| If you are having difficulty seeing this mail or images in it, you can view it in your Web browser. |
|
| Volume 7, Issue 6
|
|
In This Issue:
 Iacocca’s nine Cs of leadership
CEOs & CFOs
The truth about CFO Turnover
The new logic of offshoring
 Spreadsheets: Fear no evil
FIN 48 shocker
 Sample job interview questions for the employer
Be kind to your bad boss - Or pay the price
Eleven tips for managing millennials
Group mentoring: Strategies for success in mentoring
 How to get on a Board
Storytelling and the art of persuasion
 The nine most common hiring mistakes
Keep your keepers: 16 cost-effective ways to grow your company
10 ways project management skills can help your career
Polishing your presentation skills
 How CFOs can confront the talent crunch
Factoring comes into fashion
Inflection point: How to chart your path beyond SOX
 Ten eating habits to avoid
10 fashion trends you can't ignore
Are you getting enough sleep?
|
|
|
 |
Iacocca’s cine Cs of leadership
I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points—not ten [I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses]. I call them the “Nine Cs of Leadership” - says an excerpt from former Chrysler Chairman and CEO Lee Iacocca’s Where Have
All the Leaders Gone? Enter, Robert Nardelli, who private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management named the new Chrysler’s CEO and one with numerous sobriquets, including “The Turnaround Specialist”, “The Hatchet Guy”, “Tough Job, Tough Guy”. The list
goes on...When asked by Fortune in April, what he would be doing if he were to be back as CEO of Chrysler, Iacocca, in his characteristic style, put it bluntly:
[Here’s Iacocca’s C-list, not only for Nardelli, but for all corporate leaders, as listed in his book...]
Read the article. Back to top
CEOs & CFOs
The CEO-CFO Why do some CEO-CFO pairings soar—while others crash and burn?
TODAY, MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, A CEO and CFO must function as a team. Financial expertise has always been critical to managerial strategy, but rampant mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism and ever more complex regulatory requirements are recasting the CFO
role—and, in turn, the relationship between finance chiefs and their CEOs. The change isn’t always positive. While many CFOs report having more involvement in strategy, others say that intense scrutiny from regulators and wall street, coupled with onerous compliance
requirements, have turned the job into one of endless drudgery. This Chief executive special report examines why some CEO-CFO partnerships work—and why some implode. Jennifer Pellet
“I used to joke ‘they are the kite, and I am the string,’” says Andrew Greenebaum, referring to his CFO tenures at three different firms. “CEOs are dreamers and thinkers, and
CFOs are the watchers of the purse strings.” That point of view jibes with results of a recent survey in which...
Read the article. Back to top
The truth about CFO turnover
Why nearly one in seven Fortune 500 companies lost a CFO last year—and how to stop the exodus.
Alvaro de Molina may not have been the first CFO to leave his position in search of something better, but he was probably the most candid about why he was leaving. Calling his job “suffocating,” de Molina exited Bank of America last December after only 18 months as
finance chief. “The roles of the CFO and the CEO are not as fun as they used to be from a regulatory standpoint, but the CEO gets to run the show,” de Molina told the press at the time. “The CFO of a well-run company gets all of the guts but none of the glory.” That
sentiment may well sum up why turnover among CFOs at public companies has soared over the past three years. In 2006, 12 Fortune 50 CFOs bailed on their jobs, while the year before, companies with $1 billion-plus market caps changed CFOs three times more often than they
did in 2002. Though a recent study by global executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates found that CFO turnover as a whole slowed a bit in 2006, CFO departures due to resignations actually increased by 41 percent over 2005.
Why Do They Go?
Aside from firings over poor performance and backdating scandals, many, like de Molina, are simply fed up. Having achieved...
Read the article. Back to top
The new logic of offshoring
The next generation of offshoring—innovation and engineering—is at hand.
In its earliest phase, offshoring was driven by cost reduction and limited to non-mission-critical work such as call centers, credit card processing and administrative work. Companies raced to source work in Asia-Pacific, South American and Eastern European countries where workers are plentiful and wages are low. Over time, the level of work being performed abroad began to move up the value chain, en compassing more technical work, including finance and accounting. The next wave—where companies move work even more essential to competitive success, such as innovation and engineering, overseas—is now upon us. Already, IBM has...
Read the article. Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Spreadsheets: Fear no evil
A conference breaks down the devilish side of spreadsheets, from bugs to control issues.
