Basic HTML Version
offered him the opportunity to be CFO at a community bank.
“I wanted to try being a big fish in a small pond,” he recalls.
Three years later, in 2003, Unity’s existing CEO/president
retired, and Hughes advanced to the top spot. “It’s an old
adage, but your social IQ is more valuable than anything else,”
he explains. “I’ve worked very hard to make my management
style really count. I sit down with my direct reports every week.
We discuss strategy about what we need to get done. I foster
an environment where everyone is working toward the good
of the organization. I’m looking for overachievers, morale
builders and people with great attitude. And I’m always aware
of where I’ve been and how I got here.”
Conclusion
Some financial executives, in love with numbers and forecast-
ing, are happy to keep their eyes on the prize – annual reports
and the like. Others have their sites set on the corner office.
Experts who have been there, done that and succeeded on
moving from CFO to the top spot in their organization say the
key to success is to get out of your office and talk to others in
the organization. Find out how you can help them be more
successful – and the answer may very well stop at your
very desk.
It may feel like the only way to get ahead is to interact with
the higher-ups, but the truth is that it is critically important to
manage relationships at all levels of the organization.
Bottom line: For a CFO to stay relevant and grow profitably –
both personally and professionally — he or she needs to be a
part of reinventing the company at all times. Stay on top of the
market. Watch the competition. Follow the economy. And, never
take your eye off your crystal ball.
v
WWW
.CFO
STUDIO
.
COM
/ 1
ST
Q
UARTER
2012
13
Would you like to appear in a CFO Studio Video Interview?
Visit www.CFOstudio.com