CFO Bookshelf
The CFO Bookshelf is a weekly podcast for global financial leaders who are committed to lifelong learning and broad reading. It features conversations with well-known authors who are experts in finance, pricing, marketing, sales, operations, organizational health, and leadership. Episodes are released weekly, and the host responds to every listener message he receives on LinkedIn.
Episodes
What is Stewardship Leadership?
Of the many books that leadership authors have written about how to lead others and one's self, Mark believes Eric Alexander's book may be the first to pair stewardship and leadership together. His new book is entitled Stewardship Leadership for Stinkin' Accountants: Serving as the CFO.Eric was a longtime CFO for Happy State Bank, and after his tenure, he veered into packaging the m
Running Against the Herd
Running Against the Herd is not only a new book title in the investment genre, but its content is also for any leader, CEO, or manager who makes decisions for a living.While much of the literature in behavioral economics and finance is academic in nature, Eddie uses his background as a long-time chief investment officer to offer practical solutions to addressing the biases that thwart our decision
The Gambler's Game
Is it possible to read a fascinating true story about a professional roulette player where gambling is not placed on a pedestal nor glamorized?I believe the answer is yes if you listen to or read The Gambler's Game by James Darnborough, who is the grandson writing about a legendary professional gambler who was known for breaking the bank at Monte Carlo at the turn of the 20th century.This sto
Say It Skillfully
I enjoyed reading Lencioni's The Ideal Team Player even though it was a bit too simplistic with a focus on just three labels to describe a person you want on your team.After reading Molly Tschang's new book, Say It Skillfully, I thought this was the book that Lencioni should have written.Molly states, "Every word out of your mouth, what you say and how you say it, signals more to th
The Crux of Great Strategy
Richard Rumelt is a legendary strategy pioneer and author of The Crux and Good Strategy Bad Strategy. In this episode, Rumelt dismantles traditional "strategic planning," arguing it is often merely a financial budget masquerading as actual business strategy. He emphasizes that true strategy is problem-solving rooted in rigorous diagnosis. Discover how to identify the crux while breaking
The Coffee Can Investor
What happens when a great storyteller learns that one of his closest friends is building an investment portfolio for his three daughters that he hopes will grow to a half billion dollars over the next thirty years?What happens is that we get a book pairing similar to The Education of a Value Investor (Spier) meets a mentor, The Dhandho Investor (Pabrai).In this case, the storyteller is Neeraj Khem
Story Business
In his new book, Story Business, Gavin McMahon argues that the best-packaged ideas—not just the best ones—win in the marketplace. Drawing on his background as an engineer and his work in the defense, automotive, and other industries, Gavin frames storytelling as a fundamental business device baked with emotion. He moves beyond simple marketing, providing a practical framework across six genres—val
Hourly Billing Is Nuts
Jonathan Stark needs no introduction in the value pricing world. Many years ago, Jonathan came to the realization that hourly billing was not a workable solution for him and his software development clients. He eventually ditched the billable hour in favor of value pricing.Flash forward to the present, and he's recorded more than 500 episodes on his podcast, Ditching Hourly, and he's imp
Finding Value in Numbers
The subtitle of Ehsan Ehsani's new book Finding Value in Numbers is The Essential Investing Toolkit to Win on Wall Street.If I may, I'm adding my subtitle too, which is Learn a Handful of Key Financial Concepts for Your Small and Growing Enterprise. Accordingly, this book is not just for Buffett-like value investors but for CEOs, finance directors, operating managers, and board members.I
Would You Work for Chainsaw Al Dunlap?
