Mike Cardus

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

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.”. started by asking: What do you want the people in sales and the project managers to do? Now we are getting somewhere.

Cooper 139

Cooper Succession Finance Resistance 139

Strategy Driven

DECEMBER 31, 2015

These terms define a specific set of sequenced actions buyers take to enable internal consensus and change – change management issues, if you will – rather than define steps that address needs or vendor/solution choice which come later and are the focus of sales. Find budget. meet with CFO (manages the Tech department).

CFO 50

CFO Consensus Budgeting Brand 50

Lead Change Blog

MAY 1, 2017

Bill Treasurer of Giant Leap Consulting provided 5 Strategies to Address Conflict as a Manager. Everyone knows the roles and responsibilities for a CEO, CFO and CTO but change the wording and a different picture emerges. Julie Winkle-Giulioni of Julie Winkle-Giulioni provided 4 Raises That Fit Any Budget.

Leadership Development 264

Leadership Development Development Leadership CTO 264

Surviving Leadership

OCTOBER 29, 2018

At this meeting, employees heard from the CEO, CHRO, General Counsel, COO, CFO, CMO, and any business leaders spearheading a major initiative. Visibility to all parts of the business: Because not all employees could go on ride alongs, new employees learned about the business in new hire orientation.

CFO 58

CFO P&L Call Center COO 58

N2Growth Blog

AUGUST 22, 2010

I think you’ll find that your view of the world will change dramatically when you rely upon your own observations, as opposed to what you read in a management report, or what you hear third or fourth hand in a meeting. The arrogant CEO doesn’t value the input of line and staff management.

Blog 401

Blog Gordon CEO Consultative 401

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 11, 2011

The typical approaches of budget cuts and layoffs usually don't result in sustained changes to their cost structure — the costs creep back. The mistake they make is to keep a tight grip on budgets to try to achieve their cost targets. The organization replaced the budget with a quarterly forecasting and planning process.

Budgeting 11

Budgeting Chief Financial Officer Cost CFO 11

Harvard Business Review

JULY 23, 2013

Because no one is managing the store. At the same time, technology budgets are static or contracting, and non-IT execs want more attention to cost-cutting. We all know that CFOs are accountable for the financial stewardship of the enterprise. The explosive growth of information is accelerating. Back to the Future.

CIO 8

CIO CFO Zero Based Budgeting Chief Technology Officer 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 1, 2017

The answer involves radically reframing one of the mainstays of the C-suite — the role of the CFO. It’s no longer adequate or acceptable for CFOs to simply focus on managing the financial risks of a company. IT budgets are typically 3-7% of a company’s revenue, and security budgets are typically 5% of IT spend.

CFO 9

CFO CIO Budgeting Long-term 9

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 23, 2015

Most finance managers in both large and small businesses encounter numerous proposals for capital investments and many of the people proposing these investments don’t have a clear picture of what the return will be. When the CFO analyzed it and said “No way,” the owner got another CFO. We bought the printer.

Finance 8

Finance NPV CFO ROI 8

Strategy Driven

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

This is not as difficult as it sounds, especially if you can apply internal pressure to senior management where your product will be used. Make an appointment with the CFO. Talk to the person who MAKES the budget, not the person who spends it. Keep in mind that procurement and purchasing don’t actually use what they purchase.

Proposal 59

Proposal Price Long-term Customer Loyalty 59

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. Tapping the most promising growth spots.

Strategy 8

Strategy CFO Finance Short-term 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 26, 2011

It's difficult to get senior executives who have been successful managing a particular way to realize that they need to change their approach. As finance shifts its focus from controlling costs to advising managers on improvement activities, CFOs must change their thinking and behaviors. Getting the CFO on board is key.

Finance 10

Finance CFO Budgeting Operations 10

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

In our experience, companies that adopt this marketing analytics approach can unlock 10–20 percent of their marketing budget to either reinvest in marketing or return to the bottom line. CMOs need to start building this relationship by having a clear understanding of what CFOs expect. The opportunity is enormous.

CFO 8

CFO Short-term Long-term Benchmarking 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 29, 2016

Success was measured quantitatively by the firm’s performance (profit and growth) vs. that of its competitors, and also qualitatively by interviews with senior executives who were involved, but not deeply invested, in the efforts (typically the CFO). budgets and plans), the balance of power proved to be quite resilient.

CFO 9

CFO Competitive Advantage Budgeting CEO 9

Harvard Business Review

MAY 28, 2018

As a result, the conversion rate from Facebook campaigns managed by Albert increased by 750% in Albert’s first year of operation. Albert’s results have been so impressive to date that Simson is now encouraging RedBalloon’s CFO to think in a very different way about the marketing budget.

Retail 8

Retail Audience Budgeting Advertising 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 18, 2014

The project budget paid for the software and not a lot more. BlueArc’s devices were high-end, but its management believed it needed a mid-priced product to get it through the recession. BlueArc’s CFO, Rick Martig, and other executives gathered market data to support the investment in the mid-tier data storage product.

CFO 8

CFO Venture Funding IPO Retail 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 8, 2013

CIOs who belong to the executive management team can play the strategic role that''s key to success. As a member of executive management, a CIO can serve as both a utility and a strategic adviser to the business. IT management Information & technology Strategy' Reinventing Corporate IT An HBR Insight Center.

CIO 8

CIO Succession Fast Follower Chief Information Officer 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 13, 2015

As a result, Labs management was being asked to do more with less. “We’re really not budgeted for that,” the leadership team explained. What would inspire the CFO or CEO to talk to investors about a major innovation underway? Innovation Leadership Managing up' What should they do?