"Preventing Evil." "Exorcising Evil." "Towards Heaven." The session titles at the annual meeting of the European Spreadsheet Risks Interest Group (Eusprig) in July seemed to promise sermons of fire and brimstone. They may not have delivered as much, but they
featured plenty of cautionary tales to send shivers down a CFO's spine. By spicing up its subject material, Eusprig hopes to draw more attention to lax oversight of company spreadsheets — the "Preventing evil" session dealt with training; "Exorcising evil" was
about debugging; and "Towards heaven" discussed control methodologies. To demonstrate the gravity of the situation, the conference began with a "bug hunt," challenging attendees to identify mistakes in spreadsheets seeded with deliberate errors. Worryingly, Europe's
foremost spreadsheet experts found only...
Read the article. Back to top
FIN 48 shocker
What if you feared the Internal Revenue Service and ended up in trouble with Congress instead?
After complaining bitterly that a new accounting rule — FIN 48 — would expose companies to greater IRS scrutiny, Corporate America got an unpleasant surprise: the newly required financial statement disclosures were also drawing scrutiny from Senate investigators. In
August, investigators solicited details about corporate tax positions from at least 30 companies, noted a report in the Wall Street Journal. "I thought the [Internal Revenue Service] would use FIN 48 as a roadmap, but was shocked to find out that Congress is using
it," Lehman Brothers tax expert Robert Willens told CFO.com. "No one anticipated Congress jumping into the fray and putting bloodhounds on the tax shelter scent," adds Bill Smith, a tax attorney and national tax director at CBIZ Inc., an accounting and tax advisory firm.
FIN 48 dictates how companies should account for uncertain tax positions. It requires that corporations disclose...
Read the article. Back to top
|
|
|
|
 |
Sample job interview questions for the employer
|
Many employers spend a lot of interview time asking potential employees questions such as, "what would you do if …" Now, I do believe some decent knowledge about the candidate's qualifications can come from such questions. I have even heard myself ask them in the past despite the fact that I know a better way to interview. I recommend that you kick the
concept of behavioral interviewing up a notch. You want to know, not just what the candidate predicts he or she will do in some future work situation; you want to know exactly what they have already
done in the past. These behavioral interview questions will help you know what to ask. Additionally, on the subject of cultural fit, there is a whole group of questions I have yet to write about. They are open-ended, challenge the candidate to come up with original,
unprepared answers, and tell you much about how the candidate will fit in your work environment. Several examples of these questions are...
Read the article. Back to top
Be kind to your bad boss - Or pay the price
So you think your boss is inept, arrogant or just plain lazy?
You're not alone. A recent Gallup Poll found that a bad relationship with the boss was the No. 1 reason people gave for leaving their jobs. But if you want to keep moving up the corporate rungs, you better make nice....
Read the article. Back to top
Eleven tips for managing millennials
The millennials joining your workforce now are employees born between 1980 and 2000, or 1981 and 1999, depending on the author. Unlike the Gen-Xers and the Boomers, the
Millennials have developed work characteristics and tendencies from doting parents, structured lives, and contact with diverse people.
Millennials are used to working in teams and want to make friends with people at work. Millennials work well with diverse coworkers. Millennials have a “can-do” attitude about tasks at work and look for feedback about how they are doing frequently – even daily.
Millennials want a variety of tasks and expect that they will accomplish every one of them. Positive and confident, millennials are ready to take on the world. They seek leadership, and even structure, from their older and managerial coworkers, but expect that you will...
Read the article. Back to top
Group mentoring: Strategies for success in mentoring
Effective relationships and learning are the mainstays of organizational success today.
Organizations that find meaningful ways for their employees to connect are
more likely to realize greater productivity, enhanced career growth, freely flowing innovation and overall improvement in employee performance.
Group mentoring is a value-added tool for connecting employees and advancing
learning within the organization...
Read the article. Back to top
|
|
|
|
 |
How to get on a Board
It's neither as simple nor as difficult as people may think. Following this practical advice can increase your chances of being able to serve on a board.
There are three popular myths about getting on a board:
Myth No. 1: Because of the shortage of directors willing to serve, it's easy to get on a board today.
Reality: Most active chief executive officers now limit their outside board seats to one, and even retired executives seldom serve on more than three or four. Directors are being more selective about the board invitations they accept, and some highly qualified execs refuse to consider serving at all. Board invitations are, indeed, rolling in for experienced directors. But landing your first board seat is...
Read the article. Back to top
Storytelling and the art of persuasion
Our columnist talks to author and executive coach Robert Dickman, coauthor of Elements of Persuasion, about telling your story and making sales.
