We chose both a “hard” and a “soft” story this week. (See below.)
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Both of this week’s #CFOMustReads came from Mark P. Borman, Here’s his profile on LinkedIn. Thanks, Mark.
The first piece is a whitepaper by Microsoft, CFO 2.0: Evolution of a Chief Finance Officer. We’ll forgive Microsoft for getting the job title wrong, because this paper is a solid synopsis of the history of the CFO job.
It contains some interesting nuggets, like this comment about CFOs of the 1970s: “With financing in short supply, CFOs were forced to make drastic shifts in their financial strategies, relying heavily on cash flow rather than on debt.”
And this, about the 2000s: “Many federal prosecutors cut deals with CFOs to help target CEOs; however, CEOs repeatedly pointed the finger back at their CFOs as the architects behind their multi-billion dollar fraudulent plans.”
#CFO 2.0: Evolution of Chief Finance Officer http://t.co/83XazILJhU #CFOMustRead @MSFTenterprise HT @dailyfei pic.twitter.com/zZqC7AFohJ
— Mark P. Borman (@MPBorman) February 22, 2015
Our touchy-feely pick comes from Harvard Business Review. Roger Jones of Vantage Hill Partners analyzes “What CEOs Are Afraid Of.” The article could have been called “CEOs Are Dysfunctional Too.”
The fears CEOs admit to are far from unique, but the resulting behaviors stand out: “a lack of honest conversations, too much political game playing, silo thinking, lack of ownership and follow-through, and tolerating bad behaviors.”
Bottom line: you might want to have a heart to heart with your CEO after reading this piece.
What CEOs Are Afraid Of http://t.co/skoaUagzjc @HarvardBiz HT @dailyfei #corpgov #CEO #CFOMustRead #IR pic.twitter.com/2Gt9EJgCkW
— Mark P. Borman (@MPBorman) February 26, 2015
See you next week.