Harvard Business Review

JULY 26, 2013

An unusual — and unusually rich — funding opportunity inspired researchers at MIT and several other top-tier research institutions to improvise a comprehensive multi-media proposal on a tight deadline. Why Can''t a CIO Be More Like a CFO? Reinventing Corporate IT An HBR Insight Center. Are We Asking Too Much of Our CIOs?

Media 8

Media Power CIO Supply Chain 8

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. Ignore Costly Market Data and Rely on Google Instead? Google's Sergey Brin knows a multibillion investment opportunity when he sees one. BIG DATA INSIGHT CENTER.

Hedge 15

Hedge Core Competence CFO ROI 15

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. We’ve barely spent anything on marketing, because they do it all for us.” She proposed hiring 15 to 20 new engineers. Everyone laughed. There’s too much risk in it.”.

Company 9

Company CFO Proposal Engineering 9

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 30, 2015

So once the finance department, CFO, or treasure department has determined what the rate is, managers know that is the number to beat if they want to win support for their projects or proposals. The formula looks like this: Cost of equity = risk-free interest rate + beta (market rate – risk-free rate).

Cost of Capital 8

Cost of Capital Cost Finance Discount 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 30, 2012

Some point to politics in the C-Suite, especially to competition between the COO and CFO. If the COO launched a large, cross-functional improvement program, the CFO would underfund it. They often depend on consultants to take the lead in proposing major process change. They blocked each other's progress.

Company 8

Company COO CFO Insurance 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 6, 2011

A large division of this company had recognized the need to dramatically change its business model to survive and succeed in a changing market. 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 14

Process Six Sigma Finance Short-term 14

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

He told me, “I found that building one’s personal brand increases chances to get proposals to join strategic initiatives and step out of your day-to-day job for a while.”. One of my students, a mid-sized company CFO, told me that every budget season he personally went through all the budgets to identify inefficiencies.

Porter 10

Porter Delegation Learning-by-Doing Project 10

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 5, 2013

The COO had proposed a new growth strategy, and the founder and his wife, in private, were wondering if the new COO was up to the job. Where else in their regional market (North America) are there projects like the ones that fit the company''s sweet spot? So what is the next act?" the family was asking.

COO 8

COO Chief Operating Officer Strategic Planning Project 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 5, 2016

The board had unanimously approved the proposal from Cameron and his COO, Stacy Hamiko, to shift to that strategy. ” Andrew Lowell, Lumiscape’s CFO, had thought it was a mistake to move exclusively to contracts. He clearly had a strong opinion on this, as any good CFO would. Cameron sighed. “Of course he is.”

Case Study 8

Case Study Business Model CFO Software 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 5, 2017

And try to “imagine how your boss will hear your proposal.” ” A tip: If you’re proposing to work from home a single day per week, try for Wednesday. .” ” A tip: If you’re proposing to work from home a single day per week, try for Wednesday. What do you want? Every other Friday?

Proposal 14

Proposal How To Case Study Motivation 14

Harvard Business Review

JULY 21, 2017

But the ones who really understand the issue see gender balance as not just a numbers game but part of a broader, more strategic cultural shift that includes developing leadership teams representing geographically diffuse markets. Some of those searches, like the one, three years ago, for our CFO, took twice as long as normal.

Diversity 8

Diversity CFO Globalization Video 8

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

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

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

OCTOBER 7, 2015

market has witnessed a substantial rise of activist investors. is a top performing S&P 500 listed company whose two-year total return outperformed the market by over 60%. At the very least, the team should include the CEO, CFO, IRO, Board Members and General Counsel. Over the last three years the U.S. Example: Jolly Inc.

How To 8

How To Due Diligence Strategy Proposal 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 8, 2012

We all make pitches every day — for that highly-prized account; to a client who's reluctant to accept your scary proposal; for a skeptical CFO to loosen the purse strings; or for a wary new team to believe in you. Here's what I've learned about winning pitches like these: 1.

Belief Systems 16

Belief Systems Tips Audience CFO 16

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 20, 2011

The former creates efficiencies and propels markets; the latter drives creativity and innovation. Maybe, as a start, we ought to describe peopley stuff in more economic language, by putting it in some context that will help our CFO and engineering friends better understand how things relate to one another. Or: S = (PT) C.

Succession 15

Succession CFO Collins Bottom-up 15

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 22, 2014

One very interesting proposal came from Robert Reich, a liberal Democratic economist who recommended that the U.S. My proposal has two particular sources of revenue-raising: One is that we have now large numbers of pass-through entities, and we have more business income in non-C-corporate form than we do in C-corporate form.

Globalization 8

Globalization CEO System Offshoring 8