CFO Bookshelf
Episodes
NetSuite Interviews CFO Bookshelf
14 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Are you curious about the origin story of the CFO Bookshelf podcast? The great people at Oracle NetSuite wanted to know that about a year earlier when...
The Building of a $100 Million Brand
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I enjoy reading books by transparent business founders who are not afraid to let their guard down in the stories they share.Titles quickly coming to m...
What Are Donor-Advised Funds?
01 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Do you know what a donor-advised fund (DAF) is?Until this conversation, I knew very little about DAFs. Jake Wood founded Groundswell, whose mission is...
Are You Unfairly Paid?
25 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mad Men's Harry Crane has found that his colleague makes $100 a week more than he does. He believes he deserves a raise, and through some fear an...
Four Banking Frameworks for Any Industry
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
CFO Bookshelf does not sit in the seat of judgment, nor does it play the role of pundit in the midst of the 2023 banking crisis we are witnessing. We&...
The Business Every Manager Should Run for a Year
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I've heard some startup founders say that every graduate should spend a year or two working in government before embarking on their chosen career...
Accounting's Impact on HR
11 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Author and HBR contributor Peter Cappelli asserts that accounting and financial reporting are wreaking havoc on damaging HR decisions by corporate lea...
An Interview With Business Books & Co.
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I'm periodically scouring the podcast universe for other shows focusing on business books. I recently found Business Books & Co. founded by t...
Unknown Stories of the Apple Founders
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What is the best book on the story of Apple Computer? This week's guest states that Return to the Little Kingdom is the best of all of the Apple ...
From $80k to $400 Million
25 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff Polovick started Canadian-based Driving Force with just $80,000 and just a few years of experience. That modest investment has been parlayed into...
The Banker Who Landed in Prison
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
He gained the world. He then lost the world and those who were the closest to him. But he never lost his soul while hitting the lowest of lows in a fe...
Upside Down Management at Timpson
11 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We recently watched a video by the CEO of the UK-based retail chain, Timpson. We loved the material so much that we found a book by the company's...
Executive Toughness
04 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Of the nearly two thousand books that the producer of CFO Bookshelf has read, there is one title he has gifted the most to CEOs than any other title. ...
Our Favorite Books in 2022
28 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, one of our top episodes was our favorite books of 2021. We're at it again this year with our Top 10 books for 2022.We also share our f...
The Subscription Economy for Professional Firms
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The subscription economy is alive and well for products-based businesses and the software industry. But how about professional services firms? Does th...
Leadership Refined by Fire
21 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What can any business or financial leader learn from a twenty-year vet in the fire service?I'm now calling John Cuomo the John Maxwell for firefi...
The History of Daylight Savings Time
14 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As a financial expert, could you estimate the cost savings in the U.S. alone through the country's use of daylight savings time?Benjamin Franklin...
The Best Investment Books Ever Written
07 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I love investment books. It's a topic I could talk about for hours if allowed.I also started listening to the podcast Investing by the Books prod...
Forced Out But Vindicated
30 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gordon was an IT professional who took lifelong learning seriously. He joined a public utility district (PUD) because it stood for collaboration, comm...
Beyond Command and Control
17 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
John Seddon is the founder of The Vanguard Method and is the author of Beyond Command and Control.In this conversation we find out which action is wor...
A Former NBA Player Talks Personal Core Values
10 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Devin Durrant is the author of The Values Delta - A Small and Simple Way to Make a Positive Difference in Your Personal and Professional Life.Durrant&...
A Former Emmy Winner Reveals the Power of PR
03 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gaining media attention may not be an ongoing goal for many growing businesses. However, a former TV host and Emmy-award winner in consumer reporting ...
Play Bigger By Becoming a Category Champion
25 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When we do our weekly shopping at the grocery store, finding products is relatively easy because of the way food items are grouped throughout the aisl...
Outcomes Over Output
19 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Output, Outcomes, Impact. Those are three strong words that seemingly go well together in any context. But is there a clear difference in each term?Jo...
A Financial Modeler Turns to PreSales
12 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I've always assumed that great financial modelers have deep backgrounds in either corporate finance or accounting. That's not the case for L...
Is Accounting Boring?
06 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Several years ago, I'll never forget when a tax partner with a Top 10 accounting firm started talking about one of his favorite books. He describ...
