Archives for September 2011

September 28, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 1 Comment

CFOs: Your Relationships Matter

I wasn’t planning to write another blog this week.

But then I read Relationship-building Key for CFOs Seeking Operational Experience by Emily Chasan in the Wall Street Journal’s CFO Journal.

Cary McMillan, former CFO of Sara Lee was interviewed, and was quoted saying:

Chief financial officers wanting to move higher up in the C-suite should look for opportunities to build relationships with their firm’s customers, and sales and marketing teams.

Hmmm. Sounds like good advice. The kind of advice you’d get if you read Road Map to Successful CFO Relationships.

Relationships Matter.

They matter if you are looking to move up in the C-Suite. But where relationships really matter is in the CFO function you are in today.

A Great CFO does more than just manage the financials. He or she is a key partner in running an organization. To be that business partner, you need to be part of the business. To be part of the business, you have to have solid relationships with ALL sides of the Relationship Map – the people you work for, the people you work with, the people that work for you and the people on the outside of your organization who you could not do without. All of these people are critical to your success.

What have you done today to build your relationships with the people on your CFO Relationship Map?

September 27, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 1 Comment

Ask Samuel: How is the CFO job market?

Dear Samuel,

I’m a CFO that is considering looking for my next career opportunity. Business conditions seem tough, and I’m concerned that this is not a good time to look for a new CFO role.

How is the CFO job market?

Worried in Wichita

Dear Worried,

You ask a question that almost every CFO I speak with asks, whether they are actively looking for a new CFO role, or are just keeping an ear open to potential opportunities.

The short answer is: CFOs are getting new jobs, even in a difficult economy.

How do I know this? Simple. My firm tracks CFO Moves across the United States. As of last week, we started sharing this information with the public in our sister blog, CFO Moves. You can view our blog, which is updated every Monday with CFO Moves for the previous week. (If you want to get a weekly update on these CFO Moves, click on the “Sign me Up!” button on the right side of the blog).

So, to answer your question: How is the CFO job market? Good.

Can it be better? Absolutely.

What can you do about it? Be visible, build your CFO brand, network and smile (no one wants to hire a Grumpy CFO).

Samuel

If you would have a question to Ask Samuel, click here to send him your question.

September 23, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 2 Comments

Recruiter Relationships – Build them before you need them!

As a follow up to my previous guest blog post (CFOs and Recruiters: Beefs and Beef and How to Find the Best Recruiter for Your Needs) written for Cindy Kraft, CFO Coach, here is a glimpse of the latest post:

Build your recruiter relationships BEFORE you need them.

In my previous guest blog for Cindy How to Find the Best Recruiter for Your Needs, I brought up (among other points) how important it is to build relationships with recruiters.

For recruiter relationships to be most effective, you need to build relationships with key recruiters BEFORE you need them.

Here is why…

[Visit Cindy’s Blog to read more]

September 20, 2011 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

Ask Samuel: Leaving my Bonus on the Table

Dear Samuel,

I’m going through an interview process for a CFO role that I would like. The position is an upward move with more responsibility. The company is reputable and I’m excited about this role. I’m one of two candidates being considered for the role.

My concern is that the process is taking a while. The longer the process drags out, the closer we get to year end, and the closer I am to leaving my bonus from my current employer on the table. Any recommendations on how to handle this?

Dragging in Detroit

Dear Dragging,

There are many things to consider when negotiating your CFO Employment Contract (See our recent blog on the subject).

In any job change situation it is important to ask yourself the following: “Taking money out of the equation for a moment, is this the right role, company and team to join for me to continue my career?”

If you’ve answered yes, it is at that point in time that you should consider what impact compensation will have on changing your answer.

If they want to bring you on board, the company will make you an offer. Once you get that offer, you will be in a position to see whether your answer will still be the same.

Then the negotiations begin.

Good luck,

Samuel

If you would have a question to Ask Samuel, click here to send him your question.

September 16, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 2 Comments

Here Are the Top 5 Reasons CFOs Need LinkedIn.

1. It’s the “Golden Rolodex.” First, it is important to understand LinkedIn. LinkedIn is basically your “Golden Rolodex” on steroids! Picture every time one of the great contacts in your “Golden Rolodex” moved on that they could find you (because you’ve moved on too) and sneak into your office in the middle of the night and update their contact information.