They called him 'Chainsaw Al.' In 1996, Al Dunlap took over a struggling Sunbeam and did what he did best: he cut. He let go 6,000 employees and closed 18 factories. The stock price? It nearly quadrupled in less than two years. To Wall Street, he was a superstar. But the 'turnaround' was a house of cards. To meet impossible targets, Dunlap used 'cookie-jar' accounting
Sales Punks With Kyle Hegarty
Kyle Hegarty is a gifted, story-centric writer, as evidenced by his first book, The Accidental Business Nomad. Kyle's newest book describes the sales recession B2B sales teams are facing and offers remedies to overcome sales ineffectiveness rooted in an outdated playbook.The book is Sales Punks, and in this easy-to-follow narrative, Kyle explains the difference between the seller's journ
Gimme a Crisis With Howard Green
He helped to navigate a violent and catastrophic economic crisis in Argentina. He helped shape the playbook for a Dominican Republic bank bailout, which nearly brought the country to its knees, and he was at the helm of this international bank during the financial crisis, which made money during that time period.Howard Green's book, Gimme A Crisis, is a roadmap for becoming a CEO, understandi
The Bottomless Cup With Kevin Boehm
Over the past thirty years, Kevin Boehm has opened forty restaurants, been awarded the highest honor in his profession, and served everyone from Mick Jagger to President Obama. Kevin's new book is a memoir entitled The Bottomless Cup. During this conversation, we hear how Kevin endured a chaotic relationship with his surrogate father and what it was like to learn of his biological father when
Superperformance with George Pesansky
If you like the topics of organizational performance, personal and professional excellence, and thought-provoking mental models, then Superperformance by George Pesanky is worth reading.In this conversation, we'll learn about The Golden Hour, Root Cause Success, the Thomas-Kilman Conflict Model, the Prison of Expectations, and the Kano Model.
The Business of Stock Exchange Memorabilia
I am a customer of Bull Market Gifts, and when I spend time on their website, I'm hooked and have a difficult time leaving.Last year, I purchased some vintage annual reports, and I bought another before I interviewed the co-founder and owner of this niche retailer.Their product offering also includes old stock certificates and a deep assortment of New York Stock Exchange memorabilia. During t
A Case Study in Corporate Fear with Taras Wayner
When I began studying the root causes of business failure early in my career, I believed that faulty cognitive limitations and weaknesses were the primary drivers of poor decisions, ultimately leading to business failure. Taras Wayner is the producer and host of a new podcast called A Case Study in Corporate Fear, where he addresses one of the central emotions in the affective mindset: fear.During
Revisiting a Good to Great CEO: Nucor's Ken Iverson
I'm calling Ken Iverson the Alan Mulally of CEOs in the 1980s and 1990s. "Plain Talk" by Ken Iverson is one of my favorite business books, despite its lack of self-congratulation and the absence of so-called transformational management concepts.Instead, this is a book about how people were treated, the concept of decentralization, bonus structures, and using instincts to make busine
A Short Booklist of Personal Finance Fiction
Can you name a work of fiction that centered around a stock picker? Alternatively, can you provide three fictional titles related to personal finance?If both answers are no, this episode provides a brief synopsis of four works of fiction revolving around personal finance and investing.One of the titles is new. Three have been written in the past twenty years, and one is a classic you might want on
The Art of Creating Glossy Annual Reports
Many in the magazine industry will tell you on the mountaintops that print is not dead. Try telling that to the writers who used to produce those beautiful glossy annual reports that are now published in the form of PDF documents.Robert Roth is making his first-ever appearance on a podcast to discuss how an annual report writer secures gigs, the time commitment required, and other fascinating insi
Valuation 8.0
Every financial executive should either have the book Valuation or have it on their physical or digital copy in their antilibrary.CFO Bookshelf is thrilled and honored to have the lead author of all eight editions of this foundational book on valuation, which is used in many financial curricula around the nation on college campuses.In this conversation, we hit on ROIC, growth, economic profit, lon
Lead by Greatness
In CFO Bookshelf's 250th episode, we feature a book that embodies the heart and soul of what this show stands for. The book is Lead by Greatness by our guest, David Lapin.During this conversation, David addresses eight vital leadership traits, defining a spiritual fingerprint and why it matters, the reason the Siberian prisoner perished and what it means for both leaders and staff, and the re
You Are an IP Company
Why has Taylor Swift trademarked her and her cats' names? And how does she protect the approximately three hundred trademarks she owns?As Kary Oberbrunner tells us, we're just like Taylor in that we're all IP companies. In this engaging conversation about IP, we learn about Instant IPᴵᴾ, the role blockchain plays in IP, the reason good fences make good neighbors, and why you should
It's Not About the Coffee
We have read many stories about the magical growth of Starbucks. However, did you know that one of its first presidents had a background in furniture sales and did not hold a college degree?Our guest is the author of It's Not About the Coffee, and Howard Behar saw store units grow from a small handful to more than 15,000 during his two stints as one of its presidents.In this conversation, we&
What Are Visual Thinking Tools?
