CFO Bookshelf

When I think of the CFO's role, a few questions emerge: What will we invest in and reinvest in? How will we finance those investments? What about risk management? And what is the role of corporate governance in these activities? Not only does Don Chew answer those questions in his new book, but he also gives a name to all of his answers - corporate finance. In this conversation, Don Chew expl...

A financial executive no longer loved Mondays until a health scare changed his mindset a few years ago. Ron Monteiro is a financial expert who coaches other leaders. His book is Love Mondays: A Proven Process to Bring Joy Back into Your Work Week and Life . Ron teaches us four simple steps to becoming Monday Mavericks. He then outlines seven clever tactical steps for leaders in developing Monday M...

When John Rossman is not busy delivering keynote addresses to large audiences or consulting with brands we recognize, he still finds time to write. John is making his third appearance on the show after our conversations about two of his other books: The Amazon Way and Big Bet Leadership . John's newest project is a 54-page manifesto entitled The Pig, The Lipstick, and The Playbook of Champion...

One book critic has asked readers of The Money Trap to imagine Michael Lewis as the President of a multinational investment holding company. Instead, Alok Sama is that person after working for Morgan Stanley for sixteen years. In this sometimes lighthearted but philosophical tome, occasionally sprinkled with dark humor and cleverness, Alok shares his most interesting stories while working next to...

David is a dermatologist whose practice can't seemingly make the money it should be. David meets a great accountant named Graham. Graham is a TOC bottleneck specialist for all types of businesses, not just manufacturing. He speaks and teaches his clients in a way that is easy to understand and can quickly implement the ideas. That's the storyline of Practice Makes Profit by Graham Scott....

When I think of Dave Ramsey, the elimination of debt and whole life insurance policies quickly spring to mind. In addition to his demonization of universal policies, were you aware of his 8-12 rule for retirement? David McKnight joins the show to discuss the 4 percent rule for retirement, annuities, and cash-basis insurance plans based on math, pragmatism, and wisdom. These topics are key themes i...

What would happen if a business-minded Encylopedia Brown entered the busy line of movie patrons waiting impatiently for soda and popcorn? This perspective guided Clarke Ching in writing his latest book, The Bottleneck Detective. It offers a straightforward and enjoyable reading experience, focusing on identifying bottlenecks and understanding their subsequent effects on bottleneck detection. Mark...

Are you fan of Daniel Kahneman, Dan Ariely, or Richard Thaler? Have you enjoyed books like Fooled by Randomness, Factfulness, or Thinking in Bets? If so, you may want to read Jaime Lester's new book, Pause to Think , about cognitive biases. Jaime's concise book is engaging, memorable, and accessible. It features over thirty mental and conceptual models. This discussion explores some of t...

Glenn Hopper's newest book is AI Mastery for Finance Professionals, but the content is also for CEOs, board members, and all other organizational leaders. We keep the topics pragmatic, applicable, and example-centric in this conversation. We'll also discover what Glenn means by saying, "AI will not replace people. People who use AI will replace those who don't use AI."

One of the best books I've read on leadership in several years is by a former big-company CEO who is now a professor. Willie Pietersen's third book is Leadership - The Inside Story . In this fast-moving conversation, we hear about how Nelson Mandela learned, unlearned, and relearned the central tenets of philosophy and leadership well before his vision of a unified country could become a...

When I think of HP, three things quickly emerge in my mind: Deskjet and laser printers, the 12C calculator, and David Packard's The HP Way . The HP Way is one of my top 25 books written by CEOs. In this conversation, we're rolling with a book club format with a special guest who writes book summaries on his blog. Dan Lebrero is a software engineer based in Spain, and he'll help us u...

Cat Mulvihill is becoming a rising YouTube star with her video content focused on communication and presentation skills, including technology, Zoom, and personal knowledge management systems. This conversation teaches us what sets the best professionals apart from the rest on their Zoom calls. We gain insights on the best mics, videocams, and other technologies to use. We also wrap up the visit wi...

