CFO Bookshelf

As I search for books to highlight on the show, I'm looking for unique and interesting content and an author who has probably slipped under other podcasters' radars. Take, for instance, the title Rasputin for Hire by Michael Goodman.

Michael is a marketing expert who has been consulting since 1979. In this conversation, we hear about the story behind this fascinating title and:

• the difference between his book and Dan Pink's first title, Free Agent Nation
• why new consultants have to love selling
• the problem with cold leads
• on working alone
• how to use peer networks
• having confidence in one's own abilities
• personal mission statements
• consulting between jobs
• a fascinating Seth Godin story

A special thanks to my friends at JustPaddles.com.

I never knew there was a consulting niche for advising directors for public company boards of directors until I met Denise Kuprionis. She founded The Governance Solutions Group (GSG) based in Cincinnati, where she helps boards apply effective governance practices and achieve their most pressing objectives.

In this conversation, some of our topics include:

• The way Denise finds clients to work with
• The biggest difference between her board work today and ten years ago - there are not many
• Board assessments
• Corporate vs. board governance
• CEO succession planning and when to start
• Tone at the top
• The role of a board of advisors in private companies
• Sandra Kurtzig's first advisory group

This conversation also applies to private companies as Denise shares valuable nuggets for private company CEOs who could use the support of advisory board members to fill gaps where specialized knowledge is lacking.

After reading a book by a successful commercial developer who moved his family to France for two years, I wanted to learn more about setting up shop in a foreign country.
That's because the real estate developer faced obstacle after obstacle because he wasn't used to the vast cultural divide between his home country and France.

Accordingly, I felt I struck oil when I found the book, The Business Accidental Nomad by Kyle Hegarty. Kyle shares his experiences in building a marketing and sales presence in Asia based on data and humorous and engaging stories. I'll go so far as to say this book has a Liar's Poker feel to it; it's that good.

Some of the big ideas we hit in this conversation include:

• the 70% failure rate in starting an international operation
• stereotyping vs. data-driven generalizations
• calibrated storytelling - evidence and anecdotes
• "Treat people the way they want to be treated"
• TOR - trust, openness, and respect
• The communications contract
• The role of DISC for hiring new staff

One of my favorite business authors has just released his 15th book. The title is Own Your Work Journey by Ed Hess.

Fans of Ed Hess will be treated to a mini-memoir in the introduction of the book, and we spend the first ten minutes of this conversation talking about some of the mentors in Ed's life during his upbringing as a youth.

Other key points we hit are:

• the quiet ego and the wild stallion that's brought under control
• emergent thinking
• inner peace while having an open mind
• the keys to reflecting, listening
• the skill of developing skills at a fast pace
• the ongoing concept of learning, unlearning, and relearning
• the primary reason our brains are not wired to be hyper-learners

The best book I've ever read on the topic of growth is by Ed Hess, and it's aptly named Smart Growth.

It's not an anti-growth book, but through research, it dismantles the mental model of what I call Wall Street Growth which is:

1.  Businesses have to continually grow or die
2. All growth is good
3. Growth has to be continuous and smooth
4. Quarterly growth is the primary measure of success

In this conversation with Ed Hess, we discuss some of his favorite case studies in the book, the opposite of the 'grow or die' mindset, and the ideal work environment where people can continually be learning, unlearning, and relearning.

According to cognitive psychologist Gary Klien, people with a seemingly high sixth sense become experts at pattern recognition through years of experience in their respective fields. But where does that experience come from? How does that person achieve such experience?

Soren Kaplan is the author of the 2023 book Experiential Intelligence. Soren explains the differences between experiential intelligence (XQ) and IQ and EQ (emotional intelligence).

In this show, we also hit topics such as:

• curiosity, empathy, and imagination
• XQ vs AI
• the three levels to building XQ
• Soren's favorite stories in his book
• the reason why every high school student should be aware of Soren's message
• the role of failure in XQ
• Both/And
• the corporate university concept
• forecasting the past

Who is Soren Kaplan?
Soren Kaplan wrote Experiential Intelligence to explore the idea that experience is a form of innovation and to help individuals and organizations develop their ability to create and innovate through their experiences. 

Soren was inspired to write the book by his work with a variety of companies and organizations, and his observation that the most successful innovators were those who were able to learn from their experiences and use them to drive new ideas and breakthrough results. 

Kaplan also saw a need for a new framework that could help individuals and organizations develop the skills and mindset needed to leverage experience as a driver of innovation. He believes that by cultivating experiential intelligence, individuals and organizations can become more agile, adaptable, and successful in today's rapidly changing world.

One of the most intriguing and thought-provoking management books I've ever read is the 1993 book, Maverick by Ricardo Semler.

Ricardo took over his father's business Semco not too long after he graduated from college. He knew he didn't want to run the business as his father had, so he started in small steps by getting his staff involved in all decisions of the business, not just small ones.

The results were phenomenal. In less than ten years, Semco grew 6x in spite of inflation, recessions, and a chaotic national policy Productivity grew 7x, profits up 5x, and one newspaper ad during this time period yielded 1.4k responses.

Even though Maverick is no longer in print, I still wanted to talk about it on the show. FP&A global thought leader Daniele Martins joins us to discuss the book from her unique perspective.

To learn more about the Ricardo Semler story along with participative leadership, here are a few resources:

1. Managing Without Numbers - HBR
2. Ricardo's Ted Talk - How to Run a Company With Almost No Rules 
3. Semco Style Institute
4. Corporate Rebels
5. Shownotes on the CFO Bookshelf website

Gareth Pronovost is my go-to expert on his YouTube channel, GAP Consulting, where he teaches his subscribers about Airtable, SmartSuite, automation techniques, and other great insights on no-code solutions.

In this conversation, Gareth discusses how to break spreadsheet addiction. Other topics include:

• Gareth's interesting entry point to no-code apps
• the best definition for no-code applications
• what no-code is not
• the best starting point for no-code applications
• combining no-code apps with automation
• Gareth's go-to no-code tools
• The future of Python
• Is no-code only for non-developers?
• Is no-code only for simple projects?

Gareth is the founder of GAP consulting, and you can learn more about his work on his website.

Technology with the advancement of generative AI is seemingly moving at a pace we've never seen with other innovations.

How does any organization step back and figure out how to adopt digital and AI technologies to support its strategic objectives?

That's where Rewired comes in. The subtitle for this new book is The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI.

Our guest is Eric Lamarre, one of the co-authors of this practical playbook. In this conversation, we address:

• the origin story of the book
• five myths surrounding digital and AI transformations
• the harsh realities of starting a transformation
• the domain approach to getting started
• getting the team right
• the role of the CTO - chief transformation officer
• digital skills mapping
• talent win rooms
• employee value propositions
• quarterly business reviews
• pilot purgatory
• go & see visits
• Digital 101

More Than a Numbers Game is rich in business and accounting history. We learn about the Merchants of Venice and why they had a strategic advantage. We also learn about the many flaws and imperfections of financial reporting, where completeness and consistencies are impossible.

This conversation is geared toward non-accounting students and professionals where additional topics include the one-page report by the early railroads, what was included in the first modern financial report in 1903, the many names for the bottom line, Sarbanes–Oxley, and a stronger focus on liberal arts in higher education.