As my consulting practice started taking off about twenty years ago, I started reading everything I could by Fred Nickols, who blogged regularly for the software vendor, SmartDraw.Fred's articles were short, to the point, and always included a simple visual framework that was easy to comprehend. I ultimately read every post on that blog.Fred is a long-time consultant who calls himself a solut
Beyond the Boxes and Lines with a Chief People Officer
We live in a small business world where the Chief Fractional Officer is becoming indispensable.Before even considering hiring the Fractional Sales Manager, the Fractional Marketing Officer, or even the Fractional CFO, I'd start one hundred percent of the time with the Fractional Chief People Officer.Susannah Robinson has worked in big-company HR for more than twenty years. Now, as the head of
My Favorite John Wooden Coaching Basketball Story
I'm betting that over half the CFO Bookshelf listenership participate in an NCAA tournament basketball pool at the office. Accordingly, I thought I'd share a story from a basketball legend I don't think I've ever heard retold from a leadership expert during a speaking event.I end this special episode on my three favorite basketball movies. What are yours?
Warren Buffett's Early Investments
Before I start reading a book on Warren Buffett, and there are many, I want to know if this book has been written before—the ones where the narratives essentially state the same thing about Buffett's investing style.In the case of Brett Gardner's new book on Buffett, he checks all the boxes of a fascinating investment book. It's informative, inspiring, and even entertaining. More im
A Pragmatic Approach to Sensemaking
When I first experienced the Cynefin Framework in an HBR article many years ago, I never tried to adapt it to my work until I interviewed Bryce Hoffman, author of American Icon and Red Teaming, a few years ago. While Bryce made the Cynefin Framework seem more understandable and accessible, Kevin Eikenberry has gone further to show leaders how to act when surrounded by varying problems they are try
The Rise and Fall of the Match King
CFO Bookshelf had never heard of Ivar Kreuger until the former Managing Director of CFO.com suggested we discuss the book, The Match King.Andy Burt joins Mark Gandy to explain why Ivar Kreuger is a financial mastermind worthy of studying and what led to his downfall.At one time, Kreuger was worth billions in today's dollars, but his empire, built on a house of debt, could not withstand the Gr
The World's First Stock Exchange
I recently came across a book that's been out for over 10 years by an exceptional and tenacious researcher and an engaging writer, Lodewijk Petram. His book, The World's First Stock Exchange, might be the first to explore how early investors first bought and traded shares of the VOC of this next stock exchange.The founding of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1602 marked the beginnin
The Making of Modern Corporate Finance
When I think of the CFO's role, a few questions emerge: What will we invest in and reinvest in? How will we finance those investments? What about risk management? And what is the role of corporate governance in these activities?Not only does Don Chew answer those questions in his new book, but he also gives a name to all of his answers - corporate finance.In this conversation, Don Chew explai
It's Time to Start Loving Mondays Again
A financial executive no longer loved Mondays until a health scare changed his mindset a few years ago.Ron Monteiro is a financial expert who coaches other leaders. His book is Love Mondays: A Proven Process to Bring Joy Back into Your Work Week and Life.Ron teaches us four simple steps to becoming Monday Mavericks. He then outlines seven clever tactical steps for leaders in developing Monday Mave
The Pig, The Lipstick & the Playbook of Champions
When John Rossman is not busy delivering keynote addresses to large audiences or consulting with brands we recognize, he still finds time to write.John is making his third appearance on the show after our conversations about two of his other books: The Amazon Way and Big Bet Leadership.John's newest project is a 54-page manifesto entitled The Pig, The Lipstick, and The Playbook of Champions.
