Cerius Business Today

Pam:                      I'm Pamela Wasley, CEO of Cerius Executives, one of the largest North American providers of contract executives for part-time, temporary, interim and consulting assignments. These executives are available to step into companies on short notice, to fill a sudden gap in leadership, to run a key initiative which provides specialized skills and knowledge for temporary period of time. OK, what role do board members and advisory board members play and are they different? Ginger, let's go to you.

Ginger:                 In my experience they are definitely different. I've served on many advisory boards for small and big companies and I can talk from my experience. The level of tender and hands on tactical advice is higher for me on the advisory board capacity. The board of director’s role, when I was acting in that capacity, it was much higher level. It was more strategic, and again shareholder focused. So you really had more high-level impacts to consider. The advisory board work for me has been more specific to the actual changes that are happening in the company, are the future vision of the company and there's more active participation in an advisory board.

Pam:                      So Ginger, the advisory board is not strategic?

Ginger:                 No no, it is strategic. It's just when the differences. There's strategy on both sides but when I served on advisory boards, the work has been more hands on tactical operationally focused if you will. It is, when I was hired to join an advisory board the work was specific to the expertise that I brought so I was able to advice and then actually, in some ways participate in the execution of what was being discussed and agreed to in the advisory board. My role on the board of directors was higher-level. More strategy, less hands on. Where there was guidance provided but then there were other folks who were doing the operational execution of those.

Pam:                      Excellent.

BT:          Hi and welcome to Business Today, brought to you by Cerius Executive Solutions. Today we are joined by Kristen McAlister and Matt Sauer from Cerius Executives. How are you guys doing today?

Kristen: I’m great, thank you

Matthew: Great, thank you

BT:          Great. So today we just wanna kind of get right into it. Today’s conversation is about contract executives, interim executive and consultants who were once CEO’s, C-level executives that are either trying to make the transition, have made the transition or are looking for ways to find more consistent work and some tips that may help them. Quick question, you both have mentioned the making yourself memorable using numbers and marketing yourself and so forth. Now what’s the best way to do that, because let’s say you are one of those executives who have achieved some ridiculous amount of success in your life and sometimes when you put things on paper, people will find it to be a little, I guess I’m looking for the right word, exaggerated. How would an executive kinda deal with that? Especially if you have a résumé that is filled with one amazing feat after another, how do you position yourself so you don’t look fake? Because I mean I’ve seen that in the marketplace where anytime I meet a consultant or an executive or former executive, I mean, their papers, their marketing documents are very, very strong in terms of this is what I’ve achieved. How do you bring a level of authenticity to that marketing?

Matthew: I’ll go first this time if it’s OK Kristen? What I would say that, that’s where Cerius comes in. You know that’s where our regional VP’s come in, the business development team. Because they have to talk to the client and make sure that they understand that it is that level of expertise, it is all of that knowledge that that senior executive is bringing to the table, that is what they need for to help them transition through whatever issues they have or help them grow their company or whatever it is that they were hiring Cerius to do that they want that person who has that you know that huge amount of experience. Our team has a way of being able to tone it down some, so that the client is comfortable with the fact that we are bringing in this level of expertise, but that this is really what they need to turn their business around, or to solve the problem. Or again, to grow the business to do a merger, to do an acquisition. That’s what our interims bring to the table that they don’t have on their team.

Kristen: Yes. And at that point bringing in interim executive management consultant is very different than hiring for a full time executive. For a full time executive if you were to put down on paper that you have had incredible, amazing results in these five different areas it might be a little more than attractive to me, and I am certainly going to follow up to verify that it’s accurate, but we are looking at in interim or management consulting it’s going to be less believable and I want someone who is an expert in one area who can come in and be the best at solving my problem. So I’m going to look more for consistency and not stellar résumé. At executive level I better see a stellar résumé, you’ve had twenty to thirty years in order to reach that level of competency, so it had better be stellar but I’m going to look for it to be consistently stellar and incredible results and a more narrow set of areas and competencies in order for me to gauge are you the expert I’m looking for. Which is certainly where you get into the challenge of most executives we talk to or come in from [3:47] and want to make a career shift is, how do I take thirty years of work experience and all that I’ve done and narrow that down into either resume or profile, or narrow it to expertise. This is probably one of the most challenging things that executives could possibly go through.