2. Peer Group Discussions. What was once only possible at Roundtable Meetings or CPE seminars, can now can be done in real time with very specialized groups. LinkedIn is not a replacement for face to face meetings but you can get discussions going instantly which can be very time efficient for immediate feedback. Also, just like the face to face meetings, it is a great way to build your network.

3. Just because you are not a job seeker now does not mean you won’t be someday. Waiting until you need a network to start working on one (like the out of work job seeker hopping from networking event to networking event in hopes of running into that perfect contact that will set them up with an interview) is like waiting until your teenager starts applying to colleges to start saving money for college tuition…..it’s too late.

4. Finding Talent. Running a Staffing firm, I can tell you that middle management openings like Controllers and Managers of External Reporting are harder to fill than CFO roles as they fly a bit more under the radar and are not listed on company websites or 10Ks & 10Qs. Most likely there are several people that you have worked with before that you would like to work with again but it is too time consuming to find them. Using LinkedIn, it could take less than 10 minutes to pop off an email to several people in your network. Also, with just a few keyword searches you might even find someone new or you can pay an agency fee and they will do it for you.

5. Beating the “Dated” Stereotype. The most common complaint I here from a CFO that is on the job market is that they think they are experiencing age discrimination. I have to say, in over 20 years of recruiting, I have not seen age discrimination but I have seen people not get the job offer because they were not on the “cutting edge”, comfortable with change or a big fan of new tools. When I see a CFO that does not have a complete profile or only a few connections, my first impression is that this person either does not see how social media can be useful, does not value his or her network or just is not that into new tools. Of course, this may not be the case but to beat the “dated” stereotype, one must do everything one can to appear on the cutting edge.

I see 2 commonalities in all professionals that have the most marketability and longevity in their profession.

1. They understand of the importance of their professional network.

2. They place a high priority on new tools to help them stay on the cutting edge.

LinkedIn is a great place to work on both!

Interested in a LinkedIn workshop?

Click here for more blogs by Saundra Lee

Author: Saundra Lee, President, Dubin & Lee

September 15, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 1 Comment

7 Steps to Climb to Become CFO

Just because you have the skills to be a solid Controller, this does not mean you have the right stuff to become a Great CFO….

but it doesn’t mean you can’t become a Great CFO.

To become a Great CFO, one needs to be able to move beyond the technical of accounting and finance. Having great Excel skills, being a GAAP Geek or being able to add 100 numbers in your head within 60 seconds is not what a CFO does. If a CFO needs to these things, there is a good chance a CFO will hire you. That might be why you were hired, but these skills will not get you the CFO job.

So what do you need to work on to become a CFO?

Read my Guest Blog published on the Dubin & Lee Blog

September 14, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 12 Comments

Negotiating your CFO Employment Contract

Congratulations! You have been offered the role of CFO at a company you are excited about. You’re buzzed, and pleased with yourself, and so you should be. However…

… keep the following in mind:

From my experience, most CFO roles last an average of 3 years. The time to prepare for your next job is today.
The best time to negotiate the terms of your employment is when you begin your employment.

Some Warnings:

Be sure to have an employment contract. An offer letter may not be sufficient to protect you.
Have the employment contract reviewed by competent counsel before signing.
Do not resign from your previous role without ALL the details being worked out.
A proper employment agreement not only protects you, it protects your new employer as well.

Now, let’s take a look at some things you should be looking for in an employment contract.

(Please note: I am not offering legal advice. I am reviewing points worth considering when negotiating your CFO employment agreement. For specific advice with regards to your employment situation, I recommend discussing it with competent counsel.)

Issues to consider for your employment agreement.