More Than a SoftBank Money Trap
One book critic has asked readers of The Money Trap to imagine Michael Lewis as the President of a multinational investment holding company. Instead, Alok Sama is that person after working for Morgan Stanley for sixteen years.In this sometimes lighthearted but philosophical tome, occasionally sprinkled with dark humor and cleverness, Alok shares his most interesting stories while working next to o
Practice Makes Profit
David is a dermatologist whose practice can't seemingly make the money it should be.David meets a great accountant named Graham. Graham is a TOC bottleneck specialist for all types of businesses, not just manufacturing. He speaks and teaches his clients in a way that is easy to understand and can quickly implement the ideas.That's the storyline of Practice Makes Profit by Graham Scott. T
Mythbusting Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman and Other Financial Gurus with David McKnight
When I think of Dave Ramsey, the elimination of debt and whole life insurance policies quickly spring to mind. In addition to his demonization of universal policies, were you aware of his 8-12 rule for retirement?David McKnight joins the show to discuss the 4 percent rule for retirement, annuities, and cash-basis insurance plans based on math, pragmatism, and wisdom.These topics are key themes in
The Bottleneck Detective
What would happen if a business-minded Encylopedia Brown entered the busy line of movie patrons waiting impatiently for soda and popcorn?This perspective guided Clarke Ching in writing his latest book, The Bottleneck Detective. It offers a straightforward and enjoyable reading experience, focusing on identifying bottlenecks and understanding their subsequent effects on bottleneck detection.Mark ex
Pause to Think
Are you fan of Daniel Kahneman, Dan Ariely, or Richard Thaler? Have you enjoyed books like Fooled by Randomness, Factfulness, or Thinking in Bets? If so, you may want to read Jaime Lester's new book, Pause to Think, about cognitive biases.Jaime's concise book is engaging, memorable, and accessible. It features over thirty mental and conceptual models. This discussion explores some of the
AI Mastery Simplified for Finance Professionals
Glenn Hopper's newest book is AI Mastery for Finance Professionals, but the content is also for CEOs, board members, and all other organizational leaders. We keep the topics pragmatic, applicable, and example-centric in this conversation. We'll also discover what Glenn means by saying, "AI will not replace people. People who use AI will replace those who don't use AI."
The Three Domains of Leadership with Willie Pietersen
One of the best books I've read on leadership in several years is by a former big-company CEO who is now a professor. Willie Pietersen's third book is Leadership - The Inside Story.In this fast-moving conversation, we hear about how Nelson Mandela learned, unlearned, and relearned the central tenets of philosophy and leadership well before his vision of a unified country could become a r
The HP Way
When I think of HP, three things quickly emerge in my mind: Deskjet and laser printers, the 12C calculator, and David Packard's The HP Way.The HP Way is one of my top 25 books written by CEOs. In this conversation, we're rolling with a book club format with a special guest who writes book summaries on his blog. Dan Lebrero is a software engineer based in Spain, and he'll help us unp
Better Tech and Communication Strategies for Zoom Calls with Cat Mulvihill
Cat Mulvihill is becoming a rising YouTube star with her video content focused on communication and presentation skills, including technology, Zoom, and personal knowledge management systems.This conversation teaches us what sets the best professionals apart from the rest on their Zoom calls. We gain insights on the best mics, videocams, and other technologies to use. We also wrap up the visit wit
One Day I'll Work for Myself
If you work for yourself or would like to, have you ever thought about whose shoulders you are standing on, especially if you decide to have no employees?Ben Waterhouse is a professor and faculty director at the University of North Carolina. His research interests include deciphering how self-employment became a key to personal fulfillment, a central topic in his newest book, One Day I'll Wor
Competing on Customer Personalization
Have you ever wondered how Amazon, Netflix, and Starbucks started their customer personalization programs? What was the starting point? What were the costs? Who was involved?The co-authors answer these questions in the very readable Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI.Mark Abraham and David Edelman explain that personalization is not email or glorified loyalty rewards programs. Instea
The Private Equity Playbook Keeps Getting Better
