Center for Creative Leadership

APRIL 24, 2019

I recently spoke with the CEO of a medium-sized manufacturing company about his new CFO who was poised to attend our flagship program for senior executives, Leadership at the Peak. He told me she was smart, very hardworking, and had been with the company in various accounting roles for the past 4 years, most recently as comptroller.

Charisma 65

Charisma CFO CEO Execution 65

N2Growth Blog

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

You started a company. Missing the turn or making it too late can cause a company to stagnate or implode or can spell the death of the idea; or worse, the idea becomes someone else’s to bring to market without you. The sooner you shift to the needs of the customer, the better for you and your company. You got funding.

Delegation 201

Delegation Maturity CEO Execution 201

Mike Cardus

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

The finance team in a Health Care Company. Was struggling with sales representatives and project managers turning in expense and budget reports on-time…They told me “We have tried everything and our CFO is tired to putting out fires for us.”. On time budget requests and updates from project managers up 48%.

Cooper 139

Cooper Succession Finance Resistance 139

Lead on Purpose

FEBRUARY 22, 2014

Upon the untimely death of the revered company president, the board must select a new leader. The leading candidate is the scheming CFO played by Frederic March, a passionless, colorless bean counter groping for power, but with no vision beyond increasing dividend payouts to stockholders. Emotion Is Integral to Quality Leadership.

Charisma 222

Charisma Leadership CFO Learning-by-Doing 222

Lead Change Blog

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

What’s more appropriately called executive managerial leadership (as opposed to the overused, feel good term “leadership”), those at the helm of companies or government agencies have huge responsibilities.” John Hunter of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog shared Bell Labs Designing a New Phone System Using Idealized Design.

Leadership Development 331

Leadership Development Development Leadership 360-Degree Feedback 331

N2Growth Blog

AUGUST 22, 2010

My advice to CEOs, regardless of whether you’re running a start-up or a Fortune 500 company, is to go see things for yourself. The arrogant CEO doesn’t value the input of line and staff management. They have reclusive tendencies which cause them to often completely abdicate responsibility and remain disconnected from management.

Blog 392

Blog Gordon CEO Consultative 392

N2Growth Blog

JUNE 29, 2010

Creating a framework for decisioning, using a published delegation of authority statement, encouraging sound business practices in collaboration, team building, leadership development, and talent management will all help even out the uneven. I Think Not. mikemyatt: RT thx @ArtieDavis @MarkOOakes @words4warrio.

Blog 281

Blog Brand CEO Consultative 281

Lead Change Blog

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

What’s more appropriately called executive managerial leadership (as opposed to the overused, feel good term “leadership”), those at the helm of companies or government agencies have huge responsibilities.” John Hunter of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog shared Bell Labs Designing a New Phone System Using Idealized Design.

Leadership Development 201

Leadership Development Development Leadership 360-Degree Feedback 201

Marshall Goldsmith

FEBRUARY 8, 2018

Thinkers50 – World’s Most Influential Management Thinkers. Called ‘The Academy Awards of Leadership’ by the Economist, Thinkers50 is the world’s most reliable resource for identifying, ranking and sharing the leading management ideas of our age. Co-founder of Rose Park Advisors—Disruptive Innovation Fund.

Executive Coaching 70

Executive Coaching CEO Magazine Banking 70

Tanveer Naseer

JULY 12, 2016

In “ Good to Great ”, Jim Collins lamented the trend of boards that become “enamored with charismatic CEOs,” a tendency that, he concluded, was “most damaging” for “the long-term health of companies.” The hubris displayed by Skilling, along with founder Kenneth Lay and CFO Andrew Fastow, didn’t just destroy Enron.

Kaplan 100

Kaplan CEO Real Estate CFO 100

Lead on Purpose

JULY 10, 2009

With the right ‘business operations’ in place, your company will achieve success: People: In any company or organization, the real assets are the people. When you regard the people as the true assets of the company, and treat them accordingly, they will respond in ways that will surprise and delight you.

Succession 133

Succession CFO Ethics Taylorism 133

The Empowered Buisness

JULY 14, 2015

Orientation toward innovation and creativity. Most companies mistakenly believe that competencies are the #1 driver of performance. . Yet companies continue to invest in skills development only to be disappointed by little or no difference in performance. Satisfy the motive and you will manage the behavior.

