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 his staff? In this episode, Aaron Beam helps me to answer these questions as he draws on his experienc...
Aug 12, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 120
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 concepts of negotiating, the best discussion I've ever read about goals in the context of negoti...
Aug 05, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 119
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 by Jeffrey Marx. Little did Jeffrey Marx know that his life would be transformed forever once he ste...
Jul 29, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 118
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 her co-author, Anderson Cooper that spans six generations of the Vanderbilt family. Health Supplemen...
Jul 22, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 117
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 hero or is he delusional? Two other characters find out how far Cloud will go to make the world a bett...
Jul 16, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 116
We learn from Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird , "You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view … until you climb into their skin and walk around in it." Elvis Pressley used to sing, "Before you abuse, criticize and accuse, walk a mile in my shoes." What may seem so apparent to many is not to others. In this conversation, we unpack the big ideas and linkages between business success and customer empathy with Dr. Natalie Petouhoff, the...
Jul 09, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 115
Jeff Sands is the author of Corporate Turnaround Artistry . Before fixing and mending other companies' broken income statements and balance sheets, he had to fix his own. During this conversation, we also learn about the debt stacks, myths of bankruptcies, the five stages of a turnaround, the three types of turnaround CEOs, and what Jeff calls the salvation process. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary supplement D2C eCommerce business. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spoti...
Jul 01, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 114
If you think Netflix was the cause of Blockbuster's failure, you'll change your mind after you hear Alan Payne explain the reasons for this company's demise. Alan was a longtime owner of a chain of successful Blockbuster stores. He was also featured in the Netflix 2020 documentary, The Last Blockbuster . Alan's new book is Built to Fail , and we learn four reasons for Blockbuster's eventual bankruptcy which started with poor leadership at the CEO level. Health Supplement...
Jun 24, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 113
If I could only pick one book for any financial leader to read about company culture, it would be Patty McCord's book, Powerful . In this episode, two CFOs break down the big ideas in Patty's book which include the role of the culture-centric HR professional, making decisions on facts vs. data, annual performance reviews, variable pay, learning every aspect of a business, and teams vs. families. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary supplement D2C eCommerce business. Lis...
Jun 20, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 112
Have you ever worked with a software vendor who said their solution would save you as much as $1 million annually? Or how about the big data warehousing project where the lead consultant says this project could lead to significantly more revenues? When you accept projects with these types of claims, have you gone back one year later to find out the actual cost savings you thought realized? Our topic on this show is the book entitled, Project Profitability by our guest, Reginald Lee. We explore p...
Jun 11, 2022•38 min•Season 1Ep. 111
Glenn Hopper is the author of Deep Finance: Corporate Finance for the Information Age . Glenn is a likable expert who helps the rest of us better understand artificial intelligence, data science, and ERP solutions. As a hands-on, self-taught digital expert, his writing is still easy to understand. In this conversation, some of the big ideas we cover are the differences between machine and deep learning, practical applications of data science in smaller businesses, and comparing comprehensive ERP...
Jun 04, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 110
For too many years than I can count, I've been listening to the audio version of How to Become a CEO by Jeffrey Fox annually. The book is a simple, to-the-point book discussion that applies to any position, even an officer in the military. In this conversation, we hear about admitting fault, damaging emails, mastering one big new thing every year, the power and impact of handwritten notes, and a few classic books. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary supplement D2C eCommerce...
May 28, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 109
Professor Jim Shein of the Kellogg School of Management is one of my favorite turnaround experts, and he's the author of my favorite book in this space, Reversing the Slide . Some of the big ideas we address are how to get started in this field of work, the role of strategy in turnarounds, the 13-week cash flow forecast, and a handful of case studies. We also learn who is best suited for this type of work, CEOs or CFOs. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary supplement D2C eCo...
May 20, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 108
Financial writers have been telling CFOs that they need to become storytellers in their businesses. How? John Pollack is a former presidential speechwriter and he's an expert in analogies. He's delivered a popular TEDx presentation on the topic and this book Shortcut takes a deep dive into the anatomy of this powerful tool to sell our ideas. In this interview, we hear examples of good analogies, how they shape the legal system, and how baseball impacted a California law leading to unin...
May 14, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 107
I'm going to make the bold statement that Roger Martin is this era's Peter Drucker as a prolific business writer. Roger has co-authored my favorite book on strategy, Playing to Win which is simple, concise, pragmatic, and has plenty of sticky concepts. Roger's newest book is A New Way to Think . If you like Adam Grant, Dan Pink, the Heath brothers, or Matthew May, this book belongs in your book queue, the topic in this conversation. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your die...
May 06, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 106
Finding, obtaining, and developing leadership talent is not easy, and there is plenty of data to support making decisions too fast or waiting too long in getting the right team in place. Ram Charan is known for books like Execution, Boards That Deliver, and What the CEO Wants You to Know. He's also the co-author of Talent: The Market Cap Multiplier. In this conversation, we talk about the talent bank, the one-to-one conversations, cutting bait fast, and two of his favorite books....
Apr 30, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 105
Ben Lamorte is making his third appearance on CFO Bookshelf. He certifies OKRs coaches on his platform, OKRs.com. His newest book is The OKRs Field Book . In this conversation, we address outcomes vs outputs, setting meaningful objectives through a five-step process, and OKRs vs KPIs. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary supplement D2C eCommerce business. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify...
Apr 22, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 104
If you ask ten successful CEOs what they do, you'll probably hear many answers--all good, but vastly different from executive to executive. A dream team of McKinsey partners decided to research the very question based on 200 in-depth interviews and surveys with successful CEOs. Their findings are found in the new book, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest . In this conversation, we hear from one of the co-authors, Carolyn Dewar as she talks about ...
Apr 16, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 103
If you've been searching for the PayPal version of Brad Stone's, The Everything Store , then you can start with Jimmy Soni's new book, The Founders . In this fast-paced interview with the author, we learn many smaller stories behind the bigger ones of PayPal's big obstacles it faced before its IPO: the lack of innovation at the big banks Reid Hoffman's role in what PayPal is today The combination of X.com and Confinity Peter Thiel, the reluctant CEO and the Elon Musk Pal...
Apr 08, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 102
As we observe the DNA behind some of our favorite CEOs, patterns will start to surface. Some are natural at scaling companies to new levels. And then there are stories like those of Phil Knight, Jeff Bezos, Reid Hoffman, and Sara Blakely who started with a kernel of an idea and went on to launch brands that are household names. Bob Jordan is the co-author of Right Leader, Right Time , a book that reveals a framework listing four natural instincts of impactful leaders - Fixers, Artists, Builders,...
Apr 01, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 101
Joe Coulombe is one of the most intelligent, creative, and thoughtful CEOs I've read about in the past ten to twenty years. He grew Trader Joe's into one of the most successful and iconic brands in the grocery industry before he sold the business in 1979. Patty Civalleri is the co-author of Becoming Trader Joe and was a dear friend of this gifted entrepreneur. In this episode, we touch on his compensation philosophy, creative marketing strategies, the books he read, product knowledge, ...
Mar 26, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 100
Dan Montgomery is the founder of Agile Strategies, a boutique OKRs firm, and the author of Start Less Finish More . Dan states the old strategic planning model of predicting and then controlling needs to give way to sensing and responding, and he calls that agile strategy. In this conversation, he hit on many fascinating concepts: limitations of The Balanced Scorecard executing vs formulating strategy the retreat to cozy mental models the fit between OKRs and agile strategy multicausal systems m...
Mar 19, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 99
Good luck on finding a book about phantom stock plans that's simple to understand with practical examples. It does not exist. However, Paolo Pasicolan has created nearly a hundred such plans with the law firm he works for, Miles and Stockbridge. Paulo's explanation of phantom stock plans is clear, concise, and complete. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary supplement D2C eCommerce business. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify...
Mar 12, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 98
I've always been intrigued about the roles of business psychologists and certified business coaches and their ability to elevate the performances of the people and businesses they work with. In this show, I visited with Dr. Russell Thackeray, a business psychologist, certified coach, trainer, and renowned speaker. We addressed topics such as resistance, when to hire a business coach, the intentions and execution of tough love, psychological capacity, and much more. Health Supplement Busines...
Mar 05, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 97
I first heard Captain Charlie Plumb's POW story some twenty years ago, and I'm thrilled to share this conversation where we talk about Louis Zamperini, an unlikely parachute dialogue, culture, the leadership of Admiral James Stockdale, and some astounding research regarding PTSD of the men held at the Hanoi Hilton. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary supplement D2C eCommerce business. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify...
Feb 26, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 96
If you do an Amazon search on KPIs, the top result will be KPI Checklists by Bernie Smith. Bernie's newest book is entitled Gamed , our topic for this discussion. We'll find out why so many smart and creative people have a hard time agreeing on KPIs, what black hat testing is for incentives, and the KPI framework named ROKET-DS. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary supplement D2C eCommerce business. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify...
Feb 19, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 95
One of the rock stars of financial modeling is one of the founders and the Executive Director of the Financial Modeling Institute, Ian Schnoor. In this episode, we talk about the multi-disciplinary requirements of financial modeling, the planning process, component vs systems thinking, and other big ideas around this critical business skill. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary supplement D2C eCommerce business. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify...
Feb 12, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 94
My four favorite authors on performance measure with improvement as the primary aim is Don Wheeler, Stacey Barr, Dean Spitzer, and Mark Graban. In this conversation, we find out three of the most important questions surrounding performance improvement the right. Our guest is Mark Graban, and he's the author of Measures of Success, our topic for this episode. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary supplement D2C eCommerce business. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify...
Feb 06, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 93
Have you ever worked for a psychopathic CEO? If not, odds are that you will at least once in your career. That's according to the founder and president of the CFO Leadership Council, Jack McCullough. Jack's newest book is, The Psychopathic CEO , and we'll hear more about who they are, how they make their way into a company, and what to do should you work for one. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary supplement D2C eCommerce business. Listen on: Apple Podcasts  ...
Jan 29, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 92
Every current and past senior executive at Amazon will say their leadership principles are behind every groundbreaking innovation. Every student of business knows about Amazon's obsession with its customers. But that's only one of the leadership principles. In this episode, John Rossman, the author of The Amazon Way delivers some of the big ideas and concepts baked into these inspiring, yet challenging leadership principles. Health Supplement Business Mastery Grow your dietary suppleme...
Jan 22, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 91
