth event and we look forward to next year, when the Institute rolls into town.
HONG KONG
Wynnie Yeung
The Australasia CPD Tour held in Hong Kong on 4 March 2014 was well attended by a small but attentive audience. The afternoon kicked off with updates from 2014 President Daniel Smith and the new CEO David Bell, followed by Matthew Michalewicz’s presentation and life examples on how to maximise our contribution in our career and personal endeavours. The afternoon went by quickly with lots of takeaways, as well as time for catch ups and networking with other fellow actuaries.
On a personal level, the workshop is a timely reminder to take a step back and refocus on priorities and personal goals. It is easy to get bogged down by the ‘how to’ going about day-to-day activities and losing sight of the bigger picture of who we are and what we want. Matthew’s personal example reinforces the fact that to be achievers in life, you need to have clear goals and a strong desire for what we set our hearts on, be it to lose weight or get that dream job. The difficult part (as with all the good things in life) is of course the sweat and tears, and to not give up when things aren’t going well, for: “The race is not always to the swift … but to those who keep running.”
Thanks to the Institute for sponsoring the event. I really enjoyed the session and the time spent with fellow actuaries.
SINGAPORE
Darren Ma
The Australasia CPD Tour arrived in Singapore on Thursday 6 March 2014 and was attended by 21 members from the region including CPD representative and Fellow Darren Ma (Aspen Re). Of the session Darren remarked: “An interesting presentation from proven entrepreneur Matthew Michalewicz on how to maximise your contribution and success through belief led goals and actions, careful nurturing of your personal brand, whilst striving to be a business actuary”.
Presenter Matthew Michalewicz led an enlightening and rewarding session which was enjoyed by all in attendance. The 2014 session has set the bar for future CPD Tours in Asia, which are much anticipated.
SYDNEY
Martin Mulcare
When I first walked into the room my first thought was: “Where is everybody?” Here we have an accomplished, international presenter speaking about achieving a successful career – at a discount rate – and less than 70 Sydney members turn up?
I thought it was very valuable and so this summary is directed to readers who did not attend…
If you want to improve your chances of business success, I suggest applying just three action items from Matthew’s guidance:
- Identify what you are passionate about in your career. In short, why do you go to work? Your one sentence answer can help you make smart career choices, as well as frame your ‘personal brand’.
- Appreciate the difference between a ‘business actuary’ and a ‘technical actuary’. When you can understand the context for applying your skills and knowledge you will significantly increase your value.
- Formulate your answer to the question, “What do you do?” Matthew suggests identifying the key problems that you solve and the benefits your solutions deliver. That should be enough for other people to comprehend and respect your role.
To paraphrase Matthew, education may appear expensive but it is ignorance that is really expensive.
Please check out Life in Half a Second.
BRISBANE
Wayne Cannon
wayne.cannon@treasury.qld.gov.au
“Thought provoking”, “Loved it, brilliant communicator!”, “Very engaging”, “Passion for his message”, “A great communicator!”, “Best presenter on the day” – these and many similar quotes summarise the reactions from a strong turnout of Brisbane (and Sunshine Coast!) actuaries to Matthew Michalewicz’s presentation Maximise Your Contribution.
Goals, belief, knowledge, actions, results… The buzzwords flowed but they were always anchored by research and personal experience, with some truly amazing anecdotes. The afternoon was enhanced by the challenges and debates from and amongst the actuaries in the room. “Park that thought for seven minutes” Matthew would reply, before bringing the discussion around to address the issue within seven minutes.
We learned how important networking can be for our careers (‘Network = Net Worth’) and were constantly amazed by the breadth and depth of Matthew’s own network. I think I can vouch for all attendees when I say that I’ve never met anyone who has pitched a business proposal to Bill Gates and George Soros. Of course, this component ended with the obligatory request to connect via LinkedIn. It only shows 500+ connections but I’m guessing I’m about number 5,000.
The general consensus from attendees was that we enjoyed the opportunity to be taken out of our comfort zones and see things from a different perspective. Kudos to the Institute for thinking outside the box. One final thought: who would have imagined such a varied and interesting career could have resulted from a teenager’s obsession with a car? It was a Corvette though.
CANBERRA
Debbie Hansen
Most actuaries could probably say they have had a strong passion at least once in their life – particularly if they are studying towards or have completed their Part 3 exams.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say I had been ‘in love’ with my studies and that was the driver of my dedication and commitment to seeing them through, however, I had a plan, I had focus and I had a clear goal.
Applying the same stepping stone logic to progress my career is intuitive and it was useful to get some tips on how to start putting my name out there and making an impact beginning from today. Not being much into social media (I found myself in good company with the rest of the Canberra actuaries), I haven’t yet joined LinkedIn or started tweeting since attending the tour, although perhaps at least writing this review is a start to my development!
Next steps: set another career goal, make a plan and find an inspiring person to motivate me along the way.
Once again thank you to the Institute for putting on a Presidential Dinner in Canberra; it was great to speak to Daniel and meet David in a more informal setting.
MELBOURNE
Hadyn Bernau
I’m not going to tell you about Matthew’s teachings. Instead, I’m going to show you Matthew’s teachings. He laid down 5 action items and I’m going to carry them out, right here and now.
ACTION ITEM 1 – GET CLEAR ON MY ‘WHY’
My ‘why’ is around transformation of lives – visit my LinkedIn profile or buy me a coffee for more detail.
ACTION ITEM 2 – DEFINE A GOAL
To increase my networks dramatically – to move from 203 to 500 LinkedIn connections by the end of 2014.
ACTION ITEM 3 – BUILD MY NETWORK
If this one little article takes me to my 500 target within 24 hours of this magazine coming out, I will ask Matthew to set me up with his best media connections, and get myself on TV, radio or a newspaper within a week to talk about it.
ACTION ITEM 4 – INCREASE MY PERSONAL BRAND
If you know me a little bit, I’d like to ask you for three endorsements on LinkedIn. If you know me well, I ask you for three endorsements, a 30-second video recommendation and for you to share my LinkedIn profile with three people in your network who might like to connect with me. The first three video recommenders will score a mention in my media interview.
Consider this my application for a Board position with any organisation that is seeking major transformation.
ACTION ITEM 5 – WEEKLY COFFEES
OK, I’ve got 52 coffee slots to fill – please RSVP through LinkedIn.
CPD: Actuaries Institute Members can claim two CPD points for every hour of reading articles on Actuaries Digital.
