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. Some CFOs are working with their CISOs and CIOs to actually model their cyber exposure gap.

CFO 9

CFO CIO Budgeting Long-term 9

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Almost any enterprise you can think of, no matter the industry or sector, is trying (or being pressured by competitors) to use new technology to harness the vast new oceans of data being generated by smartphones, sensors, digital cameras, GPS devices, and myriad other sources of information originating from customers and markets.

Technology 9

Technology Metrics Budgeting CIO 9

Marshall Goldsmith

FEBRUARY 8, 2018

Authority on new technology and communication. Regular contributor to Harvard Business Review. Pawel Motyl – Formerly CEO (ICAN Institute) – Harvard Business Review Poland publishing and executive education. Written for Harvard Business Review , featured in The Wall Street Journal , Forbes , and New York Magazine.

Executive Coaching 70

Executive Coaching CEO Banking Magazine 70

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 24, 2013

This area of innovation is where mobile payment companies want to play, especially in markets where such technology is less than ubiquitous. For the uninitiated, Square offers two technologies — a card reader for merchants to use, which is called Register, and the other a mobile interface for customers to pay, which is called Wallet.

CFO 8

CFO Loyalty Technology Definition 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

I Give This Blurb 3 Stars Operation Clean Turf and the War on Fake Yelp Reviews Businessweek Were the 19 companies accused of commissioning fake online reviews the only firms out there engaged in this nefarious practice? Federal Trade Commission says 15% to 20% of all reader reviews might be fake. Not likely.

Review 8

Review CFO PR Analysis 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 5, 2012

Everyone in the room who is fully satisfied with their IT staff and has no concerns about finding and recruiting new technology talent raise your hand. It's an "irreplaceable motivator for high-performing technology staff," McKinsey reports. Big Pharma's Questionable Start-Up Strategy (Technology Review).

Development 13

Development McKinsey CFO Competitive Advantage 13

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. In some ways, technology has turned us into rapid-response junkies.

CFO 15

CFO Crisis Proposal Finance 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 8, 2018

Since then, we interviewed several chief financial officers (CFOs) of leading technology companies and senior analysts of investment banks who follow technology companies. CFOs of these companies themselves admit that they cannot justify their market capitalizations based on traditional metrics.

Report 8

Report GAAP Net Present Value CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 26, 2011

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. CFO Tim Olson of ThedaCare , a healthcare system in Wisconsin, went through a similar conversion. Then I became an advocate. Now I know that.".

Finance 11

Finance CFO Budgeting Operations 11

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

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. Closing this gap requires much more than short-term fixes, like adopting new technologies.

Industry 14

Industry Short-term Planning Long-term 14

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 13

CFO Charan Intangible Assets Human Resources 13

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 23, 2015

Everyone always wants new equipment — new computers or other hot technologies. The two founding partners were both engineers who loved technology. Several years ago, when I was serving as the company’s CFO, one of founders came to me and said, “Joe, I would like to buy a new three-dimensional printer.”

Finance 8

Finance NPV CFO ROI 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 4, 2018

Or perhaps the solution lies in better application of technological tools, rather than additional people. ” It’s not just new managers who make this mistake — a few years ago, I was invited to interview for the CFO role at a fast-growing tech company. Hire someone who brings something new to the team.

Learning Curve 14

Learning Curve Management CFO Delegation 14

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 3, 2018

At one point, the CEO indicated that he would know that the right shift had occurred when the CFO, chief strategy officer, and other C-level leaders were seeking the CMO’s advice on strategic business problems. “I needed to earn the right to be invited into key, firm-level strategic decisions.”

CFO 8

CFO CEO Agility Marketing 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 3, 2013

Modern leadership may be as much about facilitating strategy through hiring, training, technology, and focused tasks and goals, as it is about face-to-face interaction. Clear and meaningful tasks, goals, and technology tools that support the organization''s direction can supplement interpersonal leadership.

Skills 8

Skills Leadership CFO Technology 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 23, 2012

Just ask Gene Morphis, ex-CFO of clothing retailer Francesca's. without any compliance process or technology in place.". The combination of the right policy and the right technology can render even the most delicate of communications compliant. The risks and penalties are real. You will likely see thousands of them.

Compliance 15

Compliance Media Compliance Officer Policies 15

Harvard Business Review

MAY 13, 2013

In these organizational structures, you typically have two bosses: a "straight-line" direct boss, who is the person who prepares your performance review and decides on your raise; and a "dotted-line" boss, who may also assign you work but has less control over your review.

Management 8

Management CFO Human Resources Report 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 26, 2014

We have reviewed hundreds of corporate announcements and websites, interviewed numerous leadership experts, and conducted an analysis of CEO changes and successions over the past five years at S&P 500 and Global 100 companies. Through this effort, we have observed certain characteristics of this emerging trend.

CEO 14

CEO Contingency Plans Telecommunications Planning 14

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 4, 2011

How do they adopt an intelligent-store strategy that incorporates associates, shoppers, changing technology, new consumer behaviors, and the store itself? Our shopper in aisle three would need the store's Wi-Fi network and IT ecosystem to support the technology on his or her mobile device. But many retailers seem a bit overwhelmed.

Retail 15

Retail Attrition CIO CFO 15

Harvard Business Review

MAY 3, 2017

She changed industries from private equity investing to technology; she changed geographies by moving from New York to San Francisco; and she changed functions from M&A and investing to HR. “I was surprised by how much I personally enjoyed running the HR function versus taking on a CFO role,” said Reses.

