CFO Bookshelf

John Seddon is the founder of The Vanguard Method and is the author of Beyond Command and Control . In this conversation we find out which action is worse in business, commanding or controlling. John also explains demand failure, break-fix systems, and the destructive nature of budget management and arbitrary targets.

Devin Durrant is the author of The Values Delta - A Small and Simple Way to Make a Positive Difference in Your Personal and Professional Life . Durrant's book is not about corporate values but personal core values, and it's a fast, easy-to-read guide that's instructive and inspiring with practical business applications too. In this conversation, this former NBA player reveals three...

Gaining media attention may not be an ongoing goal for many growing businesses. However, a former TV host and Emmy-award winner in consumer reporting explains that if we can pitch the media effectively, we can sell anything to anyone. Katrina Cravy is the author of On Air: Insider Secrets to Attract the Media and Get Free Publicity . This easy-to-read book also has far-reaching applications, for p...

When we do our weekly shopping at the grocery store, finding products is relatively easy because of the way food items are grouped throughout the aisles. That's the starting point for understanding category design in any business setting. The authors of Play Bigger did not invent category design, but these gifted marketers gave this term and its underlying disciplines a name by studying more...

Output, Outcomes, Impact. Those are three strong words that seemingly go well together in any context. But is there a clear difference in each term? Josh Seiden is the author of Outcomes Over Output , and he provides one of the best definitions of outcomes I have ever heard--a change in customer behavior that leads to better business results. In this conversation, we learn how to apply outcomes-ba...

I've always assumed that great financial modelers have deep backgrounds in either corporate finance or accounting. That's not the case for Lyndsey Weber who is the Senior Solutions Consultant at Quantrix. Lyndsey's degree is in engineering management from one of the top engineering programs in the country. She started her career at ExxonMobil where she was a supply chain data analys...

Several years ago, I'll never forget when a tax partner with a Top 10 accounting firm started talking about one of his favorite books. He described the book's three pillars - marketing, production, and accounting. I smiled because I knew the title he was talking about - In The Black by Allen Bostrom. A few weeks prior to this episode the marketing team for this book's co-author reac...

On Will Guidara's 12th birthday, he had the experience of a lifetime while dining with his family at Four Seasons. Less than thirty years later, Will and his co-partner of Eleven Madison Park were being lauded for the top spot of The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2017. Will's new book is Unreasonable Hospitality and I now call it one of the best books written on this topic. The boo...

You probably know a little or a lot about a business practice called open book management. This podcast prefers the term, financial transparency. During this episode, a CEO and co-founder of a physical therapy organization explains how he got started with financial transparency, why he did it, and how. Dr. Arlan Alburo of Orthopedic and Balance Therapy based in rural Indiana near Chicago also expl...

The Crazy Eddie stores of the 1980s are probably most remembered by the Jerry Carrell commercials that have been parodied in the movies, TV shows, and even by other CEOs in the past such as Steve Ballmer. Gary Weiss is the author of Retail Gangster, The Insane, Real-Life Story of Crazy Eddie . Through Gary's research and captivating narrative, we learn the origin story of Eddie Antar and how...

As of the release date of this episode, the prime interest rate in the U.S. had surpassed six percent, nearly double the rate a few months earlier. Are higher rates good or bad for the economy? What about lower rates? The answers may seem self-evident, but should we be over-confident with our opinions? What about the law of unintended consequences when rates are universally low for an extended per...

Sophie Theen is the author of The Soul of Startups . Sophie states that there is a misconception that a company's people make its culture. Instead, that culture starts at the top and works its way down into other teams which is consistently changing. And that can lead to unplanned and unforeseen consequences for the staff working in these startups. In this conversation, we learn about the thr...

Dr. Sam Savage is the gifted teacher all of us would have loved having as our professor in stats classes. Sam is the author of The Flaw of Averages and Chancification . During this conversation, we talk about the arithmetic of uncertainty, probability management,  and the limitations of risk matrixes. And we do it on a fifth-grade level.

