How Do You Build Holding Ponds? - Finance Leaders Respond

There are a number of holding ponds behind our home that channel the water from our neighborhood to a small creek that eventually flows into the Columbia River. The system made me think about how we build “holding ponds” in our businesses to regulate the flow of work and prevent the damage “flooding” can do to our business. AFT activities are full of deluges; preparing the forecast, refinancing our bank loan, preparing the annual plan, closing the books followed by preparing the Board Pack, tax reporting, issuing payroll, managing the annual audit and the list goes on.

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A Little Data Can Go A Long Way - Member Scholars Respond

A Little Data Can Go A Long Way:

Sometimes we need data to recognize the obvious. That is why we discourage taking short cuts when analyzing your business. In terms of Roger Martin’s Design of Business, moving from the mysterious to the heuristic to the algorithmic is hard and valuable work.

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Ways to Improve Your Study Habits & Grow Your Skills

Nonprofit, online Western Governors University put together a great list of study habits that can make a huge difference in what you get out of your coursework. They have allowed CFO.University to share the list with our Member and Guest Scholars.

Your study environment can be a big factor in how successfully you’ll learn and retain information and be able to apply it in your assessments and on the job.

Here are 10 ways your surroundings impact your studying and how you can make your study settings more conducive to learning.

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As Your Business Grows New Skills Must Be Acquired

Enjoy this series of shorts on Leadership from Jim.

Most successful mid-size businesses (MSB) grow past their autocratic leader. Survivors adapt adeptly. Slow sinkers hang onto the model that’s always worked in the past. The choice to adapt or to sink is illuminated whenever a decision looms. A “looming” decision has these elements:

  • High risk/high reward
  • Delay is unacceptable due to costs or risk
  • No clear choice

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