Archives for July 2011

July 29, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 4 Comments

CFO Consulting: What it means.

What does the term CFO Consulting really mean? As I have found over the last while, it means different things to different people.

So for the sake of clarity, this is what it means (and doesn’t mean) to me.

CFO Consulting is:

Working with CFOs to help them be a better CFO for the company they are working for, through

Executive Coaching – helping them become a more capable and effective CFO.
Training & Development – teaching to and increasing the knowledge, skills and abilities of the CFO.
Talent Management – providing CFOs with all the processes necessary for a more efficient and effective Finance team – including Talent Assessment, Talent Planning, Talent Succession for the entire the finance group or for specific individuals within finance.

CFO Consulting is not:

Interim CFO
Part-time CFO
CFO Career Coaching

Personally, I find Career Coaching for CFOs to be a needed and valuable service to those senior finance executives who need to plan their career. One such person that offers these services is Cindy Kraft (CFO Coach). She does an excellent job and I highly recommend her.

I’m not knocking those who work delivering Interim CFO or Part-time CFO. At one point in my career, I used to deliver Interim CFO and Part-time CFO services, so I do understand what is involved. There are many good companies and individuals that offer these services. My only issue is that calling these services “Consulting” is not appropriate. Calling them CFO Services is a better name for it.

This is my point of view. What is yours?

July 28, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 2 Comments

4 ways LinkedIn helps you keep your current CFO role

LinkedIn is pretty popular. With over 100 Million people on the social media site, it is becoming the de facto public profile for professionals like you.

LinkedIn recently issued their ‘Apply with LinkedIn’ button – showing the pervasiveness of LI as todays primary career management tool.

Cindy Kraft also penned an article that appeared in Business Finance Magazine where she argued successfully about why CFOs need to be on LinkedIn for their careers and their future.

Although Cindy did touch briefly on the value of LinkedIn to your current role as CFO, the following are the reasons why you should be involved with LinkedIn to get the best out of your current CFO role.

1. It’s your billboard to the people working within your company. Many people in your company know that you exist, but do they know you? Managing perceptions internally to the people who might be calling you ‘Mr. or Ms. No’ is important. They should see what your background is, what school you went to and all the other impressive things about you.

2. Interacting with customers, suppliers, bankers and other external business partners. I can guarantee you that people you interact with daily from outside your company want to know who you are – and they are checking you out on LinkedIn and the web. What do you want them to see?

3. Being part of the PR message. You are a key component of your company and its message to the world. Read “The CFO: PR Rockstar” for more insights on this value you can bring to your employer.

4. How you are perceived by people you work for. The CEO, Board and Shareholders are keeping tabs on you. Just like you will wear an appropriate suit to work and drive an appropriate car to meet image expectations, your LinkedIn profile speaks loudly to the people who employ you.

Is your LinkedIn profile up to date? Do you still not have a LinkedIn Profile? What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for the next CFO of your current employer to force you to?

July 25, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 9 Comments

What do CFOs want from HR? (Part 3 of our survey results)

As the final instalment of the results from our CFO survey on HR, (Read Part 1 and Part 2 here), I wanted to share with you some of the comments we received from CFOs about their relationship with Human Resources.

In some companies, there is no love lost between Finance & Human Resources.

Below are individual comments from CFOs about their relationship with HR based on their own experiences and backgrounds. These comments were curated from our survey to prove the point that Finance and HR don’t always see eye to eye.

Here are some of the more interesting comments we received:

Having HR report to the CFO has been good for our company. It offers a sounding board for HR on tough issues and a little more objectivity vs. operations who are more concerned about staffing than possibly dealing with a difficult personnel issue.

I’ve been CFO of three organizations and have always found a conflict between the CFO and HR. HR believes they should have a direct ear to the CEO – which they should on personnel issues. Often though, this bleeds over to cover financial decisions. If HR does not agree with CFO analysis on a benefits package or offering, often there is a private discussion between HR and the CEO where it “comes up.” This usually results in many extra processes and meetings with the end result being the more logical, CFO proposed issue.

A strong HR dept can add tremendous value to the organization and support to the CFO. However, it has to be balanced in the services they provide and not be just great in one or two areas – it needs to be strong in all areas otherwise it can effect the performance of the employees and the company, similar to the finance function. HR, like finance, is an internal service organization that needs to provide the best quality of service to be an effective dept that adds value to the organization and not a drain on it. I believe that HR and Finance can be very strategic if first they are operating effectively, aligned together and operate as a team.

My biggest headache is HR. They continuously enter pay rates, SSN, address, benefits, etc. incorrectly into payroll and the Accounting software. I have complained to the CEO, but he has not corrected the problems. Accounting often does not have time to take lunch, because we are fixing HR’s mistakes. HR however, manages to take long lunch breaks daily.