BT:          Well Kristen and Matt, I want to thank you for your time. Thank you for listeni

Transcript Below

BT: Welcome to Business Today brought to you by Cerius Executives, one of the largest interim executive and management consulting firms in North America. Today we are joined by Donald Nobel, a technology CFO who has spent a portion of his career as an interim executive. How are you doing today Donald?

Donald: Oh terrific, terrific! Nice to meet you Raj.

BT: Nice to meet you too! So you actually have a pre-existing relationship with Cerius Executives. We’ve kind of tapped into you to be one of our interim executives and a CFO for some of our clients. That just leads me to wonder, how long have you been an interim executive or how long have you been doing interim executive management consulting work?

Donald: I have worked as an interim or fractional CFO, COO for nine years now.

BT: Being a fractional or interim CFO, what are some of the things, or some of the projects that you get called in to kind of work on?

Donald: Many times I’m called in to accompany those looking to grow rapidly, or perhaps in a turn-around situation. Sometimes it’s a company that has hit some kind of wall and needs an executive to push them over the wall. Perhaps they’re struggling with the new product line or looking for ways to expand, or can’t quite seem to get the profitability they’re looking for.

BT: I see. So I’m one of those people that tries to do as little work as possible, and you get brought into scenarios that aren’t exactly perfect. What prompted you to kind of become a savior of sorts? [Laughs] For small businesses?

Donald: Well interesting, interesting comment. Well I was working as a CFO for a technology firm in New Hampshire and when we sold the firm off, a former CEO called me and said, “Help me. Can you please be fractional CFO and help me grow my company?” Since I had already known him and knew his company well, it fit me at the time. But as I stepped in, I fell in love with all the work that we could accomplish. And 18 months later I helped him open a new warehouse, hire a controller, grow the revenue by over a 100%, implement some new pricing models and grow the staff by 50%.  Next thing I knew, I fell in love with it. And I didn’t realize how much I loved the scenario of, as you put it, parachuting into a company. Maybe not necessarily in trouble, but definitely needing some expertise. And then all of a sudden, nine years later I’m still doing it because I love it.

BT: Do you find that companies are more responsive to you when you go in as a fractional CFO or do you think it’s about the same amount of trust and knowledge, and I’m having a loss of words here, and I talk professionally for a living. Don’t believe that [laughs].

Donald: I think I understand the question. Let me give it a shot and you tell me whether I’m correct. Um, it’s a different type of respect. It’s not better or worse, and it’s a different type of expectation that they put on you. First of all they know that you’re fractional or interim, and that by nature is shorter term than, you know, hiring for a 10-year or 20-year career. So there’s, it’s a different type of view that they have for you. Which allows you to get more done in most cases because you can come in and they expect you to be dynamic and they expect you to be direct and blunt instead of you know working through all the issues, as a long-term employee might do.

BT: So you mentioned it allows you to get more done. Can you elaborate a little bit more on that because that does seems to be a driving force here in the interim executive industry where the interim executives themselves are highly driven, highly motivated individuals like yourself. Can you give some examples of how an interim executive has the opportunity to get more done in a short period of time?

Donald: I think in my experience, the best way to describe that is from the standpoint of what you’re expected to do. As you put it, you’re asked to go in and parachute into these companies. Immediately,

Selling yourself as an interim executive is more about

selling results and outcomes.  When a

company needs an interim executive, they don’t necessarily need a person who

has x, y, z experience, they need someone who can accomplish and deliver

successful outcomes.  A client is looking

for specific results.  Rather than, “I

improved the morale of the team”, it should be “We reduced turnover by 20% and

increased employee referral recruitment 300%”. 

Rather than, “I am a versatile executive with over 20 years of

experience in the C-Suite who can help companies maximize the value and

increase returns,” consider using a specific example that exemplifies what you

can do for a company – “I have over 20 years of experience working with

start-up companies in the energy industry. 

The last 3 firms I worked with each exited within 5 years for at least

an 8x multiple.” Or, “I work with small growing companies and help them get past

the curve where their sales have outgrown the talent of their team. I helped

the last company I worked with grow from $10 million to a run rate of $18

million and increase their net profit by 50% in the 9 months I was there.”

