Who are the attendees of this conference?

The attendees include CFOs, heads of FP&A, controllers, and finance transformation leaders from various companies and government institutions.

What are some challenges faced by finance leaders in the past year?

Challenges include dealing with higher rates, tighter credit, slowing demand, recession planning, inflation forecasting, and ensuring efficiency and productivity.

What technological advancement is expected to drive the next industrial revolution?

Generative artificial intelligence is expected to drive the next industrial revolution.

How does the conference propose to handle technological disruptions?

The conference discusses using autonomous finance, advanced analytics, and machine learning to drive business and finance transformation.

What is a recurring theme in the conference about work style transformation?

The recurring theme is the digital enterprise transformation, pushing towards digital workflows and processes.

What is emphasized as essential leadership quality in the conference?

Empathy, authenticity, and adaptivity are emphasized as essential leadership qualities in the conference.

How do finance leaders plan to leverage generative AI?

Finance leaders plan to leverage generative AI by experimenting with it in the office, integrating it into workflows, and keeping updated with new applications.

Why is human leadership important despite technological disruptions?

Human leadership is crucial as it includes empathy and authenticity, which can enhance financial discipline and organizational outcome.

What advice is given regarding new partnerships and vendors?

Attendees are advised to explore new vendors, understand new capabilities, and learn about the implementation of AI in processes.

What is the expected outcome for attendees after the conference?

Attendees are expected to feel more ready for a dynamic, expansive, and unpredictable CFO role and equipped to lead their teams through transformation.

The Human CFO: Leading in Perpetual Disruption l Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference

00:45:47

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgSH-5DHOE4

Summary

TLDRThe conference brings together over 2,000 finance leaders to review past economic challenges and explore future opportunities, especially in light of technological innovations like generative AI. Attendees are invited to consider their roles over the past year with words like 'dynamic' and 'unpredictable' and to anticipate further economic cycles. Amid discussions on maintaining financial discipline, the need for empathy, adaptability, and authenticity in leadership is emphasized. Generative AI is highlighted as a transformative force for business prospects, prompting leaders to re-evaluate data, policies, and workforce needs. Participants are encouraged to form connections, explore new vendors, and prepare their organizations for growth, sustainability, and digital transformations. The conference underscores the importance of human leadership in navigating disruptions, suggesting that human traits like empathy and vulnerability can enhance financial and organizational performance. The event concludes with a focus on the role of the 'human CFO' in leading innovation and change.

Takeaways

👥 Network with thousands of finance leaders.
🔮 Explore future opportunities with generative AI.
🌱 Embrace empathy, adaptability, and authenticity as leadership essentials.
📈 Anticipate new economic cycles and opportunities.
🛠️ Integrate AI and machine learning into workflows.
🏭 Prepare for the industrial revolution driven by AI.
🎯 Focus on enhancing financial discipline with empathy.
🔍 Explore new vendor capabilities and AI implementations.
🌀 Understand the human-machine learning ecosystem.
🚀 Gear up for expanding and evolving CFO roles.

