Managing Change by Projects Workshop for Young European Actuaries Wil Deelen Bert ten Kate

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Managing Change by ProjectsManaging Change by Projects Workshop for Young European Actuaries

Wil Deelen Wil Deelen Bert ten KateBert ten Kate

16 September 2006

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ContextContext

Implementing changes is most done by a project. Think about European embedded Value, IFRS, etc.

This is not only a matter of content, but also

Has an effect on the actuarial organisation: the process has to be organised around the content.

It is necessary to work in cooperation with other disciplines to implement the new development.

=> Change is a combination of content, organising, and cooperation.

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ObjectivesObjectives

Awareness that implementing change is a matter of content, organising the process and cooperation

Aware and experience the role of communication in this whole process

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AgendaAgenda

Do Actuaries make good Project managers ?

Communication, awareness, theory and experience

Coffee break

Business case

Evaluation

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Do Actuaries make good Project ManagersDo Actuaries make good Project Managers?

Do actuaries

make good

project managers?

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Typical Actuary• High intellect / technical

excellence

• Works best in single-disciplinary teams

• Tend to be detail focussed

• Managing the content

• Not all are good communicators, especially to non-actuaries

• Can find it hard to live with risk

Typical Project Manager• Sufficiently technical to

understand the issues

• Works well in multi-disciplinary teams

• Focus on ‘big picture’

• Managing the unexpected

• Good communicator across disciplines & levels

• Risk manager

x

? xx

?

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Important items to tackle are:

Works well in disciplinary teams

Managing the “unexpected of a project” , this is Managing the expectations of your stakeholder Managing the context of a project.

Good communication across disciplines and levels

=> Important for every item is:

Communication, Communication, Communication

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AgendaAgenda



Coffee break

Business case

Evaluation

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Communication: experience Communication: experience

Exercise Listening

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Use active listening skills: This technique is not as easy as it sounds.

Hearing is not the same as listening. Hearing is the perception of sound, whereas listening is attention to what is being said.

Active listening requires that you give the speaker your complete and undivided attention. When you listen actively, you are focused on listening, not talking.

Do not get distracted by mentally planning your next question so that you miss the given response to your current question.

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Trip to South Africa

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Communication: awarenessCommunication: awareness

The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission

(TRC) was set up by the Government of National Unity to

help deal with what happened under apartheid. The

conflict during this period resulted in violence and human

rights abuses from all sides. No section of society

escaped these abuses.

The transformation in South Africa has been done

without a civil war.

What is the secret of their success?

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The Law: Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation

Act, No 34 of 1995 had a few conditions to receive

amnesty:

Important Conditions to receive amnesty if :

The action must be done in the period 1960 and 1994. 1994 is the year Mandela was chosen to President

The action must have a political motivation

The accuser must tell the whole truth

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In the law there was no word about “you have to say

sorry”

What is the heart of the matter:

Telling the truth and the skill listening.

And after that:

Forgiveness and then reconciliation.

It’s a key for success to solve problems

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UBUNTU

"Ubuntu" is an ancient African word, meaning "humanityto others".Ubuntu also means "I am what I am because of who we all are".

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Keys of success:

Telling the truth by listening and no (direct) judgment

Be willing to give humanity for sake of the whole group (department)

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Desmond Tutu:

“To forgive is not just to be altruistic, it is the best form of self-interest”

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Communication: S/L modelCommunication: S/L model

An example of arbitrary thoughts, allegations, opinions,

views, ambitions: I find green is a nice color I think this government does a good job I want to earn more money I think William is a good manager I do not feel appreciated I want power I do not like the color of the neighbor's house. The trains run on schedule most of the time. I do not like modern music

All these things are called “ interests”.

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Starting point of the model is that you would like to work

on your interests

To propagate them. to achieve them To give meaning to them

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The things inside the circle are called my interests. These are the ones that are important to you.

The interests outside the circle are not or hardly important fore you.

The special thing is that we do not communicate about all our interests. We only want to share a number of them with other people or in a group, and not with everyone.

Therefore an extra circle is added for the interests we do not like to share with everyone.

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My Hidden interest

My Visible interest

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My hidden interest’ and ‘my visible interest’ together are ‘my interest’.

Depending on whom you communicate to, you or not like to discuss some interests.

If the size of the circle depends on the trust you have in the other person.

Trust means here the degree of relationship you experience with the other.

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If we communicate with someone with whom we have a good relationship, then size of “my visible interest” will be greater and we will communicate more about our interests.

If the relationship becomes less due to circumstances then the size of the “visible interests” will be smaller and lesser interests will more likely be discussed.

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The theses of the model are:

If your interests are next to the center point of the circle, then they are of greater interest to you then the ones have more distant from the center point.

If you strive to maximize your satisfaction of your interests then the ones near to the center point are more preferred then the ones have more distant from the center point.

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We see now that a conflict arises. The interests you would like to satisfy are not always the one with the “open” communication. They prevent a optimal (quick) satisfaction of those interests.

What people possibly do is that they are busy satisfying their “hidden interests” and communicate that they are satisfying their “visible interest”.

Conclusion:

People work with hidden agenda’s and are not open about what they really want. You need communication skills to open the agenda, by getting the truth

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Communication Communication

FEET EXPERIENCE

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Communication: Feet experience Communication: Feet experience

Ask open- ended questions / making feet:

These are questions that require more detailed answers than a “yes” or “no” response. Open-ended questions start with words such as “how,” “who”, “where”, “when” and “what.”

An example of a closed-ended question would be, “Do you implement safety checks in the process?” The obvious answers to this question would be “yes” or “no.”

An alternative open-ended question that would prompt the group for more detail would be, “How do you implement safety checks in the process?”

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Communication: Feet experience Communication: Feet experience

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AgendaAgenda



Coffee break

Business case

Evaluation

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AgendaAgenda



Coffee break

Business case

Evaluation

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AgendaAgenda



Coffee break

Business case

Evaluation

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Important items to tackle are:

Works well in disciplinary teams

Managing the “unexpected of a project” , this is Managing the expectations of your stakeholder Managing the context of a project.

Good communication across disciplines and levels

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ContextContext

Implementing changes is most done by a project. Think about European embedded Value, IFRS, etc.

This is not only a matter of content, but also

Has an effect on the actuarial organisation: the process has to be organised around the content.

It is necessary to work in cooperation with other disciplines to implement the new development.

=> Change is a combination of content, organising, and cooperation.

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CONTACT: CONTACT:

WWW.WILDEELEN.NL WWW.WILDEELEN.NL

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Managing Change by Projects Workshop for Young European Actuaries Wil Deelen Bert ten Kate