If you were to ask me about my favorite book on private equity, I would say The Private Equity Playbook by Adam Coffey. The book is easy to read, the math is simple and impactful, and the stories are based on a former CEO who understands the intricacies behind private equity.Adam has released the second edition of this book, which is about 20 percent longer with new material. This conversation add
Project Management Offices
As a financial leader, I want to know every aspect of business. While quarterbacking my share of ERP implementations, I had only once heard the term PMO (short for Project Management Office). Accordingly, I wanted to learn more.After reading Laura Barnard's new book on PMOs, I quickly realized she is probably the global thought leader on this subject.Laura's new book is The IMPACT Engine
A Deep Dive on Portfolio CFOs
Numerous financial blog articles and LinkedIn posts highlight the benefits of a small business owner hiring a portfolio CFO. However, I do not recall these writers commenting on why financial professionals step away from the W-2 world to serve multiple owners as clients instead of sticking to a steady paycheck.Sara Daw may be the first author to articulate why CFOs jump into the gig economy throug
A Wonderful Career in Crime
How did Charles Cowlam resort to a lifelong career in crime during the Gilded Age?During this fascinating interview, the author of A Wonderful Career Crime accidentally uncovers several fascinating nuggets of U.S. history that would otherwise remain undetected by well-known historians.Frank Garmon shares his favorite stories of Cowlam's life as a fraudster, bigamist, and swindler. He takes us
Strategy for Real Estate Companies
Strategic planning and real estate companies are not word pairings we are used to hearing. However, Charlie Hewlett is changing that mindset.Charlie is the managing director at RCLCO, a company based in the Washington, D.C., metro area. He co-authored Strategy for Real Estate Companies.Our topics include the definition of a real estate company, a short definition of strategic planning, what strate
Who Was Jay Gould?
What do you know about Jay Gould's life, and how does he compare to the other robber barons of his day? More importantly, is his life worth examining?Mark discusses Gould's upbringing in this book review, which influenced his desire to be rich. Learn about one of the most significant market corners on Wall Street and the man who helped to create America's economic expansion during t
5 Inspiring Books for Financial Leaders
Mark provides five titles in this special CFO Bookshelf episode that inspire and educate. Mark wraps up the show with some financial food for thought - what statement do you present first in a reporting package and why?
What is a Fractional CFO?
What is a Fractional CFO? That term has become a household name for financial experts who help small business owners in various industries.However, do we have a concise and complete definition for this type of professional services provider?In this special episode, we break down what the fractional CFO is based on their three unique and primary roles to small business owners. We also give the best
What is Accounting Leadership?
As I think about our next guest, Jody Grunden, he reminds me of the successful business leader who Mixergy's Andrew Warner should feature. Jody co-founded Summit CPA Group in the early 2000s and decided to focus on financial leadership instead of offering the conventional services many small firms provided.This discussion addresses the accounting shortage, effective accountants, and why accou
Ramping Up Your Excel Skills
When did you start using Excel, and how did you learn it?Jeff Lenning is the founder of Excel University, and he joins us to discuss the biggest mistakes he sees in Excel workbooks, the differences between formal and informal training, and why both are critical.We also walked down memory lane, discussing when we started using Excel and some of our favorite functions inside this powerful applicatio
Professional Mindset Reboots
What would you be willing to do to feel alive in your work every day? Jack Craven asks executives from all walks of life this question.Jack is the author of Aliveness Mindset: Lead and Live with More Passion, Purpose, and Joy. His book includes more than a dozen tools and frameworks for starting the journey of aliveness.Some topics we hit in this conversation include where aliveness starts, David
Thinking Like a Venture Capitalist
I list the top business books I've read over the previous year each January. At the end of 2024, The Venture Mindset by Ilya Strebulaev and Alex Dang will easily be in my top three and possibly my overall favorite.The Venture Mindset reads fast and reminds me a little of Kahneman, Munger, and books about Buffett.Some of the big ideas we cover in this episode with both authors include roof sho
The Greatest But Most Obscure Banker of All Time
