“Run Toward a Tough Market” — Developing the Hard and Soft Skills To Be a Great Finance Leader
Run the Numbers
Decoding Finance for All
This chapter focuses on simplifying financial concepts for diverse audiences within an organization, particularly non-finance professionals like engineers. It emphasizes the connection between operational activities and financial metrics, using relatable examples to ensure everyone understands their role in the company's financial health.
To be a great finance leader, one needs to have both hard and soft skills. Today’s guest believes in running towards the hard market, asking dumb questions, and showing up as your whole self at work. Craig Conti is the EVP and CFO of Verra Mobility, the almost $900 million in revenue, publicly-traded company that is responsible for the silent infrastructure behind seamless tolling, traffic enforcement, and smart mobility. Apart from providing a visual breakdown of his approach to mitigating risk, he shares a wealth of wisdom from his years in finance. Hear about why Craig prioritizes investing in existing customers when it comes to capital allocation and how he explains Verra Mobility’s complex business model to non-finance people in the organization. This episode covers impostor syndrome, the difference between cost avoidance and cost savings, and why it may be more beneficial for you to work at a paper mill than at Apple, Meta, or Google.
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LINKS:
Craig Conti on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcconti/
Verra Mobility:
https://www.verramobility.com/
CJ on X (@cjgustafson222): https://x.com/cjgustafson222
Mostly metrics:
http://mostlymetrics.com
RELATED EPISODES:
Uncovering Blind Spots and Other Lessons from High-Growth Companies with Five-Time CFO David Lapter.
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Preview and Intro
(02:35) Sponsor – NetSuite | Planful | Tabs
(06:20) An Intro to Verra Mobility
(11:36) Continually Investing in Existing Customers
(14:47) Explaining Your Business Model When You Have Multiple Business Lines
(17:02) Sponsor – Rippling Spend | Pulley | Tropic
(21:10) A Tip for Orienting Outsiders to Your Business
(22:56) Decoding Finance for Non-Finance People in Your Org
(29:33) Cost Avoidance Versus Cost Savings
(31:00) How Having Resources To Reinvest Affects Capital Allocation Decisions
(34:12) A Skillset for Stepping Into New Roles: Stupid Questions
(38:55) Imposter Syndrome
(40:52) A Visual Framework for Mitigating Risk
(44:52) Known Risks Versus Unknown Risks
(46:07) Why Incentives Need To Align With Risk and Reward
(50:40) The Feedback Loop: Crisis Management to Future Risk Management
(52:16) Hard Skills Versus Soft Skills in Finance
(56:51) The Benefits of Bringing Your Whole Self To Work
(59:12) “Always Run to the Tough Market”
(1:03:34) “Life Comes Down to a Series of a Couple of Interactions”
(1:08:04) Long-Ass Lightning Round: Bad Hiring Decisions
(1:10:05) Advice to Younger Self: Move at Your Own Pace
(1:11:46) Finance Software Stack
(1:13:18) Craziest Expense Story
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SPONSORS:
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Planful’s financial planning software can transform your FP&A function. Built for speed, accuracy, and confidence, you’ll be planning your way to success and have time left over to actually put it to work. Find out more at www.planful.com/metrics.
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