CFO 8

CFO Innovation CEO Airlines 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

But does your manager's manager know what you've done recently? I can name several times in my own career when my manager's immediate superior was a key factor. Ask you manager first, and then ask if his boss might have more suggestions. What does he think of you? Increase your overall exposure.

Public Relations 15

Public Relations Human Resources CFO Career 15

Harvard Business Review

MAY 8, 2014

To use a different company example, one growing financial services firm’s new CFO learned this in 2004. The CFO couldn’t understand why. Top management must be very careful about how they downsize the organization. If the CFO has a realistic budget, it’s much easier for a midsized company to borrow money.

Crisis 8

Crisis CFO GAAP Banking 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 25, 2017

It also informs future spending levels, allocation of the budget across programs and media, and which messages a marketer chooses. “In principle, managers should try to estimate the full cost of the marketing activity, including creative development, media spend, and customer-facing staff time.”

ROI 8

ROI Marketing Marketing Mix Short-term 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 9, 2017

Invest significant time in training and mentoring a junior colleague so they can run the budget meetings without you. Manage the village. If it takes a village to raise a child, your job is to build and manage that village the same way you would a project team at work. Work differently.

Stress 15

Stress Long-term Short-term Contingency Plans 15

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 17, 2015

Senior management encouraged the employee’s creativity and coached her on how to implement her idea. Good Shepherd’s CFO, Greghan Fischer, for example, saw strong potential in Yan Li, a quietly competent member of her finance team. Fischer had Li practice leading budget meetings and provided feedback.

Development 8

Development Mentor COO CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

We’ve spent an awful lot of money on technology, but I still see people working in the old way,” complained the CFO of a large hospitality company. Faced with limited budgets, companies focus on the most tangible part first – deploying the technology. Plan and budget for adoption from the start. Why does this happen?

Technology 8

Technology Metrics Budgeting CIO 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

She said, “We all managed to make time for our executive MBAs, while still doing our day jobs. For example, a sector manager for an internet commerce organization decided to stretch her skills by forming and leading a community of marketing experts from different organizations. Career planning Leadership Managing yourself'

Porter 11

Porter Delegation Learning-by-Doing Project 11

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. These forces must be understood and managed for the entire initiative to succeed. The CEO has to work on four things: Actively manage C-suite dynamics. Choose the right analytics leader.

CEO 8

CEO Competitive Advantage ROI CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 13, 2012

However, cloud services are just that, a service, and require reallocating money to operating expense budgets. But if you're a CFO, you'll have to decide whether you like consistent or variable expenditures. This can be a big change when your company must still pay to maintain existing infrastructure.

CFO 15

CFO Operations Budgeting Technology 15

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 30, 2012

But in the budgeting process, the initiative got little funding. This company has demonstrated a repeated pattern of 3- to 5-year cycles where it launches a change program, takes awhile for managers to get behind it, and then more time to get it funded. The initiative fizzled. They blocked each other's progress.

Company 8

Company COO CFO Insurance 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 19, 2012

As one management consultant framed it, "Why would I ever work in one industry for the next 20 years when I can work in a new industry every other month?" As another consultant told me, "I really want to get a job as an e-commerce manager, but it's hard to start when you don't know anyone in e-commerce."

Career 15

Career Long-term Christensen CFO 15

Harvard Business Review

MAY 5, 2016

Instead of selling the streetlights and leaving the cities to manage them, the company would rent them out for a monthly fee, with installation, maintenance, and monitoring software all included. The city manager had originally wanted 6,000 lamps but had cut the order back to 1,000 for budgetary reasons. Could we rent instead?’”

Case Study 8

Case Study Business Model CFO Software 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 27, 2012

Throughout the process, Bill was never allowed to meet with the decision maker, the CFO. In Martha's case, a soft bluff would have involved saying "We'd be happy to meet your $200,000 budget, but we wouldn't be able to include the process-control design for the production line." To Build a Great Sales Team, You Need a Great Manager.

Price 14

Price Chemicals Tactics CFO 14

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 15, 2013

They resist getting their hands dirty alongside the CIO, even though many of them will readily get down into the mud of a balance sheet with the CFO or strategize the details of global brand issues with the CMO. IT management' In fact, CEOs avoid IT like the plague. It''s true, in a sense, that enterprise computing is like a utility.

CEO 8

CEO CIO Technology CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

Over the past six years, we have put in place a 30-person consulting team at EMC Information Infrastructure (EMC II) using a model we have found to be successful, winning projects away from external management consulting firms at a fraction of the cost, and with great “client” (that is to say, EMC) satisfaction.

Consultative 8

Consultative Team How To McKinsey 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 21, 2016

A change began to occur in the 1970s as functional managers slowly joined BU leaders and COOs on the top team. Outside executive team meetings, new committees proliferate (HR, health & safety, budget, etc.) Thus, for example, CEOs who are financial specialists should be careful if their main confidant is the CFO.

Execution 8

Execution Team Committee COO 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 27, 2016

But not ever as fast as the manager wants!” ” “Where is the manager?” The manager says I’m the only one she trusts with the toilets.” As Ken clocked out at 2:30 PM, the manager told him, “You do good work. And he saw managers who were effective but spread too thin.

Case Study 8

Case Study Airlines COO CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 15, 2016

” and “Work on my time management!” And how can we take the bull by the horns rather than waiting for our managers or organizations to do it for us? He also saw how Sheila, his CFO, was going to be a critical expert for the group in a year where costs and budgets were coming to the forefront.

Safe Harbor 8

Safe Harbor Goal Class Self-aware 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 2, 2015

These were decisions like how to respond to a competitive threat, which products to invest more deeply in, how to better integrate an acquisition, where to reduce a budget, how to organize reporting relationships, and so on. ” “Hold on,” the CFO responded, “this is a complex decision.

CFO 8

CFO Energy Efficiency CEO 8