Thomas Erikson is the author of Surrounded by Idiots , a book that simplifies four basic personality types using a coloring system and a two-by-two matrix. In this conversation, we address: the difference between the four letters in DISC and the colors the purpose and role of personality assessments in the workplace the validity and reliability of such assessments the three parts of the human mind...

Can you think of a top business book exclusively for professional services firms? If so, your list is probably short and presumably headed by any title from David Maister. In this episode, a new book for this industry is introduced, The Boutique: How to Start, Scale, and Sell a Professional Services Firm by Greg Alexander. In this conversation, we talk about elephant and rabbit hunters, the one-th...

If we think the reasons for the fall of BlackBerry are an open and shut case, we need to think again. Sean Silcoff is the co-author of Losing the Signal . The book covers the rise of BlackBerry, how its foundation started cracking before Apple's iPhone came on the scene and the breakup of two iconic founders of a company that once topped $20 billion in revenues. This interview explores some o...

When I read a biography, I want the words to jump out by telling me something I never knew about the person that's both memorable and interesting. I want to read about the subject's impact they had on others. And, I want to be inspired. Before reading Dirk Smillie's very readable and accessible biography on Harry Guggenheim entitled, The Business of Tomorrow , I knew nothing about t...

Should professionals like you and I be reading fiction and if so, why? Dr. Christine Seifert is the author of a 2020 HBR article, The Case for Reading Fiction. While professionals typically read for knowledge, Christy provides numerous reasons and studies on how reading fiction can expand our analytical abilities along with understanding others better. We explore terms such as cognitive agility an...

Who is Bill Gross? Who is the guy who learned to take risks in college while scalping basketball tickets at Duke? Or who was the risk-taker who counted cards in Las Vegas? Who exactly is the man once named the Morningstar Investment Manager of the Decade? And how was this lifelong investment professional able to see around corners during one of the country's greatest financial meltdowns durin...

One of my favorite CFOs is Bob Lung. For the past 33 years, he's been chauffeuring players and dignitaries at the NFL's annual Hall of Fame weekend activities in Canton, Ohio. In this fast-paced interview, we talk about Bob's favorite moments at the Hall of Fame ceremony, what it means to be a driver during this event, and a couple of special stories. Should every business consider...

With the passing of the 20th anniversary of WorldCom filing bankruptcy in the aftermath of the whistle being blown on its reporting of fraudulent financial statements, I wanted to revisit Cynthia Cooper's page-turner, Extraordinary Circumstances . Why was the fraud committed? How? What was internal audit's role in detecting the fraudulent entries created by the CFO and four members of hi...

What is the best book on negotiation you've ever read? Many business readers who have read Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss would probably pick that title. What if I said there is another title that's far more practical, ideas that you can put into practice right now? That book is Negotiation Simplified by Jim Reiman.   In this fast-paced conversation, we talk about the core four...

The legendary Bill Campbell is called the trillion dollar coach by his biographers. Campbell coached and mentored larger-than-life business leaders Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, Steve Jobs, Marissa Mayer, and many others. If Bill was the trillion dollar coach, then I'm not sure what to call Joe Ehrmann and his friend and fellow coach, Biff Poggi who are central pillars in the book Season of Life...

Can you name any recent descendants of Cornelius Vanderbilt who didn't build one but two massive fortunes during the Gilded Age? After the third and fourth generations, the money started evaporating quickly, but why? Katherine Howe is the co-author of Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty . During this conversation, we explore some of the fascinating stories she uncovered with...

Rob Hart's book, The Warehouse , is a speculative dystopian thriller. The central character is an online retailer called Cloud - think Amazon in the distant future dominating its rivals which has devastating effects on small retailers across the country. Cloud's founder is dying of cancer, so he's on a farewell tour visiting all of the company's distribution centers. Is he a he...