Quinn 14

Quinn Execution CFO Forrester 14

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 19, 2018

There was a need to refocus the management team on reducing costs, targeting opportunities based on their profit rather than their growth potential, and systematically reviewing all parts of the business for any other opportunities to improve profitability. Like Wilson, Anderson was able to lead the senior team.

Strategy 8

Strategy Chief Financial Officer Short-term Chief Information Officer 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 28, 2016

Virtually every 21 st century business scandal is reducible to a morality tale of a technology that allows us to do things we couldn’t before, coupled with major institutional failures that were enabled by failures of omission and commission of corporate leaders. These lessons are valuable, but incomplete for today’s world.

Ethics 10

Ethics CFO Learning-by-Doing Technology 10

Harvard Business Review

JULY 26, 2013

They''re using these tool and technologies to add value to existing processes or, indeed, to create new "just-in-time" processes (and programs) that the C-suite and other senior managers had never envisioned. observed that technology had fundamentally changed how America''s special operations command managed its special forces warriors.

Media 9

Media Power CIO Supply Chain 9

Harvard Business Review

MAY 28, 2018

Then a new CFO joined the company: Masashi Oka, a financial industry veteran who had played a key role in transforming Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group-owned Union Bank in the US. It’s a core part of the CFO’s work: Last year Oka personally met with 145 investors and his IR team collectively met with more than 500.

Company 9

Company ROIC CFO Restructuring 9

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 8, 2013

But massive disruptions in business models, technology, and the work force have been throwing up massive new challenges for CIOs and other technology leaders. Consequently, CIOs and business leaders with a technology focus face more cacophony and challenge than ever before. IT management Information & technology Strategy'

CIO 8

CIO Succession Fast Follower Chief Information Officer 8

Women on Business

DECEMBER 3, 2012

Perhaps your manager had your job title a few years or months back, or your new CFO recently transitioned into the role from heading the accounting department. Your Performance Reviews Are Frequent and Detailed. Internal Candidates Are Regularly Tapped to Fill Open Roles. Take a quick scan of the managers and company leaders.

Career 247

Career Company Software Handbook 247

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 18, 2014

Even what appears to be a small investment risk can turn into a big one, especially when information technology comes into play. BlueArc’s CFO, Rick Martig, and other executives gathered market data to support the investment in the mid-tier data storage product. Blue Arc’s R&D had a track record of success; it was a proven team.

CFO 8

CFO Venture Funding IPO Retail 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 13, 2015

After a morning innovation workshop at the bucolic R&D campus of a top-tier but tradition-rich technology giant, the lunchtime conversation with the Lab’s leadership turned strategic. “Airlines,” he concluded, “don’t want to pay more for advanced technology.”

CFO 8

CFO Innovation CEO Airlines 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 5, 2014

Several years ago, she was asked to build and run a small team that would invest in start-ups aimed at bringing new technology into the company’s supply chain. Eventually, her team built a portfolio that caught the interest of the CFO and the CEO, and soon she was meeting regularly with them.

Supply Chain 9

Supply Chain CFO Performance Review Construction 9

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 4, 2013

How about this, the boardroom version of Sophie''s Choice: "Who would you rather fire, the CFO or the CSO?". We''re not a technology firm." "We The idea of placing your data, probably your company''s most important asset, in the hands of a third party needs careful review. He''ll protest: "What wartime?" "We''re

CEO 8

CEO CFO Offshoring Cost 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 19, 2011

The CEO and CFO responded with, "A failure to hit ROI and NPV targets." In an earlier post , we set out a three-part framework for innovation success: track three kinds of failures (misalignment with corporate will, with current capabilities or technologies, or with market needs/dynamics). Introduce Celebrating Failure Day.

NPV 16

NPV ROI CFO Consensus 16

Harvard Business Review

MAY 28, 2018

I met the team at Albert (formerly known as Adgorithms) while I was doing research into artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data-driven marketing technologies for my book, Marketing, Interrupted. As part of my research, I interviewed several of Albert’s customers, including Simson.

Retail 8

Retail Audience Budgeting Advertising 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 13, 2012

Many people assume it's all about moving to a "pay-as-you-go" (PAYG) model and while this is certainly a big piece of it, it also involves operating versus capital expenses, subscriptions to services, and customers paying for outcomes (not technology). The good news is that these models are already familiar to most businesses.

CFO 15

CFO Operations Budgeting Technology 15

Harvard Business Review

JULY 17, 2014

Consider how USAA – the nation’s 6 th largest consumer P&C insurer – has reinvented how marketing, finance and data analytics work together, starting with a first-ever partnership between the CMO, CFO and Chief Data Analytics officer. Once mostly marketing, it’s now equal parts marketing, finance and analytics.

Finance 14

Finance Marketing P&L ROI 14

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. Nor do they understand the CIO''s role or, typically, the technologies that the company deploys. IT isn''t somebody else''s job, it''s ultimately theirs.

CEO 8

CEO CIO Technology CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 14, 2011

And as a former CFO I also understand the preoccupation with numbers, but during my time as a CEO it has become clearer to me than ever, that numbers don't tell the whole story. It doesn't matter if you are an administrative assistant or a CFO; all employees need this common experience. As a CEO leading a global U.S.-based

CFO 13

CFO Software Engineering CEO 13