Harvard Business Review

APRIL 19, 2011

A few months ago, a former client called me in a panic : Her CFO wanted to start several process simplification projects immediately — and she needed a proposal to review with him the next day. We then waited to hear from our client about next steps — and continued to wait.

CFO 15

CFO Crisis Proposal Finance 15

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 6, 2011

As my consultant friend Chunka Mui proposed in a recent post at Forbes.com, the best way to make a big change is to "think big, start small, fail quickly, and scale fast." Process champions must have them ready for the day when the CEO or CFO effectively says, "Show me the money.". Engage the finance organization.

Process 14

Process Six Sigma Finance Short-term 14

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 30, 2015

“At most companies, the cost of capital is a mechanical calculation done by the finance people. For example, a company’s cost of capital may be 10% but the finance department will pad that some and use 10.5% Finance & Accounting Tool. Though there is typically a distinction. or 11% as the discount rate.

Cost of Capital 8

Cost of Capital Cost Finance Discount 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 27, 2012

The potential customer's VP of finance contacted Bill and asked him to prepare a proposal for a multimillion-dollar initiative. Throughout the process, Bill was never allowed to meet with the decision maker, the CFO. Bill and a team spent several months preparing the bid. Bill's effort was a waste of time for his firm.

Price 13

Price Chemicals Tactics CFO 13

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 25, 2014

More than a thousand crappy ideas proposed.”. He explained that his team was spending close to half its time responding to volunteers’ new game proposals. She proposed hiring 15 to 20 new engineers. Later that day Guy Renou, BrainGame’s CFO, sat down in Lena’s office. Last I checked, movements didn’t have a CEO or CFO.”.

Company 9

Company CFO Proposal Engineering 9

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Acutely aware of the competitive edges timely data offers sophisticated investors, the company's ever-entrepreneurial cofounder once proposed that Google launch a hedge fund. Google's Sergey Brin knows a multibillion investment opportunity when he sees one.

Hedge 15

Hedge Core Competence CFO ROI 15

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 9, 2015

The winning company would not only design and install the project, but also finance it and own it for 20 years, selling power to the residents at a discounted rate. The town had already rejected at least two vendors’ proposals before Haydock gave his pitch.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain How To Price Case Study 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 8, 2014

Splitting HR is also dangerous and counterproductive, but proposing it also points to the truth by vividly showing the challenge and importance of making leaders more sophisticated about HR and talent (talent includes human-centered capabilities, engagement, motivation, values and organization design).

Charan 13

Charan Finance Human Resources Supply Chain 13

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 8, 2016

Listening, Derek Melis, his friend and CFO, was relieved. For two years the subsidiary had recorded revenue from the proposed € 650 million mega-resort. Please don’t let that cloud your judgment as CFO. ” “As the CFO, I can’t lose sight of what’s going on in each country.”

Case Study 8

Case Study Decentralization CFO Construction 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 24, 2013

The company Chief Risk Officer ( Barry Zubrow , until January 2012) and the CFO ( Doug Braunstein, since replaced ) bore significant responsibility for the inadequacies of the risk and finance functions inside CIO — and for the failures of firm-wide risk and finance to spot trouble.

Report 8

Report CIO Crisis Committee 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 14, 2012

We learned it through our experience with an internal contest — "PowerPitch" — in which we challenged everyone in the firm to submit a business brief proposing our next $100 million opportunity. We collaborated with our CFO to think through the budget and prize strategy. Getting the General Managers on Board.

Innovation 11

Innovation CFO Learning-by-Doing Brainstorming 11

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 22, 2014

company takes on the legal identity of foreign subsidiary, usually in order to reduce its taxes — has become about as controversial as corporate finance topics get. One very interesting proposal came from Robert Reich, a liberal Democratic economist who recommended that the U.S. The corporate inversion — when a U.S.

Globalization 8

Globalization CEO System Offshoring 8