CFO Bookshelf

CFO Bookshelf does not sit in the seat of judgment, nor does it play the role of pundit in the midst of the 2023 banking crisis we are witnessing. We'll let the regulators and the media handle those duties.Instead, CFO Bookshelf is about old and revolutionary ideas that we can put to work right now in our organizations.As I have been monitoring the news of the Silicon Valley Bank closure and similar banks that are failing, four mental models or frameworks have come to mind.In this episode, I share 4 mental constructs that come from the banking industry playbook that we can apply in our own businesses. These ideas include:CAMELsStress testing paired with resilience testingThe Texas RatioReputation RiskShow notes page - Read Here

I've heard some startup founders say that every graduate should spend a year or two working in government before embarking on their chosen career path.For business students, I believe every new graduate should consider running or managing a restaurant for one to two years because of the people, financial, and entrepreneurial skills needed to keep the store afloat.I'm thrilled to have Ken McGarrie on the show to talk shop about his industry and his book, The Surprise Restaurant Manager.This conversation is especially geared toward those of us outside the food service industry, but those working in it will gain valuable insights from the COO of Fabio Viviani Hospitality.

Author and HBR contributor Peter Cappelli asserts that accounting and financial reporting are wreaking havoc on damaging HR decisions by corporate leaders.In this conversation, Peter reveals that 90% of all company vacancies were filled internally prior to 1980. Today, that number is just over 20%. He adds that there were very few layoffs more than 40 years ago. Today, layoffs make headlines weekly.Peter believes these results are being driven by accounting and financial reporting. In this episode, we'll also hear about financial reporting's impact on defined contribution plans, training and development, R&D, and layoffs.Peter Cappelli's newest book is Our Least Important Asset (July 2023).

I'm periodically scouring the podcast universe for other shows focusing on business books. I recently found Business Books & Co. founded by three buddies who went to school together.  Within three weeks, I listened to their first three seasons of episodes.As a fan of the show, I'm thrilled to hear the origin story of this podcast with their moderator David Kopec. In this show, we learn how a book club turned into a podcast, how books are selected, their favorite episodes, the books they didn't like, and an update on season four.

What is the best book on the story of Apple Computer? This week's guest states that Return to the Little Kingdom is the best of all of the Apple books on the history of this iconic growth story dating back to the pre-startup days thru the most successful sales years of the Apple II computer.Our guest is David Kopec, the moderator of the podcast Business Books & Co. David is a history buff on the early days of Apple and on their journey to becoming a unicorn.  Expect to hear some stories you've never heard before.

Jeff Polovick started Canadian-based Driving Force with just $80,000 and just a few years of experience. That modest investment has been parlayed into $400 million in revenues with 675 employees.Jeff's book is Why Can't We, and like many startup stories, there's drama, adversity, success, more adversity, and even an exit.In this conversation, we talk about continuous and lifelong learning, family, adversity, and Jeff's value system.

He gained the world. He then lost the world and those who were the closest to him. But he never lost his soul while hitting the lowest of lows in a federal penitentiary that once housed John Gotti.Shaun Hayes was once at the top of the banking world in St. Louis until he was in the wrong place at the wrong time during one of the worst recessions ever, which led to approving bank loans that violated state and federal laws. Shaun tells his story in his book, The Gray Choice, where we learn about a young man with entrepreneurial instincts as a teenager. After college, he worked for a larger-than-life legendary banker in Kansas City. That work took him to St. Louis to grow that bank's presence in that region.A few years later, Shaun bought into his first bank, which would become a small $1 billion empire that went public. Shaun points out that his gray choices started well before he was arrested, which is the topic of this conversation.

We recently watched a video by the CEO of the UK-based retail chain, Timpson. We loved the material so much that we found a book by the company's chairman, Sir John Timpson. The title is based on how the business is run, Upside Down Management.According to Business Sale Report, Timpson is now a 2,000-branch-strong business with turnover totaling £300m and profits of up to £20m. In this conversation, we break down John's book into three big ideas, which include the hiring of ex-offenders, putting money in the till and acting the part, and unconventional management tactics in a large organization.

Of the nearly two thousand books that the producer of CFO Bookshelf has read, there is one title he has gifted the most to CEOs than any other title. That book is Executive Toughness by Dr. Jason Selk.In this episode, we learn three of Mark's favorite big ideas in Jason's short and fast-based book: 1) product and process goals, 2) written daily debriefs, and 3) relentless solutions focus.Two other titles are also mentioned that are excellent companions to Jason's book.

Last year, one of our top episodes was our favorite books of 2021. We're at it again this year with our Top 10 books for 2022.We also share our favorites in fiction along with a handful of honorable mentions. Rounding out the lists of favorites include unexpected surprises, books we didn't like, books that were worth rereading in 2022, and our heavy favorite for 2023.