Archives for December 2011

December 29, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 2 Comments

Top 7 of Samuel’s CFO Blogs in 2011

We are about to turn the corner to a new year. 2011 was the beginning of Samuel’s CFO Blog, and there is plenty more to write about in for 2012.

If you haven’t been following Samuel’s CFO Blog since the beginning, or if you have, and may have missed some of our most popular blog this year, here are 2011’s 7 Most Read Blogs.

7) Dear CEO & Board: You can’t afford to hire the wrong CFO

6) Introducing: The Strong CFO Program – 1st session FREE

5) The Lonely CFO

4) You’ve been promoted to CFO. Now what?

3) The First 90 Days of a New CFO

2) Road Map to Successful CFO Relationships

And the most popular of Samuel’s CFO Blogs for 2011 is:

1) Negotiating your CFO Employment

Thank you to all my readers, clients, candidates and friends for your support in 2011.

2012 is already shaping up to be an amazing year, and it hasn’t even started. Stay tuned to a special announcement coming next week. (If you haven’t signed up yet for Samuel’s CFO Blog, click the SIGN ME UP! button on the right.)

Happy New Year!

Samuel

December 20, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 3 Comments

On the road to CFO, there are winners, and there are losers

A recent article caught my attention on this subject from The Sydney Morning Herald by Malcolm Maiden titled “Fegan exits Telstra after CFO snub” .

The article discusses Telstra’s recent appointment of their new CFO, Andy Penn. Mr. Penn, former chief executive at AXA Asia Pacific, was hired after a through CFO Search, from both inside and outside of the organization. It also discusses how Paul Fegan, an executive at the company, has left following the hiring of Mr. Penn, seemingly, as the article implies, due to Mr. Fegan being snubbed for the CFO role which he thought he was going to be appointed to.

While this story takes place in Australia, it is a common one in the United States and around the world. As executives jockey for position to move up the corporate pyramid, the closer one gets to the top of the pyramid, the greater the opportunity is for an executive to be ‘snubbed’.

Does it make sense to perform a CFO Search outside a company when there is a strong talent pool inside the company? Absolutely. If a company wants to hire the best for their very senior roles, not considering “outsiders” in the nomination process does the company a disservice. Hiring the best CFO is a strategic choice. In making these strategic choices, there will be winners and there will be losers.

Are the losers really losers? No. Strong financial executives who build their reputation and their brand can take their experience elsewhere and provide another company with top-notch leadership.

Does using an executive search firm help? Definitely. When faced with a difficult decision to hire the best CFO, using a search firm not only allows a company access to the best CFOs for consideration, it also provides the company with objective process and guidance to help make the best hiring decision possible for this very important role.

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I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very Happy Holiday season and a Happy & Successful 2012!

Samuel

December 15, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 11 Comments

When hiring a CFO, is LinkedIn the place to look?

A recent blog piece on ERE.net called Fishing in a Small Pond discusses, from the recruiter and company perspective, whether LinkedIn is the best source for candidates when looking to hire.

Our own research shows that LinkedIn is not as great a source for CFO candidates as people think. Our CFO Moves Blog, which is the most regular and comprehensive source detailing CFO hires and unhires across America, is the only list that refers to the CFO’s LinkedIn Profile. If the CFO has a LinkedIn Profile, CFO Moves provides the direct link to it. Take a look for yourself.

Look at the blog and you will notice that not all CFOs are on LinkedIn. A good number of them aren’t.

Shocked? Don’t be.

Also, look at the links to CFO LinkedIn Profiles in our CFO Moves Blog. You will notice that of those CFOs that are on LinkedIn, a good number of them have weak or ineffective profiles, with few connections (Category: I’m here, but leave me alone), and what appears to be no real investment in looking out for building their personal brand.

Lessons to be learned:

For…	Lesson to be learned	Recommendation
A company looking to hire your next CFO	LinkedIn is not sufficient to do a proper search for the best candidates meeting your needs.	Engage a Search firm that not only understands what you need, but how and where to find them.
A CFO actively looking for their next opportunity	Your LinkedIn Profile can give you a competitive advantage, if done right.	Be active and visible to those looking for CFOs that are too lazy to do any other type of search.
A CFO who iskeeping their eyes open for their next opportunity	Other CFOs are not on LinkedIn or not taking LinkedIn seriously.	Build your personal brand, including being active on LinkedIn, and opportunities may find you.

We are in process of preparing detailed statistics on what we have learned from our CFO Moves Blog this year. Our report will be coming out in January. Sign up to this blog by clicking the “SIGN ME UP” button on the right column to ensure you can learn what we’ve learned from our CFO Moves Blog.