Base compensation – you know how this works. You want more and they want to give you less. This is where all those years of sharpening your negotiation skills come into play.
Upside – regular bonuses, special bonuses, stock based compensation etc. – many conflicts arise because of lack of clarity on how this works. Be sure it’s clear.
Severance – you may be asked to leave. It happens. Having clarity on what happens if you are asked to leave is important not only for your cash flow after you leave, but for your reputation as well.
Notice – you love your new job, but a better one might come along. What will your responsibilities be upon leaving?
Restrictive covenants – usually includes non-disclosure and non-competition clauses, but may include others. It may be detrimental to your new employer for you to take your next job at a direct competitor. Ensure that the time limits on these restrictive covenants are reasonable, and get competent legal advice as to their reasonability.
Relocation – there should be no guessing games when it comes to relocation for your new role. Will they cover moving expenses? Transition costs? Cover your ‘out-of-the-money’ mortgage? Clarity here is key.
Other benefits – What will be offered in insurance (health, life, disability)? Will there be a car? Access to the corporate jet?

Issues outside your employment agreement that you will want to have a clear understanding of prior to accepting:

Office – I have seen CFOs get off on the wrong foot when they get an office that was not what they were expecting. It can really sour the relationship.
Resource support – Will you get an Executive assistant? Will you share one? Will you get to choose your own? (See Does a CFO need a PA?)
Allowable expenses – What expenses will you be allowed to charge to the company? Is there a policy for executives?
Professional Development – You should have a budget for allowing you to attend conferences you deem necessary to ensure you are on top of your game. You don’t need to be going hat in hand to the CEO each time.
Coaching – Does your CEO have a Coach? If he or she does, then you should have the budget for one too. If your CEO doesn’t have one, you should recommend that he or she gets one. (See 5 Reasons why you need an Executive Coach)
Team Headcount or Staff Budget – Before accepting the role as CFO, you need to know what the cost of your team is, and get clarity on the leeway you will have to make changes you feel are necessary to deliver to the rest of the company. (See A Strong CFO needs a Strong Finance Team)
Onboarding – Ask what the plan for “Onboarding” is. You might get blank looks. Make sure that you have an onboarding plan that allows you to develop the internal relationships necessary for success. (If you want to know more about Onboarding, we will be posting a Blog on the topic soon. Click on the “Sign me Up” Button on the right to get blog updates directly in your email inbox).

Special situations.

In special situations, keep this in mind: When the company’s risk increases, so does yours.

Restructuring – if you start off in a restructuring situation, or you are called upon during your mandate to turn the company around – you need to address the following situations.

Bonuses. If you accomplish the goals set out, you should have potential for an upside. Be clear on what the upside is.
Getting paid. You’re working hard for the company. If the company has no cash, and you’re busting your chops, what is the guarantee you will get paid.
What happens on bankruptcy, buy-out, new investment etc. How do you protect yourself and your career? Work these things out in advance.

CEO leaves permanently or temporarily – It is time to renegotiate. (See Are you a CEO in Training?)
Poison pills and takeovers – time to renegotiate.
Where the CEO or other executives are getting special compensation privileges, it may be time for you to ask for more as well.

Remember, a key reason your new company is hiring you because you are supposed to be a great negotiator! Show them how you negotiate a win for all sides.

September 9, 2011 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

Become a Better CFO: Be on Trend. Create your own Luck.

I received this video in my email yesterday, and I wanted to share it with you. I was fortunate to be attending a conference in May 2010 where Mike Lipkin was the keynote speaker.

[Sidenote: I have always been skeptical of Motivational Speakers. It was never my style. But I ended up in a room with Mike Lipkin and he is one person I thank for making the changes in my life and career that has brought me here today].

If you are the kind of person that does not like motivational speakers – do not watch the video.

If you are the kind of person that likes to hear new ideas, be current, and are open to change and improvement, go ahead and listen.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT1Y8hed0K4]

Based on the research done by Mr. Lipkin’s company, Environics Lipkin, Mike explains these seven powerful and current trends that have the ability to make you a Better CFO.

Instrospection and empathy.
New social responsibility and community involvement
Social learning and cultural fusion.
Vitality and effort for health.
Rejection of authority and support for government.
Equality of the sexes.
Pursuit of originality.

If any of these trends interest you and you would like to understand them better, watch the video.

Do any of these apply to you?

Can you be on Trend?

Will following any of these trends help make you a Better CFO?

As Mike says “You may be the one that others have been waiting for.”

September 8, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 1 Comment

CFOs: Are you a CEO in training?

The news of the replacement of Carol Bartz as CEO of Yahoo by Tim Morse, the CFO (as an interim position) brings up interesting points to ponder for the CFO about their career path and career plan.

