Center for Creative Leadership

APRIL 24, 2019

I recently spoke with the CEO of a medium-sized manufacturing company about his new CFO who was poised to attend our flagship program for senior executives, Leadership at the Peak. She was respected by colleagues and employees, and over time had become the right-hand assistant to the CFO. How to Increase Your Executive Presence.

Charisma 65

Charisma CFO CEO Execution 65

HR Digest

OCTOBER 22, 2018

The HR is supposed to be a true partner to the CEO, just like the CFO. Though coaching is a vital tool in helping employees to achieve their full potential, it has its limits. Most CEOs rank HRs as the eighth most important function in their organization, according to a research by McKinsey. That’s absolutely wrong.

CEO 63

CEO CFO McKinsey Human Resources 63

Rich Gee Group

AUGUST 31, 2015

Bottom line, you have to put in the hours, the sweat and tears to adequately build a firm foundation of tools to leverage in the myriad of situations that arise. They haven’t done the requisite homework and they’re trying to bribe the teacher with an apple. EQ – Emotional Quotient (or Emotional Intelligence).

CEO 150

CEO Development CIO Emotional Intelligence 150

Modern Servant Leader

JANUARY 20, 2012

During the financial earnings call, CEO Gary Kelly , CFO Laura Wright and Executive VP Robert (Bob) E. Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) announced the 39th consecutive year of profitability yesterday. The company has been a role model of servant leadership since its founding by Herb Kelleher (and others). Improved Results by Acquired AirTran.

Airlines 203

Airlines Leadership CFO ROI 203

Lead Change Blog

JANUARY 23, 2015

Usually the CEO and the CFO have the biggest impact on organization-wide changes, but it is not always so; in some cases the hierarchy doesn’t reflect the amount of influence, so it’s advisable to check everything carefully. Mind Tools. Where should you start? First of all, you need to discover who your true stakeholders are.

Project 150

Project Succession Stakeholder Analysis Influence 150

Great Leadership By Dan

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Assessment can start with a talent review , using a tool like a performance and potential matrix (9-box), but it shouldn't end there. Stakeholder reviews are often conducted as a follow-up to the assessment tool. The CEO then manages this portfolio of development plans the same way the CFO manages the company's financial assets.

Process 227

Process Execution CFO CEO 227

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 28, 2020

Changes in tools, teams, regulations, and markets are putting sustainability in the hands of the finance department.

CFO 13

CFO Finance Tools Marketing 13

Marshall Goldsmith

AUGUST 15, 2011

For example, you don't want the CEO and CFO coming to you and saying, "You never justify why we're spending so much money, so we're cutting your budget." Find the right reporting tools. Arm yourself with tools that let you say: "here's the proof that we really helped drive these results."

Advice 107

Advice Execution Marketing Prahalad 107

Lead Change Blog

MAY 1, 2017

Everyone knows the roles and responsibilities for a CEO, CFO and CTO but change the wording and a different picture emerges. Miki Saxon of MAPping Company Success contributed Psychological Manipulation: The Popular New Management Tool. Imagine, for example, a CEO tasked as the Chief Engagement Officer.”

Leadership Development 264

Leadership Development Development Leadership CTO 264

Strategy Driven

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

How would your CFO or CIO handle this? Fillios is the founder and CEO of the IT Ally Institute, a nonprofit organization providing small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) access to knowledge, research, and practical tools to improve their tech bottom line. An excerpt is below.

Bottom-up 98

Bottom-up Software Policies CIO 98

The Empowered Buisness

JULY 14, 2015

Drawing on recent evolutions in cognitive science research, motivational profiling is a state-of-the-art assessment tool that provides a window into yours and your employees’ intrinsic motivations and attitudes at work. Other interest filters are oriented around things, such as systems, tools, money, activity, etc. And much more.

Motivation 100

Motivation Leadership McClelland Long-term 100

CEO Insider

DECEMBER 7, 2022

But cross-border e-commerce growth is still possible with the right tools and mindset. The technology sector experienced unprecedented growth in 2020 and 2021, but this year has proven that growth was inevitably going to slow. Global recession is looming, and governments are doing everything they can to support local businesses.

Uncertainty 52

Uncertainty Globalization Magazine Tools 52

Great Leadership By Dan

MARCH 26, 2015

Does the CFO of the company you’re looking to acquire really have confidence in the revenue numbers he’s projecting? Repetition is a powerful tool—the more frequently a person hears something, the more likely he will be to accept it, or to at least open the door to the possibility of accepting it.

Short-term 120

Short-term CFO Long-term Learning-by-Doing 120

Rich Gee Group

DECEMBER 11, 2010

Bottom line, you have to put in the hours, the sweat and tears to adequately build a firm foundation of tools to leverage in the myriad of situations that arise. They haven’t done the requisite homework and they’re trying to bribe the teacher with an apple. What got them to this position (IQ) is now failing them.

CEO 238

CEO Development Licensing Motivation 238

Strategy Driven

JULY 27, 2018

If you don’t have one already, hiring a CFO or accountant is a good idea if you need help managing your money as a business. It is, therefore, key that you adopt positive habits when it comes to money and use the many tools and software available to aid the process. Hire a Professional.

Tips 52

Tips Management Budgeting Discount 52

CO2

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Simple hierarchical org charts are blunt tools. Turn your org chart into an evaluative and effective story-telling tool by adding these five things: Compensation. They can be useful for you, your advisors/coaches, and board members in discussing and reviewing the readiness of your organization.

