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3rd Quarter 2012
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CAREER
CORNER
Cindy Kraft,
the CFO-Coach
y
ou made it! you’ve landed in the Cfo
role of a plum company. you’ve got the
corner office with a magnificent view.
now, you can finally kick back and rest
on your laurels, right?
not if you want to: a) stay in the position
awhile; or b) keep your career on an upward
progression. matt bud, chairman of the finan-
cial executives networking group (feng),
often quips, “you’re only ever between search-
es.” That is sage advice. The moment you adopt
the mindset that your search is just some future
event, you might find that you are actually only
one short step away from being completely
caught off guard.
take for example the Cfo at the movie
producer/distributor new regency. he was ter-
minated after three months in that role but had
13 years with the company; and he is the fourth
Cfo the company has had in four months. Can
you do anything to ensure that you don’t meet
the same fate as the new regency Cfo? not
really. but there are certainly things you can do to
be effective in your new role and still be prepared
for a shorter-than-expected stint.
let’s look at five proactive steps you can take
to enhance your career after landing:
Build trust with ALL the
players.
trust is established over time,
by saying what you’ll do and then actually doing
it, constantly acting in a manner that is consistent
with your spoken words.
so build trust with all the players, from your
team, to the board, to the shareholders and/or
investors, to the third parties with whom you
interact, and with your customers or clients.
every person within each of those groups
might
hold that next great opportunity in the palm of
his or her hand, so being authentically branded
as a trustworthy Cfo will only solidify, and
add credibility to, your reputation. you are who
you say you are.
Make a difference.
it isn’t
what
you do in this new role that will matter. it
is
how
you impact and how that impact leaves
the company better than when you stepped
into the role.
a new credential, greater responsibility, and a
bigger team are all the “what,” things you do or
you have. identifying problems and eradicating
them; eliminating or mitigating risk; fixing
broken processes; and slashing costs set up the
“how.” Those are the tangible impacts. value!
being a difference-maker, a problem-solver,
is key to your salary and bonus conversations
in your current position, but it is often also key
to your being hunted for that next — dream—
opportunity.
Be known.
an old cliche reminds
us that if you don’t stand for something
you’ll fall for anything. There is a lot of truth in
that statement, particularly when it comes to
your positioning as a Cfo who is “different and
unique” from his or her peers.
a Cfo recently asked the question: “how do
i move forward now that i’ve been fired for being
ethical?” Well, his first step might be to turn his
strong stand for something—his high value
around ethical behavior — into the foundation
of his personal brand. There might be other
Ceos and companies out there that don’t want
his strong stand on ethics, but i would venture a
guess there are also many that do.
since strong brand positioning precedes
you, whether you are walking into the office
of the Ceo, the boardroom, or the office of a
potential new client, your visible reputation
matters. so ...
Stay visible.
The new definition of
networking is: Who knows about you? it
really doesn’t matter in today’s economy who
you know or if you have 500+ connections on
linkedin, unless they know about you.
spend a few minutes deciding, in light of
your three- to five-year goals, who you need
to know and who needs to know about you in
order to make those goals a reality. and then,
work toward raising your visibility among those
internal and external prospects on a regular and
consistent basis.
Don’t burn bridges, no
matter how much you
might want to.
The Cfo who was
fired for being ethical probably can’t do much
to prevent the burning of bridges. others
took care of that for him. however, when you
choose to sit in the driver’s seat of your career,
you have a much better opportunity to choose
how best to structure your exit strategies so
that you aren’t leaving burned-out bridges
everywhere you’ve been.
swallowing pride, anger, hurt, and injustice
doesn’t come easily to any of us. Carrying it
around is dangerous to our careers and our
health. at a recent networking event, a gentle-
man approached me and immediately launched
into his sob story about how he was a victim at
his last company. not only did he point fingers
at everyone else, but his diatribe went on for 20
minutes before i tried to escape — only to be
followed and subjected to another 10 minutes
of his story.
Whether his feelings are justified or not, he
not only burned bridges, he continues to set fire
to himself and his career every single day. do the
opposite of human nature: Work through the
anger, forgive, forget, and move on—because
that befuddles and intrigues other people.
Congratulations on landing! now, get busy
doing the things you need to do to position
yourself for that next great opportunity!
I’ve Landed,
Now What?
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Cindy Kraft
is the CFO-Coach and America’s
leading career and personal brand strategist for corporate
finance executives, helping clients understand their market-
ability, articulate their value, and position themselves as the
clear and compelling choice. She is a Certified Reach Per-
sonal Brand Strategist, Certified Reach Online Identity Strat-
egist, Certified Career Management Coach, Credentialed
Career Master, Certified Professional Resume Writer, and
Job & Career Transition Coach. Cindy can be reached via
email, Cindy@CFO-Coach.com, by phone, 813-655-0658,
or through her website at www.CFO-Coach.com.
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