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You are here: Home / No Employer wants a Stale CFO

May 10, 2012 By Samuel Dergel 7 Comments

No Employer wants a Stale CFO

Yet many CFOs do not keep themselves fresh.

When I ask CFOs why they don’t find the time for conferences or training or coaching or personal development, they answer “I can’t find the time” or “I’m too busy”.

That, my CFO friends, is nonsense. You know it, and I know it.

And your employer knows it too.

Think back to all the important things that happened in your career and in your life. If they were really important, you always made time for them.

I have met a number of CFOs (who happen to be CPAs) that ‘forget’ about Continuing Education, until they ‘forget’ to file the Continuing Education report with their State Board, and get ‘reminded’, and then try to fill their dance card with useless or irrelevant PD courses.

So why don’t CFOs make time to stay fresh?

Reasons can include (but are certainly not limited to):

  • Not liking learning
  • Thinking they know it all
  • Being afraid of change

Combine a Stale CFO with an average CFO job tenure of 3 years (at best), the Stale CFO is a likely candidate to be unemployed for a while once the inevitable happens.

What can a CFO do to stay Fresh, add value to their current employer and be desired by their next?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Comments

  1. Sandeep Bastodkar says

    May 11, 2012 at 5:05 AM

    Very well said Samuel. Another reason could be that its not thought important enough. We need to keep learning and upgrading otherwise we will become redundant dinnosaurs ! 🙂

    Reply
    • Samuel Dergel says

      May 11, 2012 at 8:32 AM

      Sandeep – Thanks for your feedback.

      The dinosaur analogy is interesting, except there are no more dinosaurs, but there are too many Stale CFOs.

      Food for thought…

      Stay Fresh,

      Samuel

      Reply
  2. Pete says

    May 13, 2012 at 8:58 AM

    If you are a professional, than you need to act like one. You do not become great if you don’t practice; you just remain average and STALE. There are no excuses in today’s world of technology. You don’t have to drive 3 hours to a meeting. I used to go to a luncheon every quarter for non-profit changes and what was coming down the pike on the next audit. If you don’t keep current, you will be sitting on the bench real soon……..I would rather be in the game instead of watching it and getting STALE!

    Reply
    • Samuel Dergel says

      May 13, 2012 at 11:13 AM

      I agree Pete.

      So why do many CFOs go stale?

      Reply
      • Pete says

        May 13, 2012 at 12:17 PM

        I would say the majority simply remain in their comfort zone. This is where they feel safe and are not challenged. You have to get out of your comfort zone or the area of discipline you’re most relaxed in. If you want to become great then you must learn all areas of what a CFO actually does. You have to get involved in the actual operations of the business. Not just the financial side. You can’t steal second base if your foot is still on first. And you can’t become a great leader/CFO if you do not continue to learn. You have to force yourself to learn and it can actually be fun and your staff and peers will see this, thus making you stay current and keeping you from becoming STALE.

        Reply
  3. Ann says

    May 17, 2012 at 9:29 AM

    But you don’t have to go to the conferences in person. You can on occasion, send one of your staff, then have them update you on their return. You must however, be disciplined enough to do that follow through.

    Reply
    • Samuel Dergel says

      May 17, 2012 at 9:39 AM

      Hello Ann,

      You don’t. But I believe there is value not only in learning information, but being part of the conversation. Meeting people is key to learning, and the networking that comes along with attending in person to be very valuable for the CFO and the company.

      Thanks for your input.

      Samuel

      Reply

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