CFO Bookshelf

When I finished Nick Gray's The 2-Hour Cocktail Party, I immediately thought that this was the perfect follow-up book to start applying all of the teachings of Dale Carnegie in his classic, How to Win Friends and Influence Others.Beyond Nick's practical advice in teaching readers how to host a party for friends and casual acquaintances, one of my favorite insights is the power of loose connections. Nick provides the perfect device on how to make the most of those loose connections that can be fun and meaningful for years to come.In this conversation, Nick explains the purpose of a cocktail party, who to invite, what to serve, how to implement icebreakers, and what to do after a party.Important Links:How to Introduce Two People via Email: Sample Scripts9 Career Day Speech and Presentation IdeasParty Times: Start, End, & Best TimesIcebreaker Name Tags: Examples and How to Do It RIGHTHow to Host an Event: Parties & NetworkingWhere to Throw a Party? Ideas and Venues for 2023Icebreaker Activities for Your Next EventNick Gray's Personal WebsiteFriendship Recession Website7 Small Trade Show Booth Ideas for 2023

As a child growing up in rural Missouri who listened to countless baseball games on the radio of my favorite baseball team, I heard the names Budweiser and Busch repeatedly over the course of many years.Because of the rise in popularity of TV shows like Riches, Succession, and Yellowstone, I was curious about the Busch family--the Kennedys of St. Louis. What became of that dynasty? How did it get started? How did it grow in fame and fortune? What caused its downfall?To find the answers to those questions, I read Bill Knoedelseder's book Bitter Brew - The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's King of Beers.In this conversation, we learn how the Busch family survived prohibition and why they were able to succeed in the years to come. But we also learn the reasons for the demise of the family-owned business and why they sold out to a larger brewer.

Confessions of a Pricing Man is easily the best book ever written on this topic.The author is Hermann Simon, the Chairman of Simon-Kucher. He's also one of this generation's most prolific business thinkers, whose writing parallels Peter Drucker's.In this conversation, our topic is Hermann's 2021 book, True Profit. Topics include profit maximization, the reason why pricing as a profit lever trumps volume increases or cost reductions, and the differences between profit and free cash flow.

I predict that Number Go Up will be considered the most fascinating and entertaining book in narrative non-fiction for 2023.Our guest is Zeke Faux, an investigative reporter. Several years ago, he was asked to check out Tether and the money supporting that cryptocurrency. Zeke had no idea that story would take him across the globe, logging many air miles along the way.If you are challenged or intimidated by the vocabulary surrounding cryptocurrencies, we attack about ten terms to lay the groundwork for the stories Zeke tells us later in the interview.

Dan Murray is the author of Tableau Your Data, and he recently published a blog series called The BI Cantos. The 21-post series is about how to successfully deploy a business intelligence system.Dan is the Director of Strategic Innovations at Interworks, where he has spoken across the country with audiences, including many in the Fortune 500.What exactly is business intelligence? What are the best tools to use? How do we separate fact from fiction in these implementations? And what is the best way to find a consultant?Dan answers these questions and more as this episode is geared toward those embarking on a new BI journey.The BI Cantos Blog Series - LINK

Joel Salatin is more than a gifted farm entrepreneur in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Joel is the author of twelve books and speaks around the globe on not just farming but simultaneously protecting and replenishing the land.The book we focused on was Folks, This Ain't Normal, which includes plenty of satire and humor. Our topics included open-book farming, the difference between buying natural vs. processed food, and several fascinating concepts revolving around money.If you want to learn more about Joel after listening to the interview, I'd start with this site as a launching pad: TheLunaticFarmer.com.You can read the full show notes on this episode on our website.

One of my favorite 25 business books is The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig.During this conversation, Phil explains the halo effect, along with several other delusions business leaders are bombarded with daily from the press, business authors, and consulting gurus.Other highlights include:remedies for overcoming the halo effect heuristicresearch flaws in Good to Greatbackward causalitiesbusiness culture and financial performance"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."greed and hubrisPhil's favorite business books

As I search for books to highlight on the show, I'm looking for unique and interesting content and an author who has probably slipped under other podcasters' radars. Take, for instance, the title Rasputin for Hire by Michael Goodman.Michael is a marketing expert who has been consulting since 1979. In this conversation, we hear about the story behind this fascinating title and:the difference between his book and Dan Pink's first title, Free Agent Nationwhy new consultants have to love sellingthe problem with cold leadson working alonehow to use peer networkshaving confidence in one's own abilitiespersonal mission statementsconsulting between jobsa fascinating Seth Godin storyA special thanks to my friends at JustPaddles.com.

I never knew there was a consulting niche for advising directors for public company boards of directors until I met Denise Kuprionis. She founded The Governance Solutions Group (GSG) based in Cincinnati, where she helps boards apply effective governance practices and achieve their most pressing objectives.In this conversation, some of our topics include:The way Denise finds clients to work withThe biggest difference between her board work today and ten years ago - there are not manyBoard assessmentsCorporate vs. board governanceCEO succession planning and when to startTone at the topThe role of a board of advisors in private companiesSandra Kurtzig's first advisory groupThis conversation also applies to private companies as Denise shares valuable nuggets for private company CEOs who could use the support of advisory board members to fill gaps where specialized knowledge is lacking.

After reading a book by a successful commercial developer who moved his family to France for two years, I wanted to learn more about setting up shop in a foreign country.That's because the real estate developer faced obstacle after obstacle because he wasn't used to the vast cultural divide between his home country and France.Accordingly, I felt I struck oil when I found the book, The Business Accidental Nomad by Kyle Hegarty. Kyle shares his experiences in building a marketing and sales presence in Asia based on data and humorous and engaging stories. I'll go so far as to say this book has a Liar's Poker feel to it; it's that good.Some of the big ideas we hit in this conversation include:the 70% failure rate in starting an international operationstereotyping vs. data-driven generalizationscalibrated storytelling - evidence and anecdotes"Treat people the way they want to be treated"TOR - trust, openness, and respectThe communications contractThe role of DISC for hiring new staff