As I was at my desk thinking about what CFOs could learn from the Yahoo news, the phone rang and it was the Wall Street Journal wanting my take on this news. You can read the article and my quotes in the article by Emily Chasan, When CFOs Become Interim CEOs.

This Yahoo succession story should make every CFO look in the mirror and ask themselves:

If I get the call to be CEO,

Can I take it?
Should I take it?
Am I ready to take it?
Do I have what it takes to take it?

Most CFOs will admit to second guessing the CEO on some of their decisions. It’s easy to think “I could do a better job”.

When a finance executive moves up the ladder to become CFO, they need to move out of their comfort zone of being technical to become a strategic finance leader. A CFO can only move to the CEO role if they have taken steps to move beyond finance.

What are you doing as CFO to learn, grow and challenge yourself? (Hint: Get a Coach or a Mentor)

Are you a CEO in training?

If you get the call, would you be ready to become CEO?

September 7, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 6 Comments

CEO and Investors: Are you ready for your First CFO?

Companies in growth mode face great challenges. One of the biggest challenges a growing company faces is bringing in their first Real CFO.

In a previous post we reviewed an article written by Emily Chasen in the WSJ CFO Journal about how More Companies are Ready for their First CFO.

A growing company built on entrepreneurial spirit can only continue to grow so far on that spirit alone. At a critical juncture in the life of a growing business, it needs to make a transition from decisions made by the entrepreneur alone to a dynamic team that works on a business model of delegation of responsibility and co-operation between interests within the company.

This is an inflection point for many successful growth companies — when a CFO is recruited because the management disciplines that grew the enterprise to its current state will not be enough to take it to the next level.

Intellectually, the CEO and other key managers may know things need to change. But that doesn’t mean they’ll be comfortable with a CFO who asks tougher questions, instills new disciplines or has a fiduciary responsibility to the investors as well as a loyalty to the management team.

So, what is the answer? How do you strengthen CFO readiness when the next level of success takes people out of their comfort zones? Courage.

That’s why we developed our CFO Readiness Program in conjunction with Dr. Merom Klein & Dr. Louise Klein, leaders of the Courage Institute.

The Courage Institute wrote the book on The Courage to Act — about 5 Courage Factors that equip effective leaders to challenge the status quo, champion new possibilities and get traction on breakthrough ideas and improvements. This is the foundation of the CFO Readiness Program.

The CFO Readiness Program is an assessment, feedback and action planning program that works to equip the entire executive team to:

Strengthen and align your veteran executives — so they have the courage to welcome new thought-leadership and collaboration
Clarify your wish-list of expectations and priorities for the new CFO
Prepare for healthy debates and challenges to “the way we have done things here” as the new CFO identifies new opportunities
Equip the new CFO to conduct an independent assessment of your enterprise’s infrastructure, financial well-being and resources
Ensure career paths and mentoring opportunities for the finance executives who brought the enterprise to its current level
Identify fears, sensitivities and bridge-building that the new CFO could face — and ways to build courage to lift performance
Lift courage to embrace and accelerate change to get traction on new metrics, new ways of working and new ways to ensure regulatory compliance and good investor/board relations
Identify debates, deferred decisions and risk factors that the new CFO will face — and the input desired from the new CFO
See how to move past rivalries, turf-issues, personality clashes and other fear-inducing courage inhibitors that can reduce luminary efficiency at the executive and middle management levels
Invite scrutiny and transparency to sharpen up team thinking
Navigate matrix structures, networks and alliances — where it is not clear “who is in charge” or “who settles which debates”
Overcome fear and reluctance — as veteran members of the executive team are asked for courage to share decision-making discretion and authority with a new CFO

To receive a copy of our brochure and find out more about how our CFO Readiness Program can help your company, please complete this form:

[contact-form subject=”CFO Readiness Program” to=”[email protected]”] [contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Position” type=”text” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Company” type=”text” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”City” type=”text” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”State / Province” type=”text” /] [contact-field label=”Country” type=”text” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Phone Number” type=”text” required=”true” /] [/contact-form]

Archives for September 2011

Here Are the Top 5 Reasons CFOs Need LinkedIn.

So what do you need to work on to become a CFO?

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