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Abigail Posner, Director of Creative Works at Google, speaks on creativity to organizations including accounting firms and power distribution companies. Her message: All people are inherently creative. It's a quality that's not just the domain of artists, musicians, and designers. Her goal is to decipher the creative process so that engineers at YouTube (owned by Google), for example, can work together to develop and leverage interesting and deep content. I first met Abigail when we attended a panel discussion together in Cannes. And I was immediately impressed by her ability to keep asking questions rather than presenting ideas. She keeps…
Austin, Texas—How can a CFO become a better leader, not just for the finance team but for the entire organization? On Tuesday, decorated U.S. Army officer (pictured above), your leadership legacygave more than 400 attendees at the Fall 2025 CFO Leadership Conference keen insights on how to unlock your leadership potential. We have summarized them into nine main points. Leadership is selfless service.. “If service is below you, then leadership is above you,” McCulloch said. Leaders must lead by example in everything they do every day. Because “team members are always watching.” You are the moral, ethical, and legal compass…
Important takeouts: The cultural alignment of M&AS is often underestimated. It is important to deal with it early and proactively in order to achieve successful integration and unlock the full value of the transaction. Misconceptions such as assuming culture can derail integration efforts without the active involvement of leadership so that they can align naturally. A comprehensive cultural diagnosis reveals deep operational differences and enables leaders to deal with them early. Effective integration requires leaders to define specific behaviors that set the organization's tone, define role models, role models, and commit. Companies that prioritize cultural integrity, utilize simulations and measure…
Bankruptcy is a tough reset, and even more severe if it happens twice in less than a year. In August, Spirit Airlines created the headline by setting the shortest time records between bankruptcy filings. It's a milestone that doesn't want business. What was wrong? The mind focused on treating symptoms of financial distress without addressing the underlying causes behind it. Result: Return to Square One. But bankruptcy doesn't have to be a revolving door. If done correctly, it could be the clean slate that companies need to rewrite their playbooks. The key is to go back to the basics. From…
Bankruptcy is a tough reset, and even more severe if it happens twice in less than a year. In August, Spirit Airlines created the headline by setting the shortest time records between bankruptcy filings. It's a milestone that doesn't want business. What was wrong? The mind focused on treating symptoms of financial distress without addressing the underlying causes behind it. Result: Return to Square One. But bankruptcy doesn't have to be a revolving door. If done correctly, it could be the clean slate that companies need to rewrite their playbooks. The key is to go back to the basics. From…
Konstantin Dzhengozov, CFO of Payhawk, Bulgaria's first unicorn, says that being a co-founder of the company means more responsibility, but he also says about letting go. Dzhengozov, a graduate of Bulgarian KPMG, worked for FP&A at Bulgarian Tech Company Telerik when Progress Software was acquired in 2014. The $264 million merger sparked the development of the entire technological ecosystem in Bulgaria. Dzhengozov, who chose to stay in Bulgaria instead of taking part in progress in the US, worked in the world of VCs and later became Payhawk's third co-founder. With his funding background, he is suitable for running finance. But…
The overwhelming consensus of 192 public companies CBM And what we've recently looked into what is necessary to navigate our modern era of turmoil is the acquisition of strategic risks that don't need to drive innovation and continuous growth, and the capabilities needed to maintain benefits and market share along the way. “We work in a very dynamic market,” says Kathy Hannan, who works on multiple boards, including Otis Worldwide Corporation, Annaly Capital Management and Gingko Bioworks. “However, risk management and innovation are not mutually exclusive.”Intellectual curiosity and “learning to be satisfied with complexity and change” are important in steering…
As Generative AI transforms industry at a fierce pace, organizations face important challenges. How do you build a product that not only insights into today's users, but also drives valuable, reliable, and competitive AI? The answer starts with resilience as a principle of new design.Unlike previous products, systems, and software development cycles, products followed predictable patterns, so AI-powered solutions introduce unique uncertainties. Models can drift in unexpected and unproven ways during development, generate unexpected output, or fail. This introduces new vulnerabilities. SMART organizations are aware of this and are changing the way design sessions are conducted. Product design resilience (and…
AI will not cure GroupThink, or No. 1, Board disease. Many executive search companies define board recruitment missions regarding identifying candidates with the required expertise, but when hired, such expertise is often undermined by board pressure on consensus. Missing Consensus Celebrations of the Bestsellers 2004 Books Crowd Wisdom We encouraged the introduction of steam in dissent from individual experts.The board now hopes that AI tools can make up for the knowledge gap despite struggling with technology monitoring. A recent Deloitte survey of 600 directors on 57 major global corporate committees in 57 countries found that even if investments surge beyond…
Some of the most successful companies didn't get a place where they were by standing still. They pivoted, and they reached new heights. Adjusted when customer needs shifted or when market conditions changed. Netflix is the perfect example. The company went from mailing DVDs to becoming a streaming powerhouse by quickly realizing how people consume content. IBM has evolved from selling hardware to providing IT solutions and consulting, and has done the same. These are not just stories from the past, but lessons to maintain their relevance. But pivots don't always mean changing what you sell. Sometimes it's about changing…