Lead on Purpose

FEBRUARY 22, 2014

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. Andrew Cravenho is the CEO of CBAC Funding, an innovative invoice finance company.

Charisma 222

Charisma Leadership CFO Learning-by-Doing 222

In the CEO Afterlife

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

The day the Jacobs Suchard (now part of Kraft Foods ) Board of Directors promoted me to the C-Suite, they strongly suggested I align myself with the CFO. Product design is important. My regret is that I did not free up my other hip for Human Resources, a group of eager young managers at the rear of the functional pecking order.

CEO 162

CEO CFO Human Resources Real Estate 162

Harvard Business Review

JULY 25, 2016

What receives far less attention is that, more and more in our increasingly complex, volatile, and fully-globalized business world, the effectiveness of such action depends on a powerful partnership between the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the General Counsel (GC). Compliance.

CFO 8

CFO Chief Financial Officer Compliance Due Diligence 8

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. Inside Intel. The result has been transformational.

Finance 13

Finance Marketing P&L ROI 13

N2Growth Blog

JUNE 29, 2010

Bottom line…If you can’t avoid the crazies there is still hope…I sincerely believe productive working relationships can be formed with even the most difficult people where there is a sincere desire/need to do so.

Blog 282

Blog Brand CEO Consultative 282

N2Growth Blog

AUGUST 22, 2010

If your CFO handles all communications with your banking relationships, and your Chief Investment Officer handles all of your investor relations, you’re flat out missing the boat. If your CMO is making all of your brand decisions there will be h*ll to pay down the road.

Blog 401

Blog Gordon CEO Consultative 401

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. Ironically, autonomy in corporate computing does not necessarily lead to greater productivity.

CIO 8

CIO CFO Zero Based Budgeting Chief Technology Officer 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 29, 2014

In the July/August issue of HBR , Ram Charan argues that the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) role should be eliminated, with HR responsibilities funneled in two separate directions — administration , led by traditional HR-types, reporting to the CFO; and talent strategy , led by high-potential line managers, reporting to the corner office.

CFO 11

CFO Charan Intangible Assets Human Resources 11

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

This lack of an analytical approach has traditionally formed a barrier between marketing and finance. One financial services CMO told us how CFOs typically perceive his function: “We’re going to give a certain amount of dollars to those guys. They’re going to make ads and do whatever it is they do.

CFO 8

CFO Short-term Long-term Benchmarking 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 8, 2018

Digital companies, however, consider scientists’ and software workers’ and product development teams’ time to be the company’s most valuable resource. This notion, that risk is a desirable feature, can seem like sacrilege to anyone who’s taken an introductory finance course.

Report 8

Report GAAP Net Present Value CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 15, 2016

This, in turn, is triggering a shift in the perceived role of the CFO — from bean counters to planters of seed corn. Redefining the CFO role. After all, it’s the CFO who typically sets expectations about growth to investors and then allocates resources to ensure their organizations deliver.

Short-term 8

Short-term Long-term CFO Wiseman 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 18, 2018

Lance was struck by what he saw in CFO Damon Ewen’s file. His CFO and his sales chief had been at loggerheads for a while. After all, sales and finance were often at odds in organizations, and the conflict hadn’t had a big impact on Barker’s revenues. Most of the input was neutral, which was to be expected.

Case Study 13

Case Study Team CFO Merchandising 13

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 5, 2016

Under this financing structure, the company contracts to buy kilowatts, not the turbines and panels. They had framing conversations with the CEO and CFO early on to discuss any financial or operational challenges. This allowed the company to claim carbon-neutral status for Texas-made products, a nice and strategic marketing win.

Energy 8

Energy Industry Finance CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 4, 2011

Roughly, I'd suggest that they're strategy, marketing, finance, and the rest of the drear, dismal, passionless stuff that makes most of us snooze through meetings and dread the arrival of Monday morning, dilberting our joint prosperity, perpetually disappointing our ever-more apathetic customers, and gleefully embezzling from the future.

Organization 15

Organization Finance Senge Long-term 15

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

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

For example, Tim Sheahan, Chief Financial Officer for a large division of a multi-national corporation, aspires to become CFO of a Fortune 100 company in the future. At meetings of the corporation's finance managers, Tim makes a point to spend time with lower-level staff members to establish a personal bond.

Execution 14

Execution Team Chief Financial Officer Finance 14

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 17, 2015

This comes at a significant financial and productivity cost to all organizations, as demonstrated by research in corporate settings : Onboarding an external hire can cost up to twice the departing executive’s salary, and the time it takes for an external hire to become productive is twice as long as for someone hired from within.

Development 8

Development Mentor COO CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 6, 2011

Process champions must have them ready for the day when the CEO or CFO effectively says, "Show me the money.". Engage the finance organization. Finance was on board at the company in our story. The system must be reviewed and validated by finance. What were the key mistakes that caused them to fail?