Motivation 100

Motivation Leadership McClelland Long-term 100

CO2

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

The perceived need to learn something new is inversely proportional to the rank of a manager. Be sure to take into account if the employee has had to switch roles multiple times, though, or make huge changes in order to accommodate different managers’ expectations. That’s really short-sighted.

Leadership Styles 87

Leadership Styles COO Learning-by-Doing Planning 87

CO2

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Seeing these connections and implications may remind you of the need to be an active learner as a leader (not a finished product). “The perceived need to learn something new is inversely proportional to the rank of a manager. These situations can stifle typical developmental-progress trajectories. That’s really short-sighted.

Leadership Styles 78

Leadership Styles COO Learning-by-Doing Planning 78

Persuasive Powerhouse

JULY 7, 2010

What shared interests can you learn about that you can combine to catalyze innovation for your organization? The CFO owns a couple. Mary Jo Asmus A former executive in a Fortune 100 company, I own and operate a leadership solutions firm called Aspire Collaborative Services. Thanks for sharing this one.

Greenleaf 200

Greenleaf Maslow Goal Goleman 200

LDRLB

APRIL 21, 2014

We all understand that these days it’s really not so much the number of cars or assembly line or factories that a company has, but really its ability to keep up, to be competitive, to be innovative and what gives the company its competitive edge is really the people who make it. ORLY: Yes, absolutely.

Human Capital 60

Human Capital Open-book CFO Innovation 60

Harvard Business Review

JULY 4, 2018

The recruitment, interviewing, hiring, and on-boarding of even one new employee is a time-intensive process every manager takes seriously. Becoming a Manager. 5 Things New Managers Should Focus on First. New Managers Need a Philosophy About How They’ll Lead. New Managers Don’t Have to Have All the Answers.

Learning Curve 14

Learning Curve Management CFO Delegation 14

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 1, 2018

Many managers want to be more inclusive. For the most part, managers are not given the right tools to overcome the challenges posed by implicit biases. The workshops companies invest in typically teach them to constantly check their thoughts for bias. And sameness blocks performance and innovation.

Power 12

Power Management Diversity CFO 12

Mills Scofield

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Special guest blog post by Don Esch, President of Bettcher Industries of his story at BW-Center For Innovation & Growth 's Innovation Summit. The Change: Was It Innovation, Serendipity or Providence? This is a story about leaving “our lover”, the industry we know and seeking success in the unknown.

Succession 70

Succession Industry Stage-Gate CFO 70

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 2, 2014

It’s not easy for big companies to innovate. Moreover, the skills that are cherished and rewarded for achieving current results differ from those that aid in discovery and experimentation, both of which are needed to drive innovation. global information solutions company.

Innovation 9

Innovation Metrics Christensen Workshop 9

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 24, 2011

That book is The Innovator's Dilemma by HBS Professor Clay Christensen. But what's most interesting to me isn't that The Innovator's Dilemma was on that list. That was to let profitability outweigh passion: "My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products.

Innovation 15

Innovation Christensen CFO Productivity 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 24, 2013

This area of innovation is where mobile payment companies want to play, especially in markets where such technology is less than ubiquitous. San Francisco-based Square , led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey , is among the companies looking to lead this genre. Innovations in Digital and Mobile Marketing An HBR Insight Center.

CFO 8

CFO Loyalty Technology Definition 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 11, 2016

The 1990s saw the rise of the strategic CFO, and more recently many companies have created a chief strategy officer (CSO) position. Such friction is destructive — and a huge missed opportunity, because the CFO and the strategy head are far more effective when they collaborate. Ensuring that strategy has money behind it.

Strategy 8

Strategy CFO Finance Short-term 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 16, 2012

To enhance financial flexibility, companies have been retaining unprecedented amounts of cash on their balance sheets, calling it "strategic" cash to distinguish it from the "operating" cash that is needed to run the business. CFOs should always think about strategic cash within the context of a company's allocation priorities.

Company 14

Company Cost of Capital Finance Long-term 14

Miles Anthony Smith

MAY 2, 2018

Graham Keen "Inspirational CEO/CFO turned positive-psychologist resiliently transforming businesses & financial performance." Kristi Daeda ​"I help individuals and companies make the most of talent. Czar "I rescue troubled companies. Pioneer in wellness and prevention programs, disease management and population health."

