Samuel's CFO Website

  • Home
  • CFO Blog
    • Samuel’s Other Blogs
      • CFO Moves
        • USA
        • Canada
        • UK
      • CHRO Moves
  • CFO Book
    • Buy your copy
    • What others have to say about Guide to CFO Success
  • How Samuel Helps
    • Hire your next CFO
    • Build your Finance Team
    • Financial Executive Coaching
    • CFO Peer Groups
    • Speaking & Training
  • About Samuel
    • Media on Samuel Dergel
  • Contact Samuel
  • English
  • Français
You are here: Home / CFOs are not Born. They need to Continually Transform.

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?

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

Would you like to receive Samuel’s CFO Blog directly in your email when he has a new blog? Click the SIGN ME UP! button on the right.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Jeff Kane says

    June 7, 2012 at 11:07 AM

    Sam:

    Your comments hit home today. I am in my 6th week in a new role and your comments reminded me to keep evolving. Old habits are creeping in and I need to remember to stay above the fray. The point on who you know is important as the company relies on you to bring in the appropriate services to the company.

    Reply
    • Samuel Dergel says

      June 7, 2012 at 11:30 AM

      Jeff,

      Congrats on your new role. New is always exciting. Being conscious of the opportunity for a new way of doing things always helps.

      Thank you for your validation on the points being made in this blog. I’m glad I made a difference to you today. Thanks for letting me know that I did.

      Wishing you continued success,

      Samuel

      PS: You may find value to this blog as well: http://blog.dergelcfo.com/2011/10/19/the-first-90-days-of-a-new-cfo/

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. CFOs need to Float like a Butterfly. But do they need to Sting like a Bee? « Samuel's CFO Blog says:
    June 14, 2012 at 8:11 AM

    […] 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, […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search in Samuel’s CFO Blog

Related Blogs

  • Your Next CFO
  • Why work with Stanton Chase to hire your next CFO?
  • Why do CFOs Leave?
  • When hiring a CFO, is LinkedIn the place to look?
  • What I learned at the Bank of America Merrll Lynch Conference – Treasury in a Connected World

Related Blogs

  • When should a CFO hire?
  • What I learned at the Bank of America Merrll Lynch Conference – Treasury in a Connected World
  • VIDEO: Webinar Presentation – CFO Succession: The Right Way to Grow your Company’s next CFO
  • Together, CFOs and CEOs Create A “Can Do” Culture
  • Thoughts About Successful CFO Hiring

Related Blogs

  • You’ve been promoted to CFO. Now what?
  • Why should a CFO tweet? 
  • What I learned at the Bank of America Merrll Lynch Conference – Treasury in a Connected World
  • What a CFO should read every day
  • Together, CFOs and CEOs Create A “Can Do” Culture

Related Blogs

  • Why should a CFO tweet? 
  • What I learned at the Bank of America Merrll Lynch Conference – Treasury in a Connected World
  • VIDEO: Webinar Presentation – CFO Succession: The Right Way to Grow your Company’s next CFO
  • Together, CFOs and CEOs Create A “Can Do” Culture
  • Thoughts About Successful CFO Hiring

Related Blogs

  • Your Next CFO
  • You’ve been promoted to CFO. Now what?
  • Why work with Stanton Chase to hire your next CFO?
  • Why should a CFO tweet? 
  • Why do CFOs Leave?

Recent Blogs

  • PODCAST: The Hiring Triangle – CEO, CFO and the Board
  • Is your CFO your best salesperson?
  • A CFO Success Story: Sajid Malhotra, CFO of Limelight Networks
  • What Makes a Great Modern CFO?
  • Things CFOs Say

Like what Samuel has to say?

Great! The goal of Samuel's CFO Blog is to engage with CFOs and those who work with CFOs.

Please feel free to comment on any of the issues raised in Samuel’s CFO Blog. Your input, positive or not so positive, encouraging or critical, will add value to all readers of the blog.

You can reach Samuel...
Telephone
San Francisco: +1 (415) 738-2070
Montreal: +1 (514) 907-0925
Email: [email protected]

View Samuel Dergel - The CFO Expert's profile on LinkedIn

Contact Samuel

So you like what Samuel has to say, and you would like to reach out and contact him.

Excellent.

There are a number of ways to reach him. You can complete this convenient form on the right, or you can reach Samuel by...

Telephone
San Francisco: +1 (415) 738-2070
Montreal: +1 (514) 907-0925

Or by clicking on the social media icons below.

Thanks for your interest!

Contactez Samuel

Vous vous intéressez à l’opinion de Samuel et souhaitez le consulter?

Excellent.

Vous pouvez le rejoindre de plusieurs façons, soit en complétant le formulaire ci-joint ou en le rejoignant :

Par téléphone : +1 (514) 907-0925

Ou en sélectionnant l’icône d’un réseau social ci-dessous:

Nous vous remercions de votre intérêt.

  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Archives – Samuel’s CFO Blog

Categories – Samuel’s CFO Blog

All of Samuel's Blogs Assessment Blog Board Board Books books for CFOs Build your Finance Team Career Management CEO CEO CFO CFO Buzz CFO Coach CFO Coaching CFO Consulting CFO Moves CFO Peer Groups CFO Relationships CFO Research CFO Search Chief Financial Officer Executive Coaching Executive Search Finance Team Financial Executive Coaching Great CFO Guide to CFO Success Hire your Next CFO How Samuel Helps HR Investors LinkedIn New CFO Personal Branding Recruiters Social Media Speaking and Training Successful CFO Succession Planning Talent Management Team Structuring The Strong CFO Training and Development Wiley
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Contact Information

You can reach Samuel by:

Telephone
San Francisco: +1 (415) 738-2070
Montreal: +1 (514) 907-0925

Email: [email protected]

Copyright © 2011-2016 - Samuel Dergel (Dergel CFO Search & Consulting Inc.) Note: Opinions expressed on this website are the personal opinions of Samuel Dergel only, and not any other person or entity, unless attributed otherwise.