Timeline

00:00:00 - 00:05:00
The event begins with an introduction highlighting the significant increase in attendance compared to the previous year. The audience is composed of CFOs and finance leaders from various organizations. The speaker reflects on the past year's challenges, including economic pressures and reorganizing finances, while also stressing resilience in the face of these issues and pushing towards digital transformation and automation.
00:05:00 - 00:10:00
Looking forward, finance leaders are encouraged to prepare for the next economic phase with opportunities for growth, particularly as generative AI promises to revolutionize industries. There is excitement but also caution, as some organizations are hesitantly integrating AI tools due to risks and the need to rethink organizational strategies and processes.
00:10:00 - 00:15:00
Gartner is positioned as a supportive partner in navigating these changes, offering guidance and knowledge on adapting to AI-driven transformation. The conference aims to provide practical sessions to enhance financial strategies and organizational structures, focusing on leadership skills, ESG, and technology deployment. Attendees are encouraged to engage, learn, and connect for future readiness.
00:15:00 - 00:20:00
The keynote speaker highlights the rapid changes AI has introduced, including disruption in workflows and the increasing role of digital technology in finance. While AI is advancing, the importance of human leadership and emotional intelligence remains vital in managing teams and guiding organizations through technological shifts.
00:20:00 - 00:25:00
Leaders must address employees' concerns about technology replacing jobs, fostering a collaborative environment where human and machine roles enhance each other. The emphasis is on creating systems that leverage technology without alienating staff, recognizing that the human element in leadership is crucial for successful integrations and innovation.
00:25:00 - 00:30:00
Human leadership in the technology-driven world involves adaptivity, empathy, and authenticity. It's highlighted that many leaders are not meeting these expectations, with a focus on understanding employees' motivations, building strong relationships, and fostering a culture of risk-taking without fear of repercussions.
00:30:00 - 00:35:00
The session further explores the detailed elements of empathetic leadership, integrating business and financial strategies through human interactions. Examples illustrate how empathy in leadership can bridge gaps, enhance cooperation, and lead to better business outcomes by understanding and acting on the needs of stakeholders.
00:35:00 - 00:40:00
Authenticity is examined as a leadership trait, emphasizing transparency and vulnerability to improve engagement and reduce turnover. Role modeling Candor enables open dialogues and honest exchanges, essential for strategic decision-making and fostering a trustworthy corporate environment.
00:40:00 - 00:45:47
The closing emphasizes the human-CFO approach as essential for guiding financial discipline through empathy and authenticity, promoting market success, and navigating technological changes. Attendees are encouraged to integrate these insights into their roles to drive future-ready financial leadership and effective enterprise outcomes.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

Who are the attendees of this conference?
The attendees include CFOs, heads of FP&A, controllers, and finance transformation leaders from various companies and government institutions.
What are some challenges faced by finance leaders in the past year?
Challenges include dealing with higher rates, tighter credit, slowing demand, recession planning, inflation forecasting, and ensuring efficiency and productivity.
What technological advancement is expected to drive the next industrial revolution?
Generative artificial intelligence is expected to drive the next industrial revolution.
How does the conference propose to handle technological disruptions?
The conference discusses using autonomous finance, advanced analytics, and machine learning to drive business and finance transformation.
What is a recurring theme in the conference about work style transformation?
The recurring theme is the digital enterprise transformation, pushing towards digital workflows and processes.
What is emphasized as essential leadership quality in the conference?
Empathy, authenticity, and adaptivity are emphasized as essential leadership qualities in the conference.
How do finance leaders plan to leverage generative AI?
Finance leaders plan to leverage generative AI by experimenting with it in the office, integrating it into workflows, and keeping updated with new applications.
Why is human leadership important despite technological disruptions?
Human leadership is crucial as it includes empathy and authenticity, which can enhance financial discipline and organizational outcome.
What advice is given regarding new partnerships and vendors?
Attendees are advised to explore new vendors, understand new capabilities, and learn about the implementation of AI in processes.
What is the expected outcome for attendees after the conference?
Attendees are expected to feel more ready for a dynamic, expansive, and unpredictable CFO role and equipped to lead their teams through transformation.

View more video summaries

Get instant access to free YouTube video summaries powered by AI!

Subtitles

Auto Scroll:

