🌟 Follow-Up: Key Takeaways from the Washington DC CFO Roundtable 🌟 This week, 25 CFOs gathered in the great Washington DC area to discuss critical insights on implementing technology in our organizations. This discussion was facilitated by Nick Araco JR with help from Charles Fleet. Here are the key takeaways captured: Implementation and Misunderstanding: The implementation process often involves separate buyers and implementers, leading to misunderstandings. Key to Success: Involve more stakeholders in the buying process and break down implementation into shorter cycles with regular updates to ensure alignment. Aligning with Strategy: Psychological safety is crucial. Allow employees to ask questions and reprioritize workloads to accommodate new initiatives. Balance power dynamics and ensure equitable participation across teams and functions. Embrace pivot potential when "what if" scenarios arise. Project Management: Think of project management as coaching with a focus on long-term goals while remaining an active team member. Develop individual contributors to work as a cohesive team. Foster a 2-way dialogue using the Ask-Ask-Tell tool. CFOs as Relational Leaders: Mohammad Sediqi said that CFOs need to become "people persons," focusing on relational aspects of leadership. Ashley Bovino added: "Navigating technology can be challenging and may feel overwhelming, especially with varied experiences and "battle scars." Managing System Fatigue: To gain buy-in, address system fatigue by identifying and replacing the most disliked processes with technology. Balance the need for new systems with the concerns of those experiencing fatigue. The CFO as Campaigner: Always be campaigning for new initiatives, improvements, and buy-in from your team. Continuous Learning: Technology and automation are essential. As CFOs, we must continuously learn and adapt to these tools to drive our organizations forward. Here are some of our members who embrace this concept of continuous learning: Gale Sommers, CPA, Barry Hartzberg, Ilana Esterrich, Bryan Lapidus, FPAC, Simiso Kabo, Truong Nguyen, MBA, Linda Montgomery, Analia Castelo, Jeffrey Dufresne, CPA, Larry Smith, C-Level Executive, Rebecca V., Raj Kapur and Gresford Barrington Gray Let's embrace these insights and continue to lead with strategy, empathy, and innovation! If this describes you, then join the CFO Alliance Community @https://lnkd.in/gN8NyXUU Thank you to our partners: Adam Zorin of Oracle NetSuite, Robb Nesmith, CPA of Planful, Robert Driscoll of Homestead Smart Health Plans, Withum, and Benjamin Lehrer of First Water Finance, for your support and contributions. #CFOAlliance #TechnologyReadiness #FinanceLeadership #ProjectManagement #TeamEngagement #ContinuousLearning #CFOasCampaigner #WashingtonDC
Great session this quarter. I always learn something new to take away, and of course, the opportunity to really dig in with local peers is invaluable.
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Director, FP&A Practice at the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP)
4moRegarding the discussion around technology, I loved theses quotes from the peers at the table: ▪ "We have implemented it, but not adopted it." ▪ "My job is campaigning for the change. People are both the challenge and the solution." ▪ "Minimize customizations. If you get 85% of what you want out of the box, stop."