Robert Dickman is an executive coach who teaches about using stories and narrative strategies as they relate to corporate communication. I do a great deal of coaching myself and I have found his five story elements very useful for understanding why some leaders achieve long-term changes in behavior, while others do not. He and his partner, Richard Maxwell, both of whom have backgrounds in the entertainment business, have just written a book, Elements of Persuasion, that lays out their whole theory in a light, breezy style. I met with them recently. Here is an edited version of our conversation:
In the last few years storytelling has gone from something tolerated around the water cooler to a recognized skill in organizational communication. Why is that?
There are two things everyone in business does on a daily basis...
Read the article. Back to top
|
|
|
|
 |
The nine most common hiring mistakes
Mistake 1:Relying only on interviews to evaluate a candidate.
A study conducted by the International Personnel Management Association in February 1999 analyzed how well job interviews accurately predict success on the job. The
surprising finding: The typical interview increases your chances of choosing the best candidate by less than two percent. Mistake 2: Using successful people as models...
Read the article. Back to top
Keep your keepers: 16 cost-effective ways to grow your company
Employees matter. No, really, think about it: Your competitors have access to the exact same resources as you—which means infinite choices exist for your customers, and for your employees as well.
According to Joanne G. Sujansky, Ph.D, CSP, if you're not seeking ways to nurture employees and meet their needs, they will seek greener pastures—and your customers will follow them over the fence.
"Many leaders don't realize that the rules of business have changed almost overnight," says Pittsburgh, Pa.-based KEYGroup's founder and CEO Joanne Sujansky. "The old paradigm says that your primary focus should be on keeping your customer happy. The new
paradigm says the employee has taken over that spot. Keep her engaged and she'll keep your customers happy. Neglect her needs and she won't be so concerned about keeping her end of the bargain. In the end, not only will she go elsewhere, your customers may follow suit."
Make no mistake: when employees start searching for greener pastures, it's a bona fide disaster. So the million-dollar question is: What are the secret little things
that will help you keep your employees engaged and productive? And how can you do it without breaking the bank?
Here are 16 easy-to-plant and inexpensive "seeds" that will help your pasture be the greenest for your future and current employees:...
Read the article. Back to top
10 ways project management skills can help your career
|
I know that I can always count on her to get the job done." |
|
In today's digital world, what employers are looking for may surprise you.
They assume you're going to be technologically literate and that you have the skills that are specific to your industry. Once you have the basics, they want to know that you can perform, achieve results and play well with others. According to the "National Association
of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2007" survey, employers rated communication skills, and honesty and integrity equally at the top of their list of what they look for in potential employees. Following closely behind communication, and honesty and integrity
were: interpersonal skills, motivation/initiative, strong work ethic and teamwork skills. What struck me as I read those skills was that all of them are inherent in Project Management, and it emphasized what I've believed for years: Project Management is a career
accelerator...
Read the article. Back to top
Polishing your presentation skills
Perhaps you think your career does not entail delivering any presentations. Well, this is where you might be wrong. No matter what your job is, presentation skills ultimately will come into the picture.
You've heard it before—public speaking is the number one human fear. Studies show that this fear ranks ahead of the fear of death for many people. Some people are born presenters, most are not. You are not alone when you say that you do not enjoy delivering presentations
and speaking in front of a large audience. And yet, speak well and you can rise to the top of your organization or industry. Good presenters are quickly recognized as rising stars
and catapult over their "mouth-full-of-sawdust" colleagues. Communication is a vital key in this new century...
Read the article. Back to top
|
|
|
|
 |
How CFOs can confront the talent crunch
After years of focusing on accounting and control, CFOs are eager to move their departments toward a more strategic role. But the drive to increase value-added activities keeps bumping up against a stubborn question: Where's the talent going to come from?
Forty-two percent of finance organizations currently are barely able or unable to find the professionals they need, according to a new global study from the Economist Intelligence Unit and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. And the competencies CFOs need to build a
value-generating organization are precisely those that are the most difficult to find. The study identified...
Read the article. Back to top
Factoring comes into fashion
|
Companies need to be very astute about what this really costs, and check to see whether they have other choices and how soon they can get to traditional financing," Crowder says. |
|
A decade or so ago, factoring, or the sale of a firm's accounts receivable to a financial firm, often was looked down upon. Not anymore.
