CFO Bookshelf

One of the most intriguing and thought-provoking management books I've ever read is the 1993 book, Maverick by Ricardo Semler.Ricardo took over his father's business Semco not too long after he graduated from college. He knew he didn't want to run the business as his father had, so he started in small steps by getting his staff involved in all decisions of the business, not just small ones.The results were phenomenal. In less than ten years, Semco grew 6x in spite of inflation, recessions, and a chaotic national policy Productivity grew 7x, profits up 5x, and one newspaper ad during this time period yielded 1.4k responses.Even though Maverick is no longer in print, I still wanted to talk about it on the show. FP&A global thought leader Daniele Martins joins us to discuss the book from her unique perspective.To learn more about the Ricardo Semler story along with participative leadership, here are a few resources:Managing Without Numbers - HBRRicardo's Ted Talk - How to Run a Company With Almost No Rules Semco Style InstituteCorporate RebelsShownotes on the CFO Bookshelf websiteLeadership Lessons From The Great BooksUnderstanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Gareth Pronovost is my go-to expert on his YouTube channel, GAP Consulting, where he teaches his subscribers about Airtable, SmartSuite, automation techniques, and other great insights on no-code solutions.In this conversation, Gareth discusses how to break spreadsheet addiction. Other topics include:Gareth's interesting entry point to no-code appsthe best definition for no-code applicationswhat no-code is notthe best starting point for no-code applicationscombining no-code apps with automationGareth's go-to no-code toolsThe future of PythonIs no-code only for non-developers?Is no-code only for simple projects?Gareth is the founder of GAP consulting, and you can learn more about his work on his website.Leadership Lessons From The Great BooksUnderstanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Technology with the advancement of generative AI is seemingly moving at a pace we've never seen with other innovations.How does any organization step back and figure out how to adopt digital and AI technologies to support its strategic objectives?That's where Rewired comes in. The subtitle for this new book is The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI.Our guest is Eric Lamarre, one of the co-authors of this practical playbook. In this conversation, we address:the origin story of the bookfive myths surrounding digital and AI transformationsthe harsh realities of starting a transformationthe domain approach to getting startedgetting the team rightthe role of the CTO - chief transformation officerdigital skills mappingtalent win roomsemployee value propositionsquarterly business reviewspilot purgatorygo & see visitsDigital 101Leadership Lessons From The Great BooksUnderstanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

More Than a Numbers Game is rich in business and accounting history. We learn about the Merchants of Venice and why they had a strategic advantage. We also learn about the many flaws and imperfections of financial reporting, where completeness and consistencies are impossible.This conversation is geared toward non-accounting students and professionals where additional topics include the one-page report by the early railroads, what was included in the first modern financial report in 1903, the many names for the bottom line, Sarbanes–Oxley, and a stronger focus on liberal arts in higher education.Leadership Lessons From The Great BooksUnderstanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

When I finished reading Next Generation Retail by Deborah Weinswig and Renee Hartmann, my first thought was that the great ideas in this book apply to direct-to-consumer manufacturers and professional services firms.In this conversation, co-author Renee Hartmann helps us to understand better the following technologies that are not just for big companies:metaverseblockchainlive streamingsocial commercedata and the CORE frameworkretail mediaquick commercesupply chainHeadless CaaSLeadership Lessons From The Great BooksUnderstanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Derek Lidow is a former business founder of a major global semiconductor company that he ultimately sold. Today, he's a professor at Princeton, where he teaches entrepreneurship, the topic of his newest book, The Entrepreneurs.This book is rich with historical stories of entrepreneurs doing the same things in the past as they are doing today.In this deeply insightful conversation with Derek Lidow, we learn the three major traits of entrepreneurs, the origin of the term creative destruction, the role of outsiders in business innovation, the concept of swarming, and the law of unintended consequences.Leadership Lessons From The Great BooksUnderstanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

When Walter Chrysler built his New York skyscraper in the early 1930s, his critics stated the building was a monument created for himself. The same comment could have been applied to John Jakob Raskob's justification for building The Empire State Building.In this book club-style conversation, John Coe and I dissect the book, The Birth of a Building. The author's book addresses how a book is conceived, financed, designed, and constructed. Unlike Chrysler and Raskob, this book starts with a purpose and a philosophy for any real estate undertaking.Our guest is John Coe, the podcast host of Icons of DC Area Real Estate.Leadership Lessons From The Great BooksUnderstanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Curiosity drives much of the content on this podcast, and when Erik Hanberg's book, The Little Book of Boards, showed up in my email, I felt compelled to buy it for several reasons.Of the six or seven boards I've served on, some have been boring experiences, others have been exceptional. I was curious if this book would have been valuable to me during my first board experience, which wasn't great--it definitely would have been.While Erik's background is in the non-profit world, this book and conversation apply to any organization.  Some big ideas we hit are performing due diligence for the board you are considering, getting involved outside board meetings, strategic planning, compensation committees, and mission statements.Leadership Lessons From The Great BooksUnderstanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Not only is Neil Dahlstrom the author of the business historical narrative Tractor Wars, but he's also the Branded Properties and Heritage Manager at John Deere. Before that, he was Deere's Corporate History and Archives Manager.Neil admits he wanted to be Indiana Jones when he grew up and even worked in a museum in high school.During this conversation, we learn what a corporate archivist does, how to start a company archive, and how to start a career in this field.

All of us have heard of the cola wars, the tennis shoe wars, and certainly the PC wars. But the tractor wars?Neil Dahlstrom is a historian and archivist for John Deere, and he's the author of Tractor Wars, a historical narrative of the race to be the top manufacturer of power farming at the turn of the twentieth century. Will it be International Harvester, Ford, or the much smaller player, John Deere?Neil's book is a story of what-ifs, including pricing wars, business rollups, marketing insights, and bold moves by Henry Ford.Leadership Lessons From The Great BooksUnderstanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify