Harvard Business Review

JULY 17, 2014

Rajamannar involved finance early. To spearhead analytic efforts, he assigned a finance person – who was already embedded in marketing – to create an ROI evaluation framework and integrated her deeper into the marketing function. MasterCard had always been a data-driven organization. The result has been transformational.

Finance 11

Finance Marketing P&L ROI 11

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 6, 2011

Do you have a process improvement program under way that you feel is going well? Lest you get too comfortable, you might want to consider the cautionary tale of a company whose program received rave reviews while in progress, only to fail spectacularly. Two years after that, the CEO was gone and the reengineering program was defunct.

Process 14

Process Six Sigma Finance Short-term 14

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. There are two reasons for this.

Strategy 8

Strategy CFO Finance Short-term 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 23, 2013

Unlike the world of the CFO, management and staff generally do what they like when it comes to creating and (not) disposing of information, creating a cavernous gap in accountability. Patchwork attempts to mitigate or repair our broken information management processes do not get to the core of the issue. Can you spell S.N.O.W.D.E.N.?)

CIO 8

CIO CFO Zero Based Budgeting Chief Technology Officer 8

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

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. This lack of an analytical approach has traditionally formed a barrier between marketing and finance. The opportunity is enormous.

CFO 8

CFO Short-term Long-term Benchmarking 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

FEBRUARY 25, 2014

If you’d like your comment to be considered for publication, please be sure to include your full name, company or university affiliation, and e-mail address.). Indeed, the company had hired a small group of them in the past two years. We’re not just a company, we’re a movement,” he said, pointing to the map on the screen. “Our

Company 8

Company CFO Proposal Engineering 8

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

OCTOBER 1, 2018

The workshops companies invest in typically teach them to constantly check their thoughts for bias. Take, for example, the hiring process. ” In finance, for example, that might mean believing — based on no evidence — that only MBA graduates from an elite university are likely to succeed at their jobs.

Power 10

Power Management Diversity CFO 10

Strategy Driven

OCTOBER 21, 2011

Twelve cases are written as narratives with multiple teaching points, but without a focus on a particular business decision; the remaining twenty-three cases were written around specific conundrums related to strategy, operations, finance, marketing, leadership, culture, human resources, organizational design, business model, and growth.

Learning-by-Doing 62

Learning-by-Doing Price Bottom-up Finance 62

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 5, 2016

Big companies have been buying a lot of clean energy lately – 3.5 Under this financing structure, the company contracts to buy kilowatts, not the turbines and panels. It sounds like an easy win-win, but industrial companies have had a harder time making it all work for two key reasons: costs and accounting.

Energy 8

Energy Industry Finance CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 18, 2018

Lance Best, the CEO of Barker Sports Apparel, was meeting with Nina Kelk, the company’s general counsel, who also oversaw human resources. It had been a long day at the company’s Birmingham, England, headquarters, and in the early evening the two were going over the evaluations of each of Lance’s direct reports.

Case Study 11

Case Study Team CFO Merchandising 11

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 27, 2015

If you’d like your comment to be considered for publication, please be sure to include your full name, company or university affiliation, and e-mail address. Sema, a finance manager at the Dutch-British financial services consultancy Dirksen-Hall, had recently transferred from its Ankara office to its headquarters, in Amsterdam.

Case Study 8

Case Study CFO Finance Project 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 30, 2015

But before you spend the company’s hard-earned money, you’ve got to prove to your company’s leaders that it’s worth the investment. You’ll likely be asked to show that the return on the investment will be better than your company’s cost of capital. And how your company uses it?

Cost of Capital 8

Cost of Capital Cost Finance Discount 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 18, 2014

Announce the adoption of integrated reporting as it not only enhances the information environment of the firm but it also serves as a disciplining mechanism to ensure that the company has a long-term sustainable strategy. It is time that you revisit whether your communication strategy is the right one in achieving this alignment.

Short-term 8

Short-term Long-term How To CFO 8

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 6, 2010

A CEO asked me to coach his potential successor, the CFO. It didn't take long before I just felt that the CEO just didn't like the CFO. I brought it to his attention: "I just don't think you like the CFO." GUT CHECK He replied, "I have to admit, he has made a tremendous contribution in helping our company. Are you sure?"

CEO 118

CEO CFO Skills Open-book 118

Harvard Business Review

MAY 27, 2014

I’d be interested, Palmisano replied, but only “if Bill took the company private.”. Bill Gates did not choose to take Microsoft private (it would have cost a lot ), and insider Satya Nadella became the company’s new CEO. Here’s a version of it from a couple of years into the process, which started in 2006.) Short answer: no.

Stage-Gate 8

Stage-Gate Strategic Planning Welch CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 25, 2015

The best CEOs are excellent at growing and running a company within a known business model. Sure, there are exceptions who are both visionary CEOs and innovators — Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos, for example — but there are very few companies that can stomach that sort of leadership. Build the future for the company.

Entrepreneur 8

Entrepreneur CTO Business Model CEO 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

With a background in both strategy and finance, Sheila was an up-and-coming manager at a well-known consumer products company. Through this process, Sheila realized that while her boss and others had probably acted poorly, she was partly at fault for not managing the relationships and politics more effectively.