Leadership Styles 87

Leadership Styles COO Learning-by-Doing Planning 87

N2Growth Blog

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

Maybe your CFO is a family friend. You’re establishing a common language and process tool kit embedded with leaders at every level to ensure consistency in execution. Their organizational culture happens by default. Leaders know that building a culture by design is critical to business success. You’re avoiding some tough calls.

Delegation 208

Delegation Maturity CEO Execution 208

CO2

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Simple hierarchical org charts are blunt tools. Notice in the example I’ve provided below (which is organized by function) how the CEO has the COO promotion ready, and the COO has two possible candidates (both the CFO and the VP of Operations) and has chosen the VP of Operations.

Leadership Styles 78

Leadership Styles COO Learning-by-Doing Planning 78

Mills Scofield

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Bettcher Industries was founded in 1944 with $800 by Louis Bettcher, a former cowboy, woodcutter, hard rock miner, tool and die maker and son of a fundamentalist Christian minister. Million; not big, but interesting. This is the tie that binds us and we live it every day.

Succession 70

Succession Industry Stage-Gate CFO 70

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 8

CFO CIO Budgeting Long-term 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 24, 2013

We asked Square''s CFO and Operations Lead, Sarah Friar , for perspectives on this technology, what it means for marketers, and how to manage in the world of mobile innovation. There are a lot of tools right now for personalization, but how do you really make that valuable? Below is an edited version of our conversation.

CFO 8

CFO Loyalty Technology Definition 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 6, 2013

But this makes the still lingering CMO-CFO disconnect even more significant, as both executives are now stewards of that critical corporate data. As the CMO, I can say that a big part of trusting Gene (CFO) was that he not only demonstrated a passion for marketing, but a genuine interest in helping our department with his finance expertise.

CFO 8

CFO Advertising Finance Marketing 8

Modern Servant Leader

DECEMBER 13, 2011

The requirement was to replace the primary software tool of the company, in less than a month’s time. The already overburdened technology team had no bandwidth and the CFO would not accept changing priorities of other efforts. A replacement of such a critical tool would typically require months of planning alone.

CFO 185

CFO Chief Financial Officer Learning-by-Doing Technology 185

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 13, 2011

Then the family's CFO, my wife, who also happens to be a CPA, demanded to know their TCO. The CFO's skepticism was proved correct, and I lost all credibility. The machines were given to a friend, who sold them at a garage sale (I couldn't throw them away, because the CFO wouldn't authorize the $50 per machine "green" disposal fee.).

Technology 15

Technology CIO CFO TCO 15

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 23, 2015

HBR TOOLS: Return on Investment. Finance & Accounting Tool. 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.” When the CFO analyzed it and said “No way,” the owner got another CFO.

Finance 8

Finance NPV CFO ROI 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 6, 2015

HBR: Let’s just start with a quick description of how this particular tool works. How tools are changing the way we manage, learn, and get things done. It seems like these kinds of tools are more often used at lower levels. We usually see these [assessment] tools at mid-level and below. Insight Center.

Execution 8

Execution CFO Self-aware Benchmarking 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 8, 2018

Business students have traditionally considered net present value, payback period, and hurdle rates as necessary tools to determine which project to select. 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

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

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 13

Learning Curve Management CFO Delegation 13

Strategy Driven

JANUARY 28, 2011

Sharon Drew explores what happens when he stumbles in the dark trying to bring his fellow managers, the internal tech team (which is responsible for the current site), and the CFO (to whom the tech team reports) on board. It works alongside my Buying Facilitation™ model as a decision facilitation tool to manage change. The result?

Servant Leader 50

Servant Leader Newsletter Resources CFO 50

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. He had not been exposed to the approach his company chose ("Lean"), and all the tools and concepts were new to him. Getting the CFO on board is key. Then I became an advocate.

Finance 10

Finance CFO Budgeting Operations 10

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 2, 2013

Thanks to internal squabbles, the team couldn’t deliver the tools the sales force needed to keep up with the increasingly tough competition. Even the CEO was in the action, asking the Board to let him terminate the CFO without addressing the issues directly with him. Business wasn’t going well, either. Get in the game.

CFO 8

CFO Team Self-aware Learning-by-Doing 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

That's one reason that job rotation is more common than ever as a development tool. So, for instance, if you want a top finance job it's not enough to be the best CFO in the U.S.; you have to be the best CFO in the world. A well-rounded executive will rise to the top much more quickly than one with singular expertise.

Execution 15

Execution P&L CFO Globalization 15

Harvard Business Review

MAY 3, 2013

Clear and meaningful tasks, goals, and technology tools that support the organization''s direction can supplement interpersonal leadership. Today, with work becoming more virtual and global, substitutes for interpersonal leadership can be powerful tools. This is a classic topic in the management field.

Skills 8

Skills Leadership CFO Technology 8

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

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. I’m the CFO and he’s in charge of sales. CEOs expect comp to fix anything, but usually you need other tools. Most of the input was neutral, which was to be expected. Lance sighed.

Case Study 13

Case Study Team CFO Merchandising 13

Harvard Business Review

JULY 31, 2017

One recent study by leading academics in the field concluded that there is no agreed definition of “culture” and that the tools used for measuring it were either methodologically flawed or designed to measure something else altogether.

Marketing 8

Marketing Root Cause Analysis Management Supply Chain 8