00:00:00
schedules to be here with more than 2
00:00:03
000 of your peers that is double the
00:00:06
number of attendees at this conference
00:00:08
that over last year you're joined in the
00:00:10
room this morning by CFOs heads of FP a
00:00:12
controllers Finance transformation
00:00:15
leaders
00:00:16
from companies and government
00:00:17
institutions large and small
00:00:20
now before we get started with this
00:00:23
morning's keynote we're going to take
00:00:24
just a few minutes and Look Backwards at
00:00:26
the year that we've had
00:00:28
and also forward at the opportunities on
00:00:30
the horizon
00:00:32
let's start with an easy warm-up this
00:00:35
morning
00:00:36
what is one word that you would use to
00:00:38
describe your role
00:00:40
in the last 12 months
00:00:43
I asked several of you leading up to
00:00:45
this event a few more of you at the
00:00:47
happy hours last night and a couple more
00:00:49
of you at breakfast this morning and you
00:00:51
told me things like dynamic
00:00:53
fluid
00:00:55
volatile
00:00:56
unrelenting unachievable expansive
00:01:00
complex
00:01:03
some of you said weird
00:01:05
and unpredictable
00:01:08
now this is no surprise we're in a
00:01:10
different part of the economic cycle
00:01:11
we've been battling through higher rates
00:01:13
tighter credit slowing demand we've had
00:01:15
to plan for a few recessions I think at
00:01:18
this point
00:01:18
we've had to reforcast re-budget as we
00:01:21
learn more about inflation the consumer
00:01:23
and demand of for our products and
00:01:24
services
00:01:25
we've had to drive efficiency across our
00:01:28
businesses challenging all teams to do
00:01:30
more with less and be more productive
00:01:32
we've had to manage expenses tightly
00:01:34
we've had to renegotiate contracts
00:01:37
who would have thought in the last 12
00:01:38
months we were worried about the health
00:01:40
of our banking system
00:01:42
right we had to meet Rising pay
00:01:44
expectations we had to deal with
00:01:46
activist investors that are circling
00:01:48
assessing the diversity of our boards
00:01:50
and the viability of our environmental
00:01:53
sustainability programs
00:01:55
this is all while we were walking a
00:01:56
tightrope with investors managing
00:01:59
expenses and profitability while
00:02:01
painting a picture of the Glorious
00:02:02
opportunities that lie ahead
00:02:04
and this is all while we were battling
00:02:06
our own burnout
00:02:09
and the burnout of our teams
00:02:12
at the same time we kept our foot on the
00:02:13
accelerator
00:02:15
most of us are still driving hard
00:02:17
towards digital Enterprise
00:02:18
transformation and in the finance
00:02:21
function we're still making strides
00:02:23
towards autonomous Finance
00:02:25
we're rebuilding our data architecture
00:02:27
we're applying Advanced Analytics we're
00:02:30
adding machine learning robotics
00:02:33
but this is all in the last 12 months
00:02:36
right and we as CFOs we get paid to live
00:02:38
12 months in the future
00:02:41
in the next 12 months we'll have to
00:02:43
start preparing for yet another phase of
00:02:45
the economic cycle where it's not only
00:02:47
about cost control and profitability but
00:02:49
hopefully more growth and opportunities
00:02:51
on the horizon
00:02:53
and there is a massive opportunity for
00:02:56
all of us right around the corner
00:03:00
do you realize
00:03:01
that you were going to be in the
00:03:03
driver's seat as CFO
00:03:06
during the next Industrial Revolution
00:03:09
driven by generative artificial
00:03:11
intelligence
00:03:15
trying to see some of your faces think
00:03:17
let that sink in
00:03:21
industrial revolutions are driven by
00:03:23
large broad mainstream adoption of
00:03:26
general purpose Technologies general
00:03:28
purpose Technologies like Machinery new
00:03:31
energy sources the steam engine Railways
00:03:33
automobiles
00:03:35
telecommunications the internet
00:03:38
generative artificial intelligence will
00:03:40
mean we work differently and it changes
00:03:44
how why when and where work is done in
00:03:49
the knowledge economy
00:03:50
it's going to restack Industries and
00:03:52
it's going to shake up leaders within
00:03:54
those Industries some are estimating
00:03:56
that generative artificial intelligence
00:03:58
could add upwards of 200 trillion to the
00:04:01
global economy by 2030.
00:04:04
and here's the deal our employees are
00:04:07
already back in the office experimenting
00:04:09
with these tools today
00:04:12
except a few CFOs last night told me
00:04:13
they've already banned it
00:04:17
digital Giants are releasing new
00:04:19
