The CFO'S Perspective

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion mean many things to people. For me, it has a personal meaning that goes beyond the workplace. When you see me, you see my Norwegian Mother, but you don't see my story and how I came to see how bias can profoundly affect a person's ability to pursue a better life for themselves and their families. I don't share many personal details on social media and am careful with what I put out in the world.

How I feel about this is still evolving and will continue to evolve, but as I co-chair our DEI committee at CFO Selections, I am thinking more about how sometimes support can come in the form of understanding.  

As a finance team professional with years of experience navigating office politics, human relationships and life in general, I have the need to successfully complete difficult conversations every day. It is a skill that one acquires over time, especially after learning that it’s better to face problems head on.

It's easy to avoid the problems, bury your head in the sand, or pretend things are peachy, especially at work or in a new relationship. Avoidance only makes it worse for you and everyone around you - but mainly for you. When you go along because you're afraid of making it worse, you will slowly resent it and may leave your job or relationship because of it.

What if, instead, you faced these problems head-on, resulting in more positive working relationships and maybe even happier clients?

It's hard to believe 20 years has gone by since CFO Selections was founded! It has been 16 years since merging a small search practice with CFO Selections. Time has gone by so quickly! It has been gratifying to make great friendships within the community, including my partners, consultants, clients, and fantastic trusted advisor community. To this day, I still get a thrill reading the business section of various publications and finding a company mentioned we assisted at some point in their growth.

Today I am sharing lessons learned as both a partner of CFO Selections as well as in the business development role. These are the keys to success I encourage all business owners and entrepreneurs to leverage on their business journey.

When talking with colleagues these days it is common to hear people discussing the effectiveness of remote work, especially regarding consulting work. We hear partners and clients saying things like, “I just don’t think we can replicate the kind of interpersonal relationships we used to have virtually.” Yet, at the same time, we hear their employees expressing little desire ever to return to the office full-time, opting instead for fully remote or hybrid work arrangements. This dichotomy begs the question, “Which is better, in-person or remote?”

Every conversation I have these days starts with hiring woes and worker shortages, whether when having coffee with a banker or discussions in line at the airport. They steer towards how we are all affected by shortages, delays, and uncertainties. It isn't easy to remain optimistic when there are no new ideas around what we can do to fix it.

If the past couple of pandemic-influenced years has taught us anything, it's that what we thought we had control over is as laughable as trying to predict what's next! I've had the opportunity to navigate some interesting economic periods in my career as a financial executive. The "Great Recession" was once a period I hoped never to have to revisit, given the far-reaching impact it had and the catastrophic financial toll it took on the life savings of so many. The uncertainty that period exhibited was challenging to say the least.

However, if I learned anything from that experience, it is that we would invariably be faced with something equally as challenging, and we would likely be as unprepared for it as many were for the Recession.

“If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.”
- Alan K. Simpson

Integrity in finance should be the foundation of a lasting bond between a business and its clients. Everyone wants to believe the promises that a company makes to them with respect to safeguarding their interests. But how many organizations can follow through on those promises? 

In an ideal world, we would have absolute trust in our financial institutions, advisors, and government regulators. Unfortunately, history and public sentiment tell us a different story. Sure, ethics and integrity still exist in finance. And those organizations are the ones that will consistently find success. 

Editor’s Note: We are fortunate to have many exceptional clients. From time to time, we include “Company Spotlight” posts in our blog to express our gratitude and appreciation for the awesome work they do and the accomplishments they achieve. Enjoy!

Chocolate is for sale everywhere. Consumers can purchase it ready to eat at their local grocery stores or over the internet. They can buy it in a variety of forms for use in creating their own culinary delights. They have a vast selection of price and quality from which to choose. 

So, what did it take for one more company making chocolates to achieve the impressive success of Fran’s Chocolates? What was so special about the confections that started as giveaways to customers buying other products to something that a President of the United States chose to give as gifts to visitors to the White House?