Category: The Accidental CFO
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The Accidental CFO — The Anatomy of a One-on-One That Actually Works (Part 3 of 8)
“Stories and lessons from an unexpected journey in finance.” The Accidental CFO: Executive Relationships How-To Guide – Part Three Once you have established a working relationship with your peers, the standing one-on-one is your primary operating mechanism. However, the mistake most CFOs make is letting these meetings devolve into backward-looking status updates or problem-escalation sessions. These…
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The Accidental CFO — How to Reset a Broken Peer Relationship (Part 2 of 8)
“Stories and lessons from an unexpected journey in finance.” The Accidental CFO: Executive Relationships How-To Guide – Part Two Influence with your C-suite peers is not claimed; it is earned. It comes from a track record of making their work easier, helping them avoid problems, and being someone who creates options rather than closing them. The…
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The Accidental CFO — Why You Keep Getting Engaged Too Late (Part 1 of 8)
“Stories and lessons from an unexpected journey in finance.” I didn’t plan to become a CFO. It happened gradually — and then all at once. And the hardest part wasn’t the numbers. It was learning how to lead through relationships I hadn’t been trained to build. Over the next four weeks, I’m sharing everything I…
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The Accidental CFO — Silence is Expensive
“Stories and lessons from an unexpected journey in finance.” I once sat in a steering committee where we approved a massive, seven-figure software migration. The slide deck was flawless. The ROI projections were green. Everyone around the table nodded in agreement. But the lead implementation engineer at the end of the table was staring at…
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The Accidental CFO — Are We Just Selling Dollars for 80 Cents?
“Stories and lessons from an unexpected journey in finance.” In my “Cupcake Shop” post last year, we established a weak gross margin is like frosting air. If every sale makes you hungrier instead of richer, it’s not growth—it’s a sugar high. Let’s go a layer deeper. If your unit economics are secretly upside down, hitting…
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