- Is Strategy Drowning Your Tactics?
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- Enjoy this series of shorts on Strategy from Jim. By now most effective leaders know that strategy is about the “What,” and tactics are about the “How.” I’m finding a strange conflation of the two, which shows up like this: “We’re planning to improve our gross margin this year by two basis points, increase sales by 5 percent, and increase our pre-tax profit margin by 25 basis points.” (An increase of 25 basis points means that profitability moves from 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent).
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Take Assessment Watch Video- 2 Keys to Inventory Management - You CAN Be Empty But DON’T Be Late
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- “You can’t sell out of an empty wagon,” is a favorite saying among salespeople, meaning that you have to have inventory (usually lots of it) to quickly serve your customers. But it just isn’t true! In fact, if you have a successful Just In Time (JIT) supply chain management process, often the less inventory you have, the better you can service your customers.
- CFO Talk: Reflections on Leadership with Victor Ojeleye - Part I (15:34)
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- In 2022 Victor committed himself to “watching film” to hone his leadership skills. In late February he shared some of his learning in 10 Reflections of a Leader. In this CFO Talk, Victor describes each reflection in more detail.
Governance & Controls – structure and controls.
Transaction Recording – systems, transaction processing and closing the books.
Reporting - efficient, timely and accurate information for decision making and meeting compliance requirements.
Accounting
Business Planning - provide the financial roadmap for the company with supporting analytics.
Financial Forecasting - integrate the company’s current performance relative to budget with the real-time business environment.
Investment Analysis - the framework to analyze new opportunities as they present themselves.
Finance
Cash Management - the discipline to ensure cash is available to operate the business normally.
Funding - Planning for and raising funds to meet the needs of the business.
Risk Management – Identification and mitigation of key business risks.
Treasury
Self-Awareness - Internal.
Team Building - External.
Strategy & Culture – Motivate people to follow you.
Leadership
Four Pillars of Executive Expertise
CFO.University is built around the Four Pillars of CFO Success. These Pillars are supported with Core Competencies. Our framework allows you to master your role as a senior financial officer. The Four Pillars are made up of:
Accounting – Governance & Controls, Transaction Recording and Reporting
Finance – Business Planning, Financial Forecasting and Investment Analysis
Treasury – Cash Management, Funding (Capital Raising) and Risk Management
Leadership – Self Awareness, Team Building and Strategy & Culture