Hospitality is Color, Service is Black and White
29 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On Will Guidara's 12th birthday, he had the experience of a lifetime while dining with his family at Four Seasons. Less than thirty years later, ...
What is Financial Transparency?
22 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You probably know a little or a lot about a business practice called open book management. This podcast prefers the term, financial transparency.Durin...
Crazy Eddie, The Rise and Fall of a Retail Fraudster
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Crazy Eddie stores of the 1980s are probably most remembered by the Jerry Carrell commercials that have been parodied in the movies, TV shows, and...
Interest and the Price of Time
08 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As of the release date of this episode, the prime interest rate in the U.S. had surpassed six percent, nearly double the rate a few months earlier.Are...
The Soul of Startups
01 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sophie Theen is the author of The Soul of Startups. Sophie states that there is a misconception that a company's people make its culture. Instead...
The Flaw of Averages
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Sam Savage is the gifted teacher all of us would have loved having as our professor in stats classes.Sam is the author of The Flaw of Averages and...
Surrounded by Idiots
17 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Erikson is the author of Surrounded by Idiots, a book that simplifies four basic personality types using a coloring system and a two-by-two mat...
The Best Book for Professional Services Firms
10 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can you think of a top business book exclusively for professional services firms? If so, your list is probably short and presumably headed by any titl...
The Rise and Fall of BlackBerry
03 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If we think the reasons for the fall of BlackBerry are an open and shut case, we need to think again. Sean Silcoff is the co-author of Losing the Sign...
Origins of the Airline Industry
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When I read a biography, I want the words to jump out by telling me something I never knew about the person that's both memorable and interesting...
The Case for Reading More Fiction
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Should professionals like you and I be reading fiction and if so, why?Dr. Christine Seifert is the author of a 2020 HBR article, The Case for Reading ...
Is Bill Gross The Bond King?
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who is Bill Gross?Who is the guy who learned to take risks in college while scalping basketball tickets at Duke? Or who was the risk-taker who counted...
Should Your Business Have a Hall of Fame?
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of my favorite CFOs is Bob Lung. For the past 33 years, he's been chauffeuring players and dignitaries at the NFL's annual Hall of Fame ...
WorldCom's Financial Statement Fraud
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With the passing of the 20th anniversary of WorldCom filing bankruptcy in the aftermath of the whistle being blown on its reporting of fraudulent fina...
Negotiation Simplified with Jim Reiman
05 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is the best book on negotiation you've ever read?Many business readers who have read Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss would probably...
More Than a Trillion Dollar Coach
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The legendary Bill Campbell is called the trillion dollar coach by his biographers. Campbell coached and mentored larger-than-life business leaders La...
What Happened to the Vanderbilt Dynasty?
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can you name any recent descendants of Cornelius Vanderbilt who didn't build one but two massive fortunes during the Gilded Age? After the third ...
Would You Work at This Warehouse?
16 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rob Hart's book, The Warehouse, is a speculative dystopian thriller.The central character is an online retailer called Cloud - think Amazon in th...
Is Customer Empathy a Difference Maker?
09 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We learn from Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view … unti...
Fixing a Broken Business
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff Sands is the author of Corporate Turnaround Artistry. Before fixing and mending other companies' broken income statements and balance sheets...
A Blockbuster Failure
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you think Netflix was the cause of Blockbuster's failure, you'll change your mind after you hear Alan Payne explain the reasons for this ...
A Financially Powerful Culture
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If I could only pick one book for any financial leader to read about company culture, it would be Patty McCord's book, Powerful.In this episode, ...
Are Your Big Projects Profitable?
11 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever worked with a software vendor who said their solution would save you as much as $1 million annually?Or how about the big data warehousin...
Finance Essentials in AI, Data Science and ERP
04 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Glenn Hopper is the author of Deep Finance: Corporate Finance for the Information Age. Glenn is a likable expert who helps the rest of us better unde...
How to Become CEO or Even an Army Officer
28 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For too many years than I can count, I've been listening to the audio version of How to Become a CEO by Jeffrey Fox annually. The book is a simpl...
Reversing the Slide in Corporate Turnarounds
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Jim Shein of the Kellogg School of Management is one of my favorite turnaround experts, and he's the author of my favorite book in this...