Career 9

Career Examples Supply Chain CFO 9

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 23, 2012

For highly regulated sectors like finance, social media can be a legal minefield. Just ask Gene Morphis, ex-CFO of clothing retailer Francesca's. He was fired shortly thereafter for the offense of "improperly communicating company information through social media.". without any compliance process or technology in place.".

Compliance 15

Compliance Media Compliance Officer Policies 15

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

More and more companies are tying incentive pay to customer metrics. TIAA-CREF, the big financial services company, includes customer loyalty score improvement in senior executive compensation. In most larger companies, you'll need to generate roughly 200+ responses per operating unit per period.

Incentives 10

Incentives Sample Customer Loyalty Metrics 10

Harvard Business Review

JULY 27, 2012

The economic buyer focuses on price and value, is brutal about the buying process, browbeats the supplier, and puts the salesperson through head games. The rabbit is included in the bidding process for the sole purpose of driving down another vendor's — the preferred vendor's — price. Second, delays occur.

Price 13

Price Chemicals Tactics CFO 13

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 25, 2014

Thirty-one years later, I became Chairman and CEO of a global Fortune 300 company. In order for a company to access the best possible talent they must access the broadest possible talent pool. Born in India, I arrived in the U.S. How did this happen? I was fortunate, to be sure. But Rohm and Haas wasn’t always like that.

Team 10

Team Diversity CFO TSR 10

Harvard Business Review

JULY 17, 2017

Despite rapid innovations in data processing and machine learning, many businesses have yet to make the leap from the Industrial Age to the information age, and the gap between technological and organizational progress is widening. How the best companies get up to speed. The consequences for not doing so can be dire. Insight Center.

Industry 10

Industry Short-term Planning Long-term 10

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

Customers are integral to this process because they provide feedback, and every member of your team should be answering support requests, meeting with customers, and thinking about how to build a product that suits the needs of the market. Add a touch of process, carefully. Your company has (mostly) solved product/market fit.

Metrics 13

Metrics Engineering Efficiency Learning-by-Doing 13

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

My experience with even the most successful global companies is that they’re between average and poor at developing future talent. Your growth process should follow the exact same path, clearly specifying where you are today and your preferred destination. Identify experts inside and outside your company. Further Reading.

Career 8

Career Chief Financial Officer Supply Chain Chief Information Officer 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 15, 2013

For a brief period, as they were being built into the infrastructure of commerce, all these technologies opened opportunities for forward-looking companies to gain real advantages. Company leaders have quoted and lauded Carr whenever they''ve needed to justify their hesitation to create strong, progressive IT positions. Accountability.

CEO 8

CEO CIO Technology CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 23, 2012

Each requires customized risk management processes. A rules and compliance-based approach may work well for managing preventable risks, but is inadequate for strategy and external risks as companies that failed during the financial crisis illustrated all too well. The compliance-oriented risk manager of a failed U.K.

Risk Management 9

Risk Management CIO Management Banking 9

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 11, 2018

Ascension centralized functions such as human resources, payroll, travel services, and finance, thereby streamlining operations and saving costs. It also pursued process innovations that resulted in cost savings. It’s part of Catholic social teaching.”

Health Care 8

Health Care Insurance Cost Price 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

And we’ve seen family executives thrive with rewards that are richer and more profound than a leader of a publically traded company could possibly derive. The company flourishes, the family has a collective purpose that brings them together, and the kids prosper.

How To 8

How To CFO Execution Learning-by-Doing 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 14, 2015

The company’s executives said that to help finance the plan, McDonald’s would increase refranchising (turning company-owned restaurants into franchises), take on more debt (even at the risk of lowering its bond rating ), and find $300 million to cut in general and administrative expenses. The winners.

Price 8

Price Franchising Short-term CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 9, 2015

It could be about process — like how long the talks should take, and how the other side tries to involve stakeholders — which still gives you context that might prove useful. Jeff Haydock was spearheading bidding negotiations on behalf of a solar energy company for a large installation project in a Massachusetts town.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain How To Price Case Study 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 8, 2016

Rogier Maes, the CEO of Contect, wrapped up his year-beginning speech to all the company’s employees. Listening, Derek Melis, his friend and CFO, was relieved. If you’d like your comment to be considered for publication, please be sure to include your full name, company or university affiliation, and email address.

Case Study 8

Case Study Decentralization CFO Construction 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 24, 2013

These reports — one from a company task force and a second from a review committee of the board — were overshadowed by two items announced the same day: the related news that the bank board had slashed CEO Jamie Dimon's annual compensation in half — from $23 million in 2011 to $11.5

Report 8

Report CIO Crisis Committee 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 14, 2012

People often ask me why it's so hard for big companies to be innovative. My answer is "corporate antibodies" — the people and processes that extinguish a new idea as soon as it begins to course through the organization. Corporate antibodies are not just naysayers; they are necessary to protect the company from risk.

Innovation 11

Innovation CFO Learning-by-Doing Brainstorming 11

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 7, 2011

They don't necessarily improve processes that cross functions — and processes must often be redesigned this way to improve the customer experience. Yet I see few organizations that have process owners. The process owners are supposed to be highly placed, respected, and connected to make things happen.

Process 15

Process Champy Competitive Advantage Hammer 15