If you work for yourself or would like to, have you ever thought about whose shoulders you are standing on, especially if you decide to have no employees? Ben Waterhouse is a professor and faculty director at the University of North Carolina. His research interests include deciphering how self-employment became a key to personal fulfillment, a central topic in his newest book, One Day I'll Wo...

Have you ever wondered how Amazon, Netflix, and Starbucks started their customer personalization programs? What was the starting point? What were the costs? Who was involved? The co-authors answer these questions in the very readable Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI . Mark Abraham and David Edelman explain that personalization is not email or glorified loyalty rewards programs. Ins...

If you were to ask me about my favorite book on private equity, I would say The Private Equity Playbook by Adam Coffey. The book is easy to read, the math is simple and impactful, and the stories are based on a former CEO who understands the intricacies behind private equity. Adam has released the second edition of this book, which is about 20 percent longer with new material. This conversation ad...

As a financial leader, I want to know every aspect of business. While quarterbacking my share of ERP implementations, I had only once heard the term PMO (short for Project Management Office). Accordingly, I wanted to learn more. After reading Laura Barnard's new book on PMOs, I quickly realized she is probably the global thought leader on this subject. Laura's new book is The IMPACT Engi...

Numerous financial blog articles and LinkedIn posts highlight the benefits of a small business owner hiring a portfolio CFO. However, I do not recall these writers commenting on why financial professionals step away from the W-2 world to serve multiple owners as clients instead of sticking to a steady paycheck. Sara Daw may be the first author to articulate why CFOs jump into the gig economy throu...

How did Charles Cowlam resort to a lifelong career in crime during the Gilded Age? During this fascinating interview, the author of A Wonderful Career Crime accidentally uncovers several fascinating nuggets of U.S. history that would otherwise remain undetected by well-known historians. Frank Garmon shares his favorite stories of Cowlam's life as a fraudster, bigamist, and swindler. He takes...

Strategic planning and real estate companies are not word pairings we are used to hearing. However, Charlie Hewlett is changing that mindset. Charlie is the managing director at RCLCO, a company based in the Washington, D.C., metro area. He co-authored Strategy for Real Estate Companies. Our topics include the definition of a real estate company, a short definition of strategic planning, what stra...

What do you know about Jay Gould's life, and how does he compare to the other robber barons of his day? More importantly, is his life worth examining? Mark discusses Gould's upbringing in this book review, which influenced his desire to be rich. Learn about one of the most significant market corners on Wall Street and the man who helped to create America's economic expansion during...

Mark provides five titles in this special CFO Bookshelf episode that inspire and educate.  Mark wraps up the show with some financial food for thought - what statement do you present first in a reporting package and why?

What is a Fractional CFO? That term has become a household name for financial experts who help small business owners in various industries. However, do we have a concise and complete definition for this type of professional services provider? In this special episode, we break down what the fractional CFO is based on their three unique and primary roles to small business owners. We also give the be...

As I think about our next guest, Jody Grunden, he reminds me of the successful business leader who Mixergy's Andrew Warner should feature.  Jody co-founded Summit CPA Group in the early 2000s and decided to focus on financial leadership instead of offering the conventional services many small firms provided. This discussion addresses the accounting shortage, effective accountants, and why acc...

When did you start using Excel, and how did you learn it? Jeff Lenning is the founder of Excel University, and he joins us to discuss the biggest mistakes he sees in Excel workbooks, the differences between formal and informal training, and why both are critical. We also walked down memory lane, discussing when we started using Excel and some of our favorite functions inside this powerful applicat...

What would you be willing to do to feel alive in your work every day? Jack Craven asks executives from all walks of life this question. Jack is the author of Aliveness Mindset: Lead and Live with More Passion, Purpose, and Joy. His book includes more than a dozen tools and frameworks for starting the journey of aliveness. Some topics we hit in this conversation include where aliveness starts, Davi...