The Power of Analogy
14 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Financial writers have been telling CFOs that they need to become storytellers in their businesses. How?John Pollack is a former presidential speechwr...
A New Way To Think With Roger Martin
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I'm going to make the bold statement that Roger Martin is this era's Peter Drucker as a prolific business writer.Roger has co-authored my fa...
Ram Charan on Finding, Getting, and Developing Talent
30 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Finding, obtaining, and developing leadership talent is not easy, and there is plenty of data to support making decisions too fast or waiting too long...
OKRs With Outcomes
22 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Lamorte is making his third appearance on CFO Bookshelf. He certifies OKRs coaches on his platform, OKRs.com. His newest book is The OKRs Field Bo...
Six Pillars of CEO Excellence
16 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you ask ten successful CEOs what they do, you'll probably hear many answers--all good, but vastly different from executive to executive.A drea...
Don't Call Us the PayPal Mafia
08 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you've been searching for the PayPal version of Brad Stone's, The Everything Store, then you can start with Jimmy Soni's new book, T...
The DNA Behind the FABS Leadership Styles
01 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As we observe the DNA behind some of our favorite CEOs, patterns will start to surface. Some are natural at scaling companies to new levels. And then ...
Entrepreneurial Magic at Trader Joe's
26 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Coulombe is one of the most intelligent, creative, and thoughtful CEOs I've read about in the past ten to twenty years. He grew Trader Joe&ap...
What is Agile Strategy?
19 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Montgomery is the founder of Agile Strategies, a boutique OKRs firm, and the author of Start Less Finish More.Dan states the old strategic plannin...
What's the Book on Phantom Stock?
12 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Good luck on finding a book about phantom stock plans that's simple to understand with practical examples. It does not exist.However, Paolo Pasic...
What is a Business Psychologist?
05 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I've always been intrigued about the roles of business psychologists and certified business coaches and their ability to elevate the performances...
Captain Charlie Plumb on Grit, Honor, and Gratitude
26 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I first heard Captain Charlie Plumb's POW story some twenty years ago, and I'm thrilled to share this conversation where we talk about Louis...
Let's Talk KPIs
19 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you do an Amazon search on KPIs, the top result will be KPI Checklists by Bernie Smith. Bernie's newest book is entitled Gamed, our topic for ...
Financial Modeling Fundamentals
12 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the rock stars of financial modeling is one of the founders and the Executive Director of the Financial Modeling Institute, Ian Schnoor.In this...
Measures of Success With Mark Graban
06 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My four favorite authors on performance measure with improvement as the primary aim is Don Wheeler, Stacey Barr, Dean Spitzer, and Mark Graban.In this...
The Psychopathic CEO
29 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever worked for a psychopathic CEO? If not, odds are that you will at least once in your career. That's according to the founder and pre...
What Is The Amazon Way?
22 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Every current and past senior executive at Amazon will say their leadership principles are behind every groundbreaking innovation. Every student of bu...
The Top Shows of 2021
22 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2021, CFO Bookshelf published 51 episodes. In this show, we reveal the top ten that were the most downloaded across various podcast channels. We&ap...
Behind the Scenes of a Great Business Podcast
15 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
CFO Bookshelf loves The Soul of Enterprise weekly podcast hosted by Ed Kless and Ron Baker.In this conversation, we go behind the scenes with Ed Kless...
Is There a Thief in Your Company?
08 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Oscar Wallace is my second-favorite accountant in the movies, and you may remember him from The Untouchables.Tiffany Couch and Oscar share one thing i...
The Best Business Books of 2021
31 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We read 109 books in 2021, and in this episode, we'll share our Top 10 along with some bonus selections.Find out three of the top CEOs ever in Am...
From Cop to Calculator to Expert Financial Modeler
18 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While you may not recognize the name, Steve Bailey is one of three people I would enshrine immediately into a financial modeling hall of fame if one e...
Agile Mergers and Acquisitions
11 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When you think of agile you probably think of software development. How about for M&A activities?Kison Patel is the author of Agile M&A and M&...
The Beatles and Entrepreneurship
04 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you love the Beatles, are a casual fan, or don't care for them, the first thought that probably pops from your mind when you hear this gr...