I had never heard of Edmond Safra until I read Daniel Gross's informative and inspiring biography, A Banker's Journey.For those who knew him and did business with him, he was everyone's favorite banker. His banks never had to write off loans, and many of his early deals were on a handshake. He never needed a government bailout, nor did he ever head to DC complaining about regulation
Lending Your Way Into Real Estate Investments
Our newest guest may not be a best-selling author on real estate yet, but we're already predicting this former World Cup soccer player will soon be a household name in Dave Ramsey's world in a few years.Vaughn Bethell is the founder of REI Junkies based in South Carolina, and in this episode, we learn his unique process of providing real estate investors with a different way to reduce st
The Effective Executive
One of the best management books ever written is The Effective Executive, by Peter Drucker, published in 1966. Managing For Results and The Practice of Management are other favorites of this show.Randy Wooton joins us to discuss the big ideas in The Effective Executive. He's a three-time CEO and has held senior positions at Microsoft and Salesforce. He is also the host of The SaaS Expert Voic
The Usage Economy
Consumers and anyone who studies business understand the subscription economy, but what about the usage economy? What is it? How does it differ from the subscription economy? Does it matter?Adam Howatson is the CEO of LogiSense and the author of The Usage Economy. In this conversation, Adam will give examples of companies that got it right with their usage-based pricing models and those that made
The Myth of Private Equity
Have you ever left a movie theater where a film left you speechless and made you feel like you needed to rewatch parts of it to figure out what you were missing?Jeff Hooke's book, The Myth of Private Equity, left me feeling that way after finishing each chapter of his tell-all book about the exaggerations and overstatements of the private equity marketing machine.During this conversation, we
YouTube's Top Dataviz and Tableau Influencer
My favorite go-to person on all matters, Tableau and Dataviz, is Andy Kriebel.Andy was the first person to create a YouTube channel on Tableau. His subscriber base has surpassed 61,000, and his 750+ videos have 7.5 million views and counting.Andy is the co-author with Eva Murray of the book #Makeover Monday, and you can also follow his informative and insightful helpful hints each day on LinkedIn.
The Best Book About Deming I've Ever Read
I have my theories on why W. Edwards Deming is not a household name in 'all' business circles. Many view him as the 'quality' guy who had an impact on Japanese manufacturing after the Second World War.That view is limiting as Deming's management mindset was complete with four central tenets:PragmatismThe Law of VariationHuman psychologySystems ThinkingI used to recommend M
The Red Team Forensic Accountant
Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, technology activist, and journalist. He has written many books, most recently The Bezzle, a follow-up to Red Team Blues, which are the two books we'll discuss in this episode.These two books are the beginning of a series featuring the fictional forensic accountant Martin Hench. Hench is self-employed, loves being on the red team, and rakes in 25% of
The Harvey Firestone Story
Alfred Sloan's My Years with General Motors was an immediate success and is considered one of the best management books written by CEOs of his era. Before his book, we'd probably have to go back to Henry Ford's autobiography to find a management book of this popularity.And then there's Harvey Firestone's book, which CFO Bookshelf considers a gem. Originally published in 19
The Trading Game
Gary Stevenson grew up in an impoverished area of East London where he could hold his life's belongings in two arms. About three years after graduating from the London School of Economics, Citibank made him a millionaire at a very young age.Gary was 'all in' on winning the trading game. But did overnight success bring him happiness? And why did he want to leave the Citibank trading
Wiring the Winning Organization
Agile, DevOps, TPS, TOC, Deming's System of Profound Knowledge. Is there a mental construct or latticework that connects these robust systems?In Wiring the Winning Organization, Gene Kim and Steve Spear introduce the concepts of the three layers of work and social circuitry. The book also explains the author's three biggest learning pillars: Simplification, Slowification, and Amplificati
A Novel Approach to In-house Lawyers
Readers of Corporate Counsel do not need to be legal professionals to enjoy this short book writen as a business fable.Anna is leaving a prestigious law firm to become the first in-house lawyer at a regional real estate firm in the Midwest. The book includes drama, conflict, and a grey beard, Anna's guide throughout the story.Our guest is the author, Peter Carayiannis, and some of the topics
The Greatest Warren Buffett Story Ever Told