As well, while you’re at it, if the CFO Moves Blog is of interest to you, sign up for it as well!

December 13, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 3 Comments

Ask Samuel: The Office Holiday Party

Dear Samuel,

Our annual office party is coming up, and I’m dreading it. I’m even thinking of skipping it this year, because I don’t see the point.

What do you think?

Pointless in Point Pleasant

Dear Pointless,

Don’t skip the party.

Not only should you attend, but you should bring your smile and good cheer too. You should use this gathering as an opportunity NOT to discuss work, and connect personally with the people that work with you and for you.

I’m not asking you to fake a smile. I’m asking you to find happiness and pleasure in getting together with other people. Have a drink (not too many). Wish people an enjoyable holiday season. Inquire as to what their plans are for the holidays. Share your plans with them. If you’re not sure what to talk about when you’re not talking about work, ask questions. Listen. Be sincere.

This is a unique opportunity to build relationships with the people that work with you. Acting human at your company’s party can pay dividends throughout the year.

You’ll be glad you did.

Wishing you and yours the best of the holiday season.

Samuel

If you’d like to ask Samuel a question, click here.

December 8, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 7 Comments

Executive Search: Do CFOs understand the difference between Cost & Value?

Last week I wrote 4 Reasons you should use an Executive Search Firm when hiring your CFO. Cindy Kraft brought to my attention a poll that was running in SmartBrief for Finance. These are the results of the poll.

I agree with Cindy’s analysis of the poll results. I find it interesting that it is OK for CFOs to call every Executive Recruiter when they are looking for their next opportunity, while close to half of those polled don’t see the value in using a Search firm when they need to hire.

Can’t say I’m surprised by the results.

I love CFOs. Heck, they are my favourite people.

Except.

Except too many CFOs worry too much about cost, and not enough about value. Unfortunately for these myopic CFOs, this statement applies not only to recruitment, but to many major decisions that they take as a CFO.

Another point I find interesting is that while 30% of CFO see the value in Executive Search, 1/3 of these CFOs don’t know how to sell the value proposition internally.

To the people that responded to this poll, here is my feedback for you based on your answer:

Yes, but I’m not sure there is a worthwhile ROI: Then you haven’t asked the right questions or your search firm isn’t explaining the value of the services you are reluctantly paying for. Either ensure you get value for the search mandates you give them, or work with someone that will give you value.

No, and we do just fine recruiting top talent without them: Congratulations on this accomplishment. Hiring top talent isn’t easy. Be aware that you could be hiring mediocre talent thinking they are top talent. Also keep in mind that while you may be able to attract top talent in some areas of your company, you may still need to hire using an executive search firm for key roles.

Yes, and they are worth every penny to get top talent: I love you. Call me at +1 (201) 961-0838 for your next executive search to receive even more value than you are getting now.

No, but I wish we did: If you took this poll and answered this question, email me to let me know WHY you wish you did.

Thank you Cindy for bringing the poll to my attention (It was in my email inbox, but I didn’t get to reading it). And if you are a CFO and you are not signed up for SmartBrief for Finance, you really should be.

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December 6, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 3 Comments

Ask Samuel: Should I accept all LinkedIn Connection Requests?

Dear Samuel,

I’m a senior financial executive that is taking an active role in building my network. I’m finding that LinkedIn is a good tool. It allows me to keep track of who I know and stay visible to my network.

From time to time (and it’s getting more frequent) I get requests to connect with someone I don’t know. They either say that I know them as a Friend or I have worked with them in the past. While it could be possible that I met them once, I don’t remember.

Should I accept a connection request on LinkedIn from someone I don’t know?

Connecting in Connecticut

Dear Connecting,

I understand where you are coming from. Being as active on social media as I am, I get requests constantly to join people’s networks. So I developed a LinkedIn Connection Policy that I stick to. You can read my LinkedIn Policy in my previous post.

I also recommend that you read the postings of a fellow blogger, Joel Ungar, The SEC Auditor. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 of his blog – How NOT to Make a Connection on LinkedIn.

To answer your question in standard accountingease: It depends. It ultimately depends on what you want to accomplish on LinkedIn.

What should your LinkedIn Connection Policy be?

Thanks for writing,

Samuel

If you’d like to ask Samuel a question, click here.

December 5, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 4 Comments

LinkedIn Connections – What is your Policy?

Dear Readers:

I previously published this post on another blog in February 2011. I am reposting it here as a reference to those who wish to connect with me on LinkedIn.