Success Apparel, a manufacturer of private-label children's wear based in New York City, long ago decided to forgo a traditional line of credit. For the past 15 years or so, the company has met its working capital needs by factoring, or selling its accounts receivable,
says Chief Financial Officer Bruce Fine. "This is less expensive," he says, as banks usually calculate interest on a company's entire line of credit, even if the firm is using only part of it. In contrast, according to its factoring agreement with GMAC Commercial
Finance, Success receives an advance against its accounts receivable, paying interest only on money it actually is using. The flexibility of factoring also is appealing; as Success's sales grow, so does its borrowing ability. Finally, by working with a factoring firm,
Success can outsource many of its accounts receivable functions. "We don't have to buy software or employ a staff of people," Fine says. Like Success Apparel, a growing number of companies have turned to factoring...
Read the article. Back to top
Inflection point: How to chart your path beyond SOX
Whether viewed as a cost-cutting target or GRC springboard, many companies agree that their compliance activities have arrived at a unique place in their strategic development.
When Countrywide Financial Corp. recently borrowed $11.5 billion from 40 banks, it may not have appeared to be fodder for a case study on effective enterprise risk management. Nonetheless, if the mortgage lender survives its recent life-threatening spiral, the
company's ERM credentials may enjoy some added luster. Analysts familiar with Countrywide's business are quick to observe that its subprime entanglements would have been nothing less than a death blow to a less risk-averse lender. For its part, Countrywide had established
an integrated-risk framework that had begun to be viewed as the next level of capability by companies that are today confronting a pivotal question as their Sarbanes-Oxley compliance processes mature: Is this the end or just the beginning?...
Read the article. Back to top
|
|
|
|
 |
Ten eating habits to avoid
You've probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But did you know it also tends to be our most habitual?
Many eat breakfast--typically a heavily time-constrained meal--in the same place every day, and as a result, make the same kinds of nutritional choices.
For some, that's a bowl of cereal and fruit, while for others, it's a glazed doughnut.
In moderation, doughnuts are fine. Everyday? Not so much. But bad habits like this are hard to break. Whether you started eating poorly because of your hectic schedule, as a way to deal with stress or if you grew up on fast food, the
impulse becomes ingrained over time. Changing these behavioral patterns also takes time, as well as motivation and patience, says Jenny Lindsey, a registered
dietitian at Virginia Tech...
Read the article. Back to top
10 Fashion Trends You Can't Ignore
David Wolfe, creative director of The Doneger Group, a fashion-forecasting firm in New York City, is like a typical 20-something.
He spends his time listening to the latest indie bands, hanging out with hipsters in the park, watching countless hours of MTV and browsing trendy boutiques, trying to spot the next fashion trend.
But one thing sets Wolfe apart from his peers: He is almost 70 years old.
"Just because I am well past retirement age doesn't mean I can't see a trend," muses Wolfe. "I've been doing this since the '60s. I can spot a trend before you can say 'Wow, that's cool!'"
As one of the nation's leading fashion forecasters, Wolfe advises companies like Liz Claiborne Inc. on what executives, designers and creative directors should be paying attention to in fashion. The big trends he is predicting for 2008:...
Read the article. Back to top
Are you getting enough sleep?
If you want to be healthy, you know you've got to eat more greens and hit the gym. But did you know that cuddling your pillow a little longer also does you good?
While it's not a new discovery that sleep makes us feel better, in the past several years medical research has shown that slumber has a much bigger impact on our overall health and fitness than just keeping away those under-eye bags. The problem is that, in the midst of
our hectic, workaholic lives, getting enough rest tends to be a low priority. In fact, a study published this month in the journal SLEEP confirms that...
Read the article. Back to top
|
|
|
Forward to a Friend:
Do you have a friend that would like to receive FinanceWatchsm?
Perhaps you know a peer within your organization, or associate at a partner company that would
benefit from applying to receive this publication. Inviting a friend to experience the benefits
of joining the BusinessWatch Network is easy! Just FW: this newsletter to the person you know who
may have an interest and ask them to click here http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com Your friend will be glad you did!
|
|
|
If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from FinanceWatchsm
simply change your status,
or send a letter requesting opt-off to:
The BusinessWatch Network Privacy Mailbox, 1321, Marblehead, MA. 01945
DISCLAIMER: FinanceWatchsm and the BusinessWatch Networksm are service marks of DMS.
All other trademarks or service marks contained in this email are the property of their respective owners.
At the time of publication, all links in this e-mail functioned properly. However, since many links point
to sites other than businesswatchnetwork.com, some links may become invalid as time passes.
DMS Inc. supports the DMA Privacy Promise and
Guidelines for Ethical Business Practice. We are committed to the proper use of
email and to protecting consumers from fraudulent or inappropriate
offers. Privacy Policy
|
|
|
| |