Process 14

Process Six Sigma Finance Short-term 14

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 30, 2015

You’ve got an idea for a new product line, a way to revamp your inventory management system, or a piece of equipment that will make your work easier. “At most companies, the cost of capital is a mechanical calculation done by the finance people. Finance & Accounting Tool. Babo Schokker. Further Reading.

Cost of Capital 8

Cost of Capital Cost Finance Discount 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. Of course, Sheila still had her job – and could even pursue other roles – in the consumer products company if she wanted to stay. Here’s a case example.

Career 10

Career Examples Supply Chain CFO 10

Harvard Business Review

MAY 4, 2012

This in turn can produce whisper numbers in the market, making it confusing to discern whether the company has in fact met or exceeded the market's expectations and perhaps eroding the CFO's credibility with the investment community. After weighing the pros and cons, I come down on the side of not providing guidance.

CFO 11

CFO Metrics Price Depreciation 11

Harvard Business Review

MAY 27, 2014

The abridged version is that Palmisano and then-CFO Mark Loughridge came up with what they called the “investor model” or the “road map” — a strategic plan complete with multi-year goals for investment, revenue growth, and earnings growth that they asked investors to judge them by. Communication Finance Getting buy-in'

Stage-Gate 9

Stage-Gate Strategic Planning Welch CFO 9

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

Your boss's boss has a broader perspective on your organization than you (or your boss), and can see more of what's coming down the pike — be it new products or possible new assignments. She made a presentation to the VP of Public Relations, the CFO, and the president of the company to get the extra support.

Public Relations 15

Public Relations Human Resources CFO Career 15

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

When I do get a name, it often differs depending on who I asked—a marketing executive points to one person, while finance identifies someone else. The CAO should be under an executive that naturally spans all of the business units that have analytical needs, such as the Chief Strategy Officer, the CFO, and the COO. That isn’t good.

Company 8

Company COO Information Technology CFO 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. The chemical firm's CEO asked her to prepare a bid for a new production line that the buyer needed to install quickly.

Price 14

Price Chemicals Tactics CFO 14

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

” When I do get a name, it often differs depending on who I asked—a marketing executive points to one person, while finance identifies someone else. The CAO should be under an executive that naturally spans all of the business units that have analytical needs, such as the Chief Strategy Officer, the CFO, and the COO.

Company 8

Company COO CFO Analysis 8

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. Archiving leaders include Arkovi , Smarsh , and Global Relay , whose products enable searching stored communications by keywords, date, and other variables across different social networks.

Compliance 15

Compliance Media Compliance Officer Policies 15

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 18, 2018

These intense work styles are often celebrated as the only way to get to the top and be a super-productive leader. “I’m not sure when I first asked if I thought it would be successful,” said Hickox, now CFO of Independent Bank in McKinney Texas. I see it all the time,” He said. ” None of this is easy.

Banking 15

Banking Conference CEO Bottom-up 15

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 25, 2014

Many people were willing to work for free because they believed in his mission: to create positive, nonviolent, commercially viable products that reward empathy and caring rather than aggression and revenge. You forgot one important figure, Klaus,” Rutger Ekberg, the head of product development, said with a smile. Everyone laughed.

Company 9

Company CFO Proposal Engineering 9

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

Your #1 focus at this stage is product-market fit. 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. What to do. What not to do. What to do.

Metrics 13

Metrics Engineering Efficiency Learning-by-Doing 13

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Your CFO and finance team can take a leadership role here. Unless line managers and finance really believe in the link between customer feedback and business outcomes, your incentive system won't last long. You can also use these processes to inform policy, pricing, staffing, process and product improvements.

Incentives 10

Incentives Sample Customer Loyalty Metrics 10

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

Betty, the head of sales, is preparing her budget for next year, and she’s meeting with Amit, the director of finance. Betty’s draft budget is due to the CFO first thing tomorrow morning, so she sends Amit a meeting request to discuss what’s going on. Don’t always feel you need to respond to the outburst.

How To 8

How To Budgeting CFO Open-book 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

If you want to be a chief financial officer (CFO), identify five CFOs who you admire or who are well regarded in your industry. During your call, ask them, “What are the key functional experiences [not necessarily jobs] that you believe will produce the highest-quality [general manager, IT architect, finance director]?

Career 8

Career Chief Financial Officer Supply Chain Chief Information Officer 8

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. Boards should require that CEO candidates demonstrate not just knowledge of finance and marketing but also a technology aptitude.

CEO 8

CEO CIO Technology CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 11, 2013

When the well-known hedge fund manager and short-seller Jeremiah Hughes first put Terranola in the spotlight, issuing ominous warnings about unsold products, a looming patent expiration, and flawed growth projections, the considered judgment of the executive team was to do nothing. “I As CFO, A.J. Investors adored the Terranola story.

Case Study 8

Case Study CFO Hedge PR 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 10, 2013

The chief financial officer (CFO) role rose to prominence in the mid -1980’s as pressures for value management and more transparent investor relations gained traction. Over the past 30 years, most companies have added new C-level roles in response to changing business environments.

Chief Financial Officer 8

Chief Financial Officer Information Technology Metrics CFO 8