Welcome to The 6 a.m. CFO, where finance chiefs share how they jump-start their days and engage with the tasks that are in front of them.
Today, Medcor’s Mark Smolenski shares about how he takes early morning jaunts with his favorite walking companions, how his competitive nature led him to train with the the Navy SEALs, and how he tackles his workload by addresing the five things that most affect the value of his company.
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Medcor
Medcor partners with businesses to meet employee healthcare needs at the workplace with onsite medical staff or remotely by implementing telehealth solutions.
Founded: 1984
Size: 2,000 employees
Annual Revenue: $140M
MORNING ROUTINE
Weekday wake up time and first thing I like to do: My alarm is set for 5:00 a.m. and I first scroll through the Apple News app to get a broad sense of what is happening outside the business world.
I then get up and walk my two dogs by 5:30. I love how peaceful everything is at that time — just myself and my dogs.
Coffee, tea, or other morning beverage choice: I make a mocha every morning with my Breville espresso machine and then drink it while reading The Wall Street Journal. I still get the paper delivered daily — there is something about the feeling of a crisp WSJ in your hands that cannot be replicated on an iPad.
Workday start time: Around 7:00 a.m.
How I usually spend the first hour of my day: It contradicts almost all the time management advice, but I spend much of my first hour on emails. I look for emergencies or important updates from the evening and follow up on critical initiatives.
Time I send out my first email: Between 7 and 8 a.m.
Best advice for writing an effective email: Keep it short and put the main points at the start, like an executive summary. People can read on for more details, but in my experience, long emails are rarely read.
And don’t send an email in anger! To ensure I never do, I have a 3-minute delay on my outbox: every email I send sits there for three minutes before it is sent. That safety net may have saved my job a few times!
First dashboard I review: Medcor has many different business lines and, in addition to my CFO duties, I was recently handed oversight of four operational divisions. Hence, I do not have something resembling a comprehensive dashboard (put it on my wishlist!).
But, I choose what needs attention that day and week based on what I know about priorities, deadlines, and strategic goals.
Of course, I have the items that all CFOs check regularly: the daily incoming AR, the cash balance, 13-week cash projections, weekly and monthly KPIs by line of business, etc.
How I structure my morning meetings: I try to make sure that all my meetings follow the same format: limit the number of attendees to those that need to be there, share an agenda in the invite, and at the end of the meeting, summarize what has been decided or who is responsible for each “to-do” and the respective deadlines.
Mid-morning snack of choice: I avoid snacking, and breakfast usually holds me over until lunch.
Fun fact: I’ve eaten the same breakfast on weekdays for over twenty years: one scoop of oatmeal microwaved with water, two scoops of whey protein powder, a handful of raisins, and a quarter cup of blueberries, along with a few vitamins and supplements. I keep it interesting by switching up the flavors of the protein.
LEADERSHIP AND INSPIRATION
Favorite quote or mantra: While I’m not a Trekkie, I have always liked Spock’s phrase: "After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."
I try to ensure that I enjoy the journey as much as the goal, and I’m always prepared to set new goals upon hitting old ones. Because once you achieve something, the happiness you get from that is fleeting. The experiences you have in life and the lessons learned come from the journey, not the destination.
Favorite leadership lesson: A mentor once told me that at the C-level, you will always have one hundred things to do daily. The key is identifying and completing the five items that will impact company value the most. If you can do that day in and day out, you will have a great career.
Otherwise, you will quickly become overwhelmed and fail, as it is impossible to do everything that will be asked of you.
For example, after I learned how to shoot, I was outshot by my friends, many of whom are in law enforcement or the military. So over the next 10 years, I sought out the best teachers in the country. I have trained with former members and instructors of the US Army’s Delta Force, Navy SEALs, and various SWAT departments.
My wife drew the line when I pitched her on the need to learn “airborne operations” aboard a helicopter. I thought I made a good pitch, but I have put that one on the back burner for the sake of our marriage.
What was the last job you did at your company that fell outside your traditional scope of work: Some days it feels like I do everything except what are considered traditional CFO tasks.
I might work with the CEO on strategy. I mediate between executives, I work on business cases for new services, I meet with our customers, I sit in IT security meetings, I assist in setting HR policies, and so forth.
These “extra” jobs definitely make me a more well-rounded executive and continually expand my set of skills.
One way in which you have learned to manage work-induced stress: I lift weights three days a week. It is the one time I do not check emails, texts, or answer any calls, professional OR personal. It has become my form of meditation; no matter how stressful things are when I walk into the gym, it all feels less insurmountable as I drive home.
Favorite number: 21. No particular reason.
Most noteworthy items in my workspace: I have several artist-proof prints of the Board of Trade in my office. As a child, I was fascinated by that world, with all the yelling and the colored jackets. I was fortunate enough to spend a little time on the floors of both the CBOT and the CBOE early in my career. Those paintings instantly transport me back to a bygone era whenever I gaze at them.
Favorite app on my phone that is not related to business: Either Amazon music, since it still amazes this Gen Xer that I now have access to essentially every song I’ve ever heard with a flick of the finger, or Waze because, without it, I would have a fistful of speeding tickets.
When do you take time for learning/reading: The morning for The Journal, and right before bed, I try to squeeze in a few pages of a book — almost always non-fiction.