Bolanle Williams-Olley is Far More Than a Superstar CFO
27 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Bolanle (Bola) Williams-Olley took a circuitous route to her CFO position and also received much help along the way. Now she's doing what she can...
The Secret Lives Behind the Business of Groceries
20 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are millions of obscure names of the men and women behind every label of the food we buy at our local grocery stores. While some of these storie...
The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told
12 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My favorite books are narrative non-fiction which can inform, inspire, and entertain. When the book possesses all of these traits, we have a special b...
Is The Motive Lencioni's Best Book?
05 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I've been a Patrick Lencioni fan for years. His last book is The Motive and it was released during COVID. Is it his best book? Why did he write i...
Finley Ball vs Moneyball
30 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Before Moneyball, we had Finley Ball. While Finley ball lacked the analytics brought to us by Moneyball in the same baseball city of Oakland, Californ...
The Basics of ESOPs
22 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you are looking for a clear and concise explanation of ESOPs, then you'll enjoy listening to Jess Helvick of First International Bank and Trus...
Is Atomic Habits Overrated?
16 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is Atomic Habits by James Clear overrated? And, is Atomic Habits worth reading?I’ve asked my friend and fellow CFO, Bruce Reed of PracticeLink to go...
Beyond the Wall of Resistance with Rick Maurer
09 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dealing or coping with change is one of the most difficult challenges for any financial leader to come to grips with - either for themselves or those ...
Achieving Great Results with the 3HAG Way
02 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Shannon Susko might be the most energetic business consultant I've ever met thanks to her infectious enthusiasm and deep understanding of how to ...
Distressed Debt Investing Gone Wrong
25 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you liked the book, Barbarians at the Gate, then you'll like The Ceasars Palace Coup.Max Frumes is one of the co-authors of the book, and we l...
The Theory of Goal Setting
18 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Probably everything you know about setting goals and how to achieve them rests on the research of Dr. Edwin Locke and Gary Latham in the 1980s.Dr. Edw...
Leveraging Intellectual Capital
11 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While intellectual capital is nearly impossible to value, it clearly counts in the process of building wealth.Ron Baker is the author of Mind Over Mat...
The Intersection of Strategy and Execution
04 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Gary Harpst is one of the co-founders of Solomon Software which was ultimately acquired by Great Plains.After that divestiture, Gary did a deep dive i...
A Journey Through Failure and Renewal
28 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Are we to celebrate startups that fail or fail fast? What if you are the founder of one of those startups? How do you deal with that failure?Mark Jaco...
A Virtual Dinner with Guy Spier
24 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One of my favorite parts of The Education of a Value Investor is when Guy Spier talks about his lunch with Warren Buffett. Similar to the Buffett lu...
The Education of a Value Investor
21 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the world of value investing, Guy Spier never needs an introduction. I believe his book, The Education of a Value Investor is one of the Top 5 inve...
Data Visualization for Financial and Business Leaders
14 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Wexler is one of my favorite teachers in the data visualization space because he's easy to understand and doesn't speak over our heads...
People Skills for Analytical Thinkers
07 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I've met and talked to many CFOs around the country. We're rational, analytical, and can be direct at times.Some of us these CFOs are rare i...
3X Revenue in 2 Years with Felix Velarde
31 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I was captivated by the website 2x3y.com months before the creative genius of that site released his book, Scale at Speed.The author is Felix Velarde,...
The Biggest Financial News Stories During the First Half of 2021
23 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
CFO Bookshelf welcomed back CFO Dive's, Jane Thier to talk about the biggest headlines in 2021.We also talked about the stories we'll be rea...
Our Favorite Books in the First Half of 2021
17 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Guest host Shaefer Schuetz interviews Mark Gandy about the 60 books he's read or listened to during the first half of 2021.Mark shares his favori...
Prison vs. Harvard MBA
10 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From serving a term as a Missouri Senator to serving a year in prison, Mr. Smith Goes to Prison was one of my favorite books in 2015.After watching Co...
The IRS Learns to Think Like a Business
02 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Before taking the position as the IRS Commissioner, a reporter asked Charles Rossotti, "Were you ever in the military, and if you were, did you v...
The Grandfather of Gamification Talks The Game of Work
26 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
He's been called the grandfather of gamification. He's also the best-selling author of The Game of Work and Scorekeeping for Success.Behind ...