applications week over week over week
00:04:21
and those things will be embedded
00:04:23
directly into the workflows and
00:04:25
processes that we manage if they're not
00:04:28
already it will be before we know it
00:04:31
so as a CFO it is time for you and your
00:04:34
organization to reinvent to recreate
00:04:38
to reallocate and to reorganize
00:04:43
we have some time
00:04:45
we know this is on the horizon it's
00:04:46
moving quickly and it's but it's going
00:04:48
to be a large long massive
00:04:51
transformation over many years and
00:04:52
decades
00:04:54
but it's at this conference today that
00:04:57
we start to have well-formed opinions
00:05:00
for our organization
00:05:02
we need to understand what should our
00:05:04
policies be what are the risks is our
00:05:06
data ready is our talent ready do we
00:05:09
augment staff or replace staff which
00:05:12
vendors should we be working with what
00:05:14
are the best use cases across our SG a
00:05:16
functions and how do we tell the right
00:05:18
balanced but opportunistic story to our
00:05:22
staff
00:05:23
our organization
00:05:25
and our investors
00:05:28
now Gartner is going to be right
00:05:30
alongside you on this path we're
00:05:31
investing ahead of the curve so that you
00:05:33
can stay two steps ahead
00:05:35
on this Industrial Revolution
00:05:38
we're also rethinking our own client
00:05:40
experience already in the face of
00:05:43
generative artificial intelligence
00:05:45
and at this conference we're going to
00:05:47
help you solidify your own opinions
00:05:48
learn best practices Benchmark your
00:05:51
thinking and partner with the right
00:05:53
vendors and service providers to unlock
00:05:56
growth
00:05:58
in this new opportunity
00:06:01
now at the conference we're also going
00:06:02
to get super practical and super
00:06:04
tactical with sessions related to our
00:06:07
finance transformations
00:06:08
what are the skills we need what are the
00:06:11
org structures that winning companies
00:06:13
are using how do we deploy talent What's
00:06:15
on our technology roadmap
00:06:17
how do we think about ESG and diverse
00:06:20
leadership just a few topics that we're
00:06:22
excited to bring all of you today
00:06:25
now as we get started with this
00:06:26
conference set a few goals for yourself
00:06:30
one goal is around the type of
00:06:32
connections you want to make who do you
00:06:34
want to meet and how are you going to
00:06:35
stay connected when you get into those
00:06:37
roundtables ask the tough questions
00:06:39
challenge each other and show
00:06:40
vulnerability
00:06:43
when you go to the vendor Hall to meet
00:06:44
with vendors make sure you're meeting
00:06:46
with new vendors that you haven't heard
00:06:47
of and the ones that you have heard of
00:06:49
ask them about their latest capabilities
00:06:51
maybe how they're deploying AI across
00:06:53
their processes
00:06:57
and then finally don't miss the Gartner
00:06:59
Zone which is right outside these doors
00:07:01
at the Gartner Zone we are showing you
00:07:03
how other clients are finding the most
00:07:04
value out of their Gartner subscriptions
00:07:07
now we have one aim for you in the next
00:07:09
48 hours these two days that you're
00:07:11
going to spend with us and your peers
00:07:12
and that is that you look back on Friday
00:07:15
and you feel more ready for a CFO role
00:07:18
that is expansive unpredictable
00:07:21
fluid
00:07:22
Dynamic and unrelenting and that you can
00:07:26
take Renewed Energy and confidence back
00:07:29
to the teams that you lead
00:07:31
and get ready for even more
00:07:33
transformation on the horizon
00:07:36
to get us started on that Journey I'm
00:07:37
now going to Welcome to the stage VP
00:07:40
analyst Dennis Gannon for this morning's
00:07:42
Keynote
00:07:43
[Music]
00:07:55
well hello good morning I am excited and
00:07:59
honored to be kicking off what is going
00:08:01
to be a fantastic couple of days here
00:08:04
with some words in my title that might
00:08:07
need a little bit of context or
00:08:10
explanation we're talking about the
00:08:12
human CFO leading in the face of
00:08:15
disruption now the disruption side of
00:08:17
that I think is really easy to get on
00:08:18
board with like everything Alex just
00:08:20
said 12 months ago I don't think anybody
00:08:22
in this room was thinking that
00:08:24
generative AI would be doing your kids
00:08:26
homework for them right that it would be
00:08:28
maybe writing the first draft of your
00:08:31
mdna maybe or that a headline like this
00:08:35
something that
00:08:36
would have been the the plot of a
00:08:38
mediocre science fiction story 12 