Quick post, but wanted to share what we are talking at the Stanton Chase Global Partner’s meeting today, in Baltimore.
Thank you Doug Baker, COO & CFO of Discovery Networks for your great answer.
Q: How does a CFO move to add the COO duties and title, like you did at this $3B enterprise?
A: First, master the three pillars of CFO role: 1) Accounting, 2) Finance, and 3) Strategic Debt and Equity management.
Then, rise above your CFO mind-set of providing order to become comfortable with managing uncertainty and ambiguity.
Embrace the fact that one must invest to grow…cannot just be a cost-cutter.
Finally, you have to be a good story teller. and make it simple for the listener to comprehend and follow.
We study successful leadership at each of our semi-annual Stanton Chase global partner meetings.
Paul,As someone who made the jump from CFO to COO, I couldn’t agree with you more. I was a CFO for about 9 years and I’ve been a COO for the past 7 years and it is a big transition from leading finance to leading operations. However, I will say the jump from Controller to CFO is probably harder for most Controllers. A CFO is more prospective or forward looking. Reporting the past and projecting the future encompass different skill sets and mind sets skill sets. Bty, Great blog. Sean P. Roddy