Talk:Wendell Milliman

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Categorization[edit]

Is this enough? Remove the tag if you think it's adequate. Something for "Pacific Northwest business people" might be relevant, if it exists.
Andy Dingley (talk) 12:42, 22 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

CoI[edit]

Always a big potential problem, but this article seems to have avoided it pretty well so far. There's nothing obviously controversial, it's referenced and the references support it. If anyone sees an actual problem here, please flag it. Andy Dingley (talk) 11:10, 23 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I wouldn't say there are a lot of single things that clearly overstep the line in isolation, but the general impression to me is not of a typical encyclopedia article written from a neutral perspective but more of a puff piece, originating from the the company PR department, as if for a local newspaper or company magazine.
  • "He was an outstanding actuary. Great leader. Great writer. Great speaker. He was an inspiration to all of us…. I recognized him as my tutor—no, my mentor. To whatever extent I’ve developed high standards of ethics and professionalism, I have to say Wendell was a substantial influence", where the quote is from the other founder of the company, an article on him also being submitted by the same user.
  • A unique approach to a consulting firm Over the years, Milliman and his associates built on the firm’s fundamentals. The model was highly entrepreneurial, giving principals the opportunity to invest in new expansion, either geographically or into new practice areas, and enabling them to benefit from successes while taking on some of the risks.
  • Those who worked alongside him remembered him as warm and insightful in addition to being an innovator.
  • Milliman’s analytical mind, combined with his warm personality and leadership ability, helped him to become a respected executive at Equitable Life, but he began to dream of returning to the more relaxed lifestyle and relatively clean and uncluttered environment of the Pacific Northwest. While in New York, he had purchased a cabin in the Catskills, but he still longed for the milder winters of the Pacific Northwest and its year-round gardening season.
All warm and fuzzy, it sounds more like a testimonial or an obituary than an encyclopedia article, in my opinion.
Most of the references seem to be from company material or from the co-founder of the company, and although this is one of the largest actuarial companies in the world, nearly all the other references are from the local newspaper.
Then we have two new categories, just for these two people from this company. Boson (talk) 20:32, 23 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Fancy some copywriting? The tone is admittedly wrong, but it's at the level of "wikification needed" rather than "spam" 8-)
As to the cats, then the "founders" cat should go as it's a fixed set that can't expand. I tagged it for speedy myself, but this was rejected (first admin I've met who wasn't in a hurry to delete everything in sight). The other _might_ be justified, if there were some additions planned. Otherwise I don't see a need for it either.
Andy Dingley (talk) 15:12, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wendell Milliman[edit]

I contributed to this article and would like to see the initial flags taken down if possible. I notice that a number of articles are posted without page numbers, etc. in the reference and wonder if this is being held to a different standards because it is "corporate" in nature. It would be possible to go back over the sourcing matter and identify page/paragraph numbers but it would be extremely time-consuming and seems unnecessary because, as you comment, it is uncontroversial and has been vetted with people who actually knew Wendell Milliman. Plese help. Thanks. - Patrick McRoberts

Help me edit this page.[edit]

I need to edit this page to take the tags off. What types of references do i need to cite in text? Do i need to link to more Wikipedia references? Please help i am new and trying to fix this article. --Mab7585 (talk) 16:48, 28 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Here's an example of how to in-line a citation. Andy Dingley (talk) 17:42, 28 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]