If you’re not connected with me on LinkedIn – now you know what it will take for me to say yes.

Samuel

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LinkedIn has certainly become the online place for business people to connect and stay in touch. While it is a very powerful tool, it is only as powerful as you make it.

Networking is more effective when you use it to give to your network as well as receive from it. The same applies on LinkedIn. If you want LinkedIn to work for you when you need it (i.e., when you are looking for work), you need to work with, assist and engage your network when you don’t need your network.

As someone who uses LinkedIn on a daily basis to connect and add value to my network, I regularly get LinkedIn requests. Many times, it is from individuals I do not know. Yet.

I am interested in making genuine connections with people. It is my business to know people and meet people – LinkedIn is a great tool for this. I’m not interested in the game of “How many Connections do you have?”

So how do I choose who to connect with?

I connect with people that:

I know
I have met in person
I have spoken with
I have engaged with online

When I get a request from someone I do not know it is my policy to reply to them and ask questions that will help me get to know them better before I actually connect.

I categorize networkers on LinkedIn into the following categories:

1) LIONs (LinkedIn Open Networkers).These people have a policy to connect with anyone and anybody. They call themselves “Open Networkers” but in my opinion are not real networkers – they are just looking for leads to move their agenda forward and have access to names they may not otherwise have.

2) Real Networkers.These people use LinkedIn to support their in-person networking activities, not to replace their in-person networking. These people are meeting people in person and using LinkedIn to stay connected and engaged with their network when they are not in front of them. Real Networkers do develop relationships on LinkedIn, but only as part of an engagement strategy with their network, groups and questions to build real relationships, even if they start them online.

3) Passive Networkers.This is how I would categorize the majority of people on LinkedIn. Passive LinkedIn Networkers connect with some people they know on LinkedIn, but really don’t go out of their way to connect or engage their network. These people are generally passive networkers in their day to day lives. While I am an avid evangelist of the powers of networking, I am aware that most people don’t love networking, and feel more comfortable not networking. For them, just being on LinkedIn and passively being involved is certainly a step up to those that do no networking at all.

4) I’m here, but leave me alone. There are people who have a profile on LinkedIn because someone they respect asked them to be a part of it, but have no desire to put an effort into networking at all. I respect the choice these people have made, but I feel for them – they are missing out on a revolution that is positively affecting the careers and personal lives of everyone around them.

I categorize myself as a Real Networker. What kind of LinkedIn Networker are you? What is your LinkedIn Connection Policy?

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December 1, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 6 Comments

4 Reasons you should use an Executive Search Firm when hiring your CFO

As CEO, Board Member, or VP of Human Resources of your organization, you may find yourself in a situation where you need to hire a CFO. Some companies take the decision to perform a search for their next CFO by themselves. This is a mistake. In past blog postings, I have detailed the reasons you cannot afford to hire the wrong CFO, asked if it’s time to replace your CFO and how do you replace your CFO?

When you do a search for a Chief Financial Officer on your own, it is a misnomer to call it ‘search’. What you are really performing is a ‘look’. To find a needle in a haystack, ‘looking’ will not suffice – you need to do a proper, methodical search. And just because you find a needle, it doesn’t mean that it will be the right needle you need to get the difficult job done.

Searching for your CFO requires that you have the resources, network and capabilities to succeed. An Executive Search Firm that specializes in the Chief Financial Officer,

• Understands what you need,

• Knows how to find the CFO you need,

• Actively engages in a methodical and detailed search,

• Has the experience necessary to get your next CFO interested in your opportunity,

• Is intimately aware of the market and ensures that negotiations are fair to both parties, and

• Works after your CFO is hired to ensure that they have the right support in place to succeed.

When you look to hire a CFO on your own,

• You have not done a proper Needs Assessment. Do you really know what knowledge, skills and abilities your next CFO needs? Are you making an assumption, or has an expert made you think more about what you really need?

• You are missing the best CFOs. CFOs that are happy in their job are too busy to be looking at job postings. Without an active search, done by people experienced in gaining the attention of a busy CFO, you are missing what could be the best candidates.

• You are tapping in to your network. This is a good thing. Except does your network really have access to the best CFO that you need? Can they attract the right CFO for your needs that is currently working and happy at another company?

• The CFO you hire will not be a match. You’ve hired a square peg CFO to fit your round hole.

If you have the important responsibility of being involved with hiring your organization’s next CFO, it is important to be honest with yourself. If you are not using a Search Firm for hiring your CFO, you are probably resigned to the fact that any CFO will do.

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Archives for December 2011

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