Of all the books written about Warren Buffett, I am unaware of any authors who grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and went to school with his children.Todd Finkle is the author of Warren Buffett: Investor and Entrepreneur, a book that was fourteen years in the making.If you are a Buffett student, perhaps you will have heard several of Todd's stories, but are you aware of Buffett's numerous inves
Big Bet Leadership
John Rossman is making his second appearance on CFO Bookshelf. We interviewed him two years ago for one of our top 10 books of 2022, The Amazon Way, Amazon's 14 Leadership Principles.John's newest book which he co-authored with Kevin McCaffrey is Big Bet Leadership. Highlights from the conversation include:What is and what is not a big betA topic for low- and high-tech companies, bothBig
Built to Beat Chaos
Gary Harpst co-founded the ERP solution Solomon Software, which was ultimately sold to Great Plains. The CFO Bookshelf enjoys Gary's work and past books, including Six Disciplines for Excellence and Six Disciplines Revolution.Gary's newest book has been 40 years in the making. The title is Built to Beat Chaos: Biblical Wisdom for Leading Yourself and Others. A few of the themes we cover
Beautiful Constraints
A Beautiful Constraint by Morgan and Barden: is it a marketing, branding, psychology, or management book? Or is it all four?In this episode, Willy Donaldson (Simple_Complexity and Estimated Time of Departure) and I discuss five of the biggest ideas in the thought-provoking book A Beautiful Constraint. The authors state the goal is not to eliminate a constraint but to leverage it. Their book explai
Our Favorite Books in 2023
Since starting the CFO Bookshelf podcast, I have released a ‘favorite books’ show each January. I’ve always been reluctant to do so because my reading tastes may differ from yours. However, these episodes are some of the most downloaded in our podcast catalog. In this discussion, I list my Top 10 books, honorable mentions, fiction, and even books that I did not like. Other insights include what an
Pricing Strategy vs. Pricing Tactics
Many pricing books are heavy in ideas, abstractions, and behavioral science mind-shifting. Others are focused merely on simple tactics.Jean-Manual Izaret's (JMI) book, Game Changer, fills a void by showing readers and pricing practitioners how to approach pricing strategically through cleverly designed frameworks and thought-provoking questions.This conversation starts with who should read th
The Wisdom of Finance
CFO Bookshelf considers The Wisdom of Finance one of its favorite 25 business books.Mihir Desai combines abstract and obtuse finance concepts with literature, history, movies, and poems in his book, which was released in 2017.In this bookclub-style episode, we cover several of the themes Mihir highlighted in his educational and entertaining book:Bankruptcy (the history of Robert Morris)Options and
CEO Empire Builder
One of the best books we've read on private equity is by Adam Coffey. The title is The Private Equity Playbook.Adam's newest book is based on a two-day presentation he gave on how to roll up an industry purposely and effectively. He turned his 300-plus page slide deck into the book Empire Builder: The Road to a Billion.Some of the topics we cover include:investing in what you knowa simpl
The Growth Story of Dunkin' Donuts
Since I am not a customer of Dunkin' Donuts, I know very little about their origin story. When Around the Corner, Around the World hit my reading radar, I was intrigued and was compelled to read it. I was pleasantly surprised because the book was a mini MBA on how to grow a small business into an international brand.Bruce Reed joins the host to uncover some of the big ideas in this book, incl
The Entrepreneurship of Pirating
I had never considered the business aspects of pirating until I read Katherine Howe's newest book, A True Account: Hannah Masury's Sojourn Amongst the Pyrates, Written by Herself.Every ship's captain had a vision, as did the crew. A mission steered each voyage. The crew was kept in line with its bylaws or code of conduct. Loot was allocated based on a profit-sharing plan.In this con
The Phoenix Project
I'd recommend The Phoenix Project if I could only recommend one book to a CEO, CFO, or COO about the essentials or the heart of IT in a heartbeat.The Phoenix Project is the IT version of The Goal, as both are written as a novel with a protagonist with doubts, worries, and fears. Like The Goal, the main character in The Phoenix project encounters a sage who helps him glean insights from the ma
Quick Value
I cannot begin to count the number of times I've heard the following question or something similar, "Mark, I've heard my industry EBITDA multiple is 5x. What do you think?"As much as I want to scream at that question, this type of thinking on business value is prevalent amongst many CEOs of both big and small companies.When the book Quick Value by Reed Phillips hit my radar, I
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