Brand 68

Brand Examples Career Godin 68

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 8, 2018

The market caps of just four companies, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft, now exceed $3 trillion. Their combined assets of $944 billion are an order of magnitude lower than the combined assets of $7,700 billion of the largest 3,177 companies in 1986, when the aggregate market capitalization reached $3 trillion for the first time.

Report 8

Report GAAP Net Present Value CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 20, 2013

As the business environment becomes increasingly complex and interconnected, few leaders express confidence in their companies' ability to adapt. Access to finance , designing operational processes and systems , and building strong, talented management teams are just a few obstacles that many cite.

Entrepreneur 8

Entrepreneur Company Six Sigma Franchising 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 19, 2011

Sebell (mark@creativerealities.com), who are managing partners at Creative Realities, Inc. a Boston-based innovation management collaborative. We often ask executives to tell us about their biggest innovation failures. Clearly the company was painfully aware of these two failed projects. Triage the failures.

NPV 16

NPV ROI CFO Consensus 16

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 29, 2016

Given the role analytics has played in reshaping industries and rewarding innovative adopters over the last two decades, it is surprising how frequently we are asked: “Does this analytics stuff really work?” Given the myriad other factors buffeting companies at any given time, the design of our assessment was intentionally simple.

CFO 9

CFO Competitive Advantage Budgeting CEO 9

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 13, 2015

After a morning innovation workshop at the bucolic R&D campus of a top-tier but tradition-rich technology giant, the lunchtime conversation with the Lab’s leadership turned strategic. As a result, Labs management was being asked to do more with less. As a result, Labs management was being asked to do more with less.

CFO 8

CFO Innovation CEO Airlines 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 6, 2013

In that same study, most CFOs believed that marketing could have a positive impact on profitability but 40% of them didn't know if CMOs were even trying to do so. However, in the best run companies, the relationship between CMOs and CFOs has changed radically and for the better. Understand both sides of risk.

CFO 8

CFO Advertising Finance Marketing 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 30, 2017

He radically transformed the company from a classic conglomerate that did everything to one that focused on its core industrial businesses. Andreessen’s article helped accelerate the company’s digital transformation. Innovation at GE was on a roll. Are lean innovation and the startup way a failure in large companies?

Ries 8

Ries Long-term Short-term Price 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 13, 2011

Companies love to stretch out their investments in existing technology as long as possible, a policy whose faulty logic I recently rediscovered in my role as CIO. Then the family's CFO, my wife, who also happens to be a CPA, demanded to know their TCO. The CFO's skepticism was proved correct, and I lost all credibility.

Technology 15

Technology CIO CFO TCO 15

Harvard Business Review

MAY 23, 2012

The recent disclosure of a multi-billion dollar trading loss at JPMorgan Chase reminds us again of the challenge and complexity of risk management, the subject of our June 2012 HBR article, "Managing Risks: A New Framework." Each requires customized risk management processes. The compliance-oriented risk manager of a failed U.K.

Risk Management 9

Risk Management CIO Management Banking 9

Harvard Business Review

JULY 21, 2016

And we have figured out why: analytics forces changes on the C-suite that the CEO has to anticipate and manage, but many don’t. But for too many companies, analytics is an unsolved puzzle with the pieces flung all over the floor. These forces must be understood and managed for the entire initiative to succeed.

CEO 8

CEO Competitive Advantage ROI CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 5, 2012

You'll be grooming more complete managers and exposing your talent to a broader array of opportunities. Merck, Eli Lilly, and GlaxoSmithKline have all announced they are investing in early-stage biotech start-ups as a new product development strategy, hoping that external innovation will pick up where internal R&D has fallen short.

Development 14

Development McKinsey CFO Competitive Advantage 14

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 25, 2015

The best CEOs are excellent at growing and running a company within a known business model. What they don’t do well enough is reinvent and innovate. So if the CEO isn’t someone who can innovate, then who should? Fortune 50 company seeks a Chief Entrepreneur who will build the future. Where do you look?

Entrepreneur 8

Entrepreneur CTO Business Model CEO 8