(The next one is my favorite)

I should mention that the Director of HR is very pretty and the CEO cannot say no to her or will he make her do her job. Accounting is left to complete many processes that should have been completed by HR so we can do our job. I have many friends in upper levels of Accounting. The biggest complaint I have heard from all of them are their biggest nightmare is HR.

As CFO, do you feel that your fellow CFOs are facing the same issues you are? What do you feel about the comments these CFOs have about HR?

July 22, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 2 Comments

The CFO: PR Rockstar?

Mitch Joel taught me (The only book a CFO needs to read about social media) that if you want others to know about your expertise in your area of focus, you need to follow what is trending on topics in your space.

My space is CFOs. I work with CFOs, talk with CFOs and talk about CFOs. It is my job to be on top of what is going on in the CFO world.

A trend I have been noticing is that some CFOs of major companies have been very involved in company PR not only about financial information about the company. They have also been a key point person for new product hype. Here are some recent examples:

Apple (CFO: Peter Oppenheimer, July 20, 2011) Apple fuels September iPhone 5 rumours

Google (CFO: Patrick Pichette, July 20, 2011): Brainstorm Tech video: Google’s Patrick Pichette on Android’s future

Verizon (CFO: Francis Shammo, January 12, 2011) Verizon executive says CDMA iPad coming

I find it fascinating that CFOs are being used to deliver marketing and product messages. Who would have thought that the Finance Guy or Gal would have such visibility on an overall business perspective?

The lesson to CFOs is: If you see yourself as the accountant; that is all you will be. If you see yourself as a key and indispensible face of the company; you will become it.

It can be a big step to move from a purely technical and analytical background to being viewed as one of the top (and indispensible) leaders of your company.

How can a CFO make such a move?

1) Know your strengths (The Strong CFO Program), build upon them, and support yourself with others that have complimentary strengths.

2) Know your relationships, the expectations of these relationships, and understand what is necessary to successfully deliver in each of these relationships. (Roadmap to Successful CFO Relationships).

As CFO, you can become indispensible to your company. You can be a PR Rockstar. The only person stopping you is the person in the mirror.

July 21, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 4 Comments

The only book a CFO needs to read about social media

I will admit, this book is a ‘old’ in social media terms (it was published nearly 2 years ago). Six Pixels of Separation was my entrée into finally understanding how Social Media can truly benefit me. Actually, by extension, you have benefited as well if you read my blogs, follow my Twitter and are connected with me on LinkedIn.

Many of the CFOs I speak with still have difficulty getting a handle on Social Media. They do not know what is involved in getting involved with Social Media and how to best take advantage of it. There will continue to be new tools (My recent blog: Should a CFO be on Google +?) while other social media sites will fade (remember MySpace?). The concepts explained by Mitch are still valuable.

If you “get” Six Pixels and then “apply” some of the concepts in the book, you will be considered as a Social Media CFO by your peers.

Below is a review I wrote on my LinkedIn application “Reading List by Amazon” in April 2010. Seems like a long time ago. Upon re-reading what I wrote then, I find the review as relevant today as it was when I wrote it.

On a separate note, I would highly recommend you use the LinkedIn “Reading List by Amazon” application. I have found this tool to be a great way to engage with my connections. Assuming you read interesting things (that, let’s face it, make you look smart and build your personal brand), adding it to your LinkedIn profile and looking to see what your connections have read and are reading can allow for real emotional and intellectual engagement.

************************************************************************************************************************

Review written by Samuel Dergel on Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel, April 2010

“I have to start this review with a caveat. I knew Mitch Joel before he was Mitch Joel. Well, at least before everyone knew Mitch Joel.

And this has led me to a dilemma.

Because I have known Mitch for a long time, and he wrote a book, it was hard to consider him a famous expert. So I didn’t read the book until recently.

Big mistake.

Six Pixels is a great book for those trying to get a handle on what is happening in the social media space, and how to be able to navigate it.

I recently finished reading the book, and afterwards, went through the specific pages to ‘dog ear’ so I could go back to them and find them with ease.

Six Pixels is a great read because:

– Mitch gives history and relevance to the social media revolution we are currently going through.

– Mitch gives practical advice and self-questions to help you make the most out of social media.

– Mitch gives predictions as to where this space can go.

This book falls in to the “highly recommended” category.

Thanks Mitch”

************************************************************************************************************************

Have you read Six Pixels of Separation? Has Mitch Joel’s book helped you better understand how social media can help you?

July 18, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 1 Comment

What do CFOs want from HR? (Part 2 of our survey results)

As we mentioned last week, our CFO Relationship Map shows the need for CFOs to have effective interactions with HR. (For Part 1 of our survey results, please click here).

Survey Finding #2

We asked CFOs to rate the responsiveness of HR to their needs. The average scoring is as follows (based on a score of 1 = Needs improvement, 2 = Satisfactory, 3 = Strongly satisfied).

Payroll Process (2)
Onboarding (1.75)
Benefits Management (1.74)
Recruitment (1.70)
Retention (1.67)
Performance Review (1.58)
Budget Process (1.44)
Training & Development (1.39)

Our survey shows that other than for the involvement of HR in the Payroll Process, our CFOs were less then satisfied with all of these areas.

Opportunities for improvement for HR: HR needs to be aware that their delivery of services is less than satisfactory in all of the above mentioned areas, other than Payroll.

HR has the biggest room for improvement in the areas of Training & Development as well as their involvement in the Budget Process. Specifically, our survey found that:

63% of CFOs surveyed felt that HR needs to improve their responsiveness the Training & Development needs of the CFO and the Company.
59% felt that HR can do a better job with their involvement in the Budget Process.

Question for discussion:

Are you surprised by the results? Do you feel they are different (or the same) in your organization?

July 15, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 10 Comments

Introducing: The Strong CFO Program – 1st session FREE

In all my years working with CFOs, I have noticed that Successful CFOs always play to their strengths and build upon them to help the company they are working for and the people they are working with.

Today, I am introducing our new program – The Strong CFO. This program is an ongoing personal development program for CFOs who want to become a stronger and better CFO, delivering value to the companies they work for and the people they work with.

This program is only for you if you are committed to your current employer and want to be a better and more effective CFO. If you are a CFO and are considering a career move or are in between positions, I recommend that you work with someone like Cindy Kraft, CFO Coach. Cindy is very strong to help with the specific issues you face.

As I mentioned in the title, the first session is FREE, with no further commitment required. This offer is possible because I firmly believe that if you are committed to developing yourself into a Strong CFO, you will continue with my program.

Of course, there are conditions. These conditions exist to ensure that you are committed to getting value out the 1st session.

Understanding of your strengths.

What are your strengths? Can you identify them objectively?

The Clifton Strengthsfinder Assessment is a tool that I use to help my CFO clients. For us to have an effective 1st session, it is important that you read Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie and complete the online test.

Set up the meeting.

To request your 1^st FREE session of The Strong CFO Program, you need send an email to [email protected] with

– Your complete contact information, including current employer and link to your LinkedIn Profile, and

– Your Strengthsfinder Assessment

– Best times to schedule our first session over the phone.

You may be thinking “How can Samuel ask me for my Strengthsfinder results? I would feel open and vulnerable”. I can certainly understand your concern. To alleviate your concern, I will open my kimono – here are the results of MY Strengthfinders Assessment.

Now you know a lot about me. Actually, the whole world now has access to my Strengths. I am willing to share my Strengths with the sole purpose of helping you become a Strong CFO.

I am willing to make this investment in you. Are you?

July 13, 2011 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

New Survey: CFOs and their Finance Team

According to our CFO Relationship Map, Successful CFOs need a strong Finance Team to support them so they can accomplish more for the people they work for (CEO, Board, Investors) and the people they work with (Operations, Sales, IT, HR and others).

We created this survey to better understand the areas that CFOs feel they need help with to ensure they have a strong Finance Team supporting them.

With this context in mind, please answer our survey.

Thank you for your help. We look forward to sharing these results with you.

Samuel

July 11, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 4 Comments

What do CFOs want from HR? (Part 1 of our survey results)

In most companies, the Finance and HR departments are an important support function to the core business. That being said, relationships between Finance and HR can sometimes be strained. Both departments are spending resources that may be seen to not be directly linked to revenue, and they sometimes need to justify their value to the revenue driving departments of the business and the CEO.

According to our CFO Relationship Map, CFOs need effective interactions with Human Resources to deliver and enhance their value.

We recently completed a Survey which asked CFOs about their interactions with HR. Our survey results will be released over the next few weeks.

Survey Finding #1

A large majority of CFOs want to get both Functional day to day tasks AND Strategic & Long Term Value from their HR Group

Yet

Half of these CFOs only get Functional day to day tasks from HR.

Opportunity for improvement

Opportunity for HR: Your CFO wants Strategic Long Term Value. There is a good chance that if you can prove the value of strategic initiatives to them, they will pay for it.

Opportunity for CFOs: Challenge your HR leaders. ½ of you are not getting what you want.

Question for discussion:

As CFO, are you getting what you need from HR? If not, why not?

Archives for July 2011

Contact Information