Archives for June 2012

June 28, 2012 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

The best time of the year to hire is…

… Summer.

Most people would think that summer is the worst time to hire because people are on vacation and business slows down over the summer months.

From my experience, summer is the best time to hire. Executives are spending less time in meetings. They have time do the important things they haven’t had time for the rest of the year; like planning for their human capital needs, meeting with and hiring the key people they need for their team.

If you’re an employer – don’t push off your hiring for the fall. Take advantage of the lull to hire the best people for your team.

If you’re looking for your next challenge – don’t assume no one is in the office and hiring now. Summer is a great time to network and re-engage with the people that know you, like you and trust you.

Have you ever taken advantage of summer to hire or be hired?

June 20, 2012 By Samuel Dergel 16 Comments

The Value of “Thank You”

Most parents drill their children to say “thank you” when receiving something from someone. People that meet children judge their parents favorably when the children are polite and say “thank you”.

There is a good chance as a child your parents ‘strongly suggested’ you write Thank You Cards for birthday and other gifts received from relatives and family friends.

In today’s age of instant communications, is saying “Thank You” a lost art?

People say “Thank You” all the time. “ty” is the new “Thank You”. However a text message or email or LinkedIn message is easy, and has less impact. How you say Thank You is important. Taking effort to communicate your thanks is much more effective than saying these two words in passing.

When you want to make a difference and want to be remembered, go out of your way when saying thank you. This applies in a job interview context as well as networking. The cost of a card and a postage stamp is minimal compared to the return you receive on being remembered and staying top of mind.

Stand out from your peers. Buy a set of cards and stamps and keep them on your desk. Use them liberally. Write notes with meaning and value in your own handwriting. I guarantee an excellent return on investment.

When was the last time you sent a Thank You Card?

June 14, 2012 By Samuel Dergel 2 Comments

CFOs need to Float like a Butterfly. But do they need to Sting like a Bee?

Last week’s blog, CFOs are not Born. They need to Continually Transform, CFOs were compared to butterflies, in that they need to not only transform like butterflies do, but to continually do so.

One of my conversations following this posting led to identifying Muhammed Ali’s famous saying “Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee.”

I see where CFOs need to “Float like a Butterfly”. Not only do Chief Financial Officers need to be appreciated for their ability to (continually) transform, Successful CFOs are appreciated for their grace and form as they accomplish amazing tasks with what looks like relative ease.

Do CFOs need to “Sting like a Bee”? Do they need to inflict pain to accomplish corporate objectives?

Some may say that CFOs need to be a little rough to get things done. My experience in conversations with hundreds of CFOs over my career leads me to believe otherwise.

As an example, I had a conversation recently with a CFO who is in process of leading the integration of an acquisition of their company by a competitor. While his job is sunsetting, he was really proud of the fact that most of the operating employees of the company were able to keep their job.

I personally believe that most CFOs are more Butterfly than Bee. Successful CFOs know that they may have to sting from time to time, but if and when they take difficult decisions that could hurt others, they are not only aware of it, but try to minimize the impact as much as possible.

Do you think CFOs need to “Sting like a Bee”?

Related Post: The Jedi CFO

June 7, 2012 By Samuel Dergel 3 Comments

CFOs are not Born. They need to Continually Transform.

There are many accountants and few CFOs. The accounting track is a popular starting point for many of today’s CFOs, but accounting is certainly not the only track to the Chief Financial Officer role.

Butterflies have an easy transformation from caterpillar. CFOs, those that make it to the role and those that are successful in the long term, have a much harder time. In fact, they do not have one transformational moment in a cocoon, but a series of ongoing transformations they must seek and overcome to continue to be successful and on top of their game.

I was fortunate to present in Vancouver last week at the CMA Leadership conference. It was a great opportunity to connect with those who believe that the CFO chair is in their future, as well as those that have achieved this status yet are continually looking to improve and grow.

My premise about CFO success is simple. Simple to say at least, but very hard to accomplish continually. Too many CFOs get comfortable with their employment and their status. Yet I still speak with too many CFOs on a weekly basis that are caught in CFO limbo precisely because they get too comfortable with their status as a butterfly.

CFO success requires planning: for their current role and employer, as well as for their career. While success for accountants may be about what they know, CFO Success comes from relationships. Who they know is much more important. What Chief Financial Officers do with their relationships and how they develop ‘like’ and ‘trust’, allows them to accomplish their employment AND career objectives. Becoming a better CFO benefits their employer AND their career.

Successful CFOs are not butterflies. They are so much more dynamic and long lasting. It takes hard work and planning.

What’s your CFO Success Plan?

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June 4, 2012 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

Hot and Cold Networking Doesn’t Work.

Originally posted on Hank Blank: Thoughts on Networking, New Business & Agency Searches:

Hot and Cold Networking Doesn’t Work.

The new Jobs Report came out yesterday and the report wasn’t too cheerful. Very tepid job growth. That’s life in the New Normal. We live in a world with an unemployment rate of 8.2% in the U.S. My friend Lynn Marie Hammond reminded me that the Euro Zone’s stagnant economy has left 17.4 million people out of an active population of around 156 million people without a job.

I read in this month’s issue of OC Metro that even the well educated and diverse Orange County the land of desperate and over indulged housewives only added 12,600 jobs from January 2010 to January 11. Not much growth for a county of three million people.

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Archives for June 2012

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