Listen to hear more tips!

Keeping Your Business Flexible and Scalable with Interim Management

I never know from one day to the next when contacted by a client what their situation will be and which combination of resources and expertise will be needed.  Though many businesses share a number of underlying principles about how they run and how they are successful, each company is very unique. They differ from where they are at in the lifecycle, how it was founded, what has spurred the growth, the leadership team, the culture, the challenges and what types of expertise is needed at what point.  At Cerius, we have been working with companies for over a decade to find them the right interim executive or management consultant to fit their exact needs.

Here are the top mistakes business owners make.

Accountability

In The Workplace: Sustaining mutual accountability

Inside a company, there are two groups of

people: the management, and the people or team under them. They’re like

separate islands. Both groups work towards a common strategic goal, yet they are

separated by a unique set of responsibilities and priorities.

Listen to our podcast to learn more.

When is it time to hire a CFO?

 

CFOs are mainly financial people, but they can be more than that. In addition to financial and accounting numbers, they can add value and help drive company growth, in terms of planning and generating revenue.

Hire a CFO - What CFOs do

A CFO is primarily involved with the financial side of the business. That includes managing relations with investors, financial projections, rolling cash forecasting, budgets, pricing, debts, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.

They have the greatest control over cash, which is especially important in startups. They keep a check over where it's used, where it's going and where it's at. They direct and manage how the company's cash should be used - including that which is expected to be raised through future revenue and other resources.

A CFO puts together the key metrics a company should be looking at and managing towards. The information they hold is essential to the running of the business, because of which they also interact heavily with other departments, like sales, and executives.

Raising equity and debt also come under the CFO's responsibilities. They invite investors and negotiate the best terms for the company.

All in all, a CFO is an executive who along with the CEO is involved in managing all departments in the company towards common strategic goals, using their knowledge and involvement with the company's finances. A CEO or founder of a company may be equally involved in all aspects of the organization, but they may not have the skills and expertise to help drive a company forward. They may be great at product development, attracting customers or branding the product, but creating policies and internal planning is much more complex, and CFO’s generally do a better job at it.

Hire a CFO - How a CFO drives startup growth

Because of their extensive knowledge, CFO’s are relied upon to watch over in many companies, particularly for accounting and financial processes. However, they are used more as a watchdog in startups as founders feel that they do not need them for growing the company. A good CFO can do much more than watching.

They are better able to understand current market opportunities. They ask the right questions to make sure that the other executives are thinking about things from a strategic standpoint as well as a tactical point of view.

A lot of the time, especially in startups, executives spend more time focusing on day-to-day operations. In the midst of routine drama, they have little time to plan for the long-term. A CFO can think of possible futures for the company, and what the company needs to be doing today to reach their long-term goals.

A company goes through many new ideas in an effort to grow and increase revenue and productivity. They are only considered successful after the CFO has assessed them. The financial executive goes back and compares results from both before and after the campaign. If the program isn’t delivering results as expected, they analyse and find out what went wrong, and determine whether or not it’s worth the company’s resources to continue. Using numbers and figures they make informed decisions to help the company succeed.

Hire a CFO - When to engage with a CFO?

If your startup or business has generated a significant amount of money, it’s time to hire a CFO or the services of a financial firm. At this point, the financial arm of your company has many things going on at the same time which need attention. Contracts you may have signed, accounting, revenue recognition, projections, and budgeting are just some of the things that need individual attention. A professional financial person will not only manage it but also give valuable insight into your company based on the numbers.

Institutional investors – venture capitalists – have certain expectations on financial reporting, plans and transactions. If you are dealing with institutional investors, it would b

Today we discuss being profitable. 

Topics Include: 

Running a business is not just about increasing sales. It requires being profitable and business efficiency as well. If you want your business to succeed truly, you need to make sure its processes and people deliver the best results at maximum profit.

Being Profitable - Gross Margin

Being Profitable - Cost Structure

Being Profitable - Inventory Days

Being Profitable - Days Sales Outstanding

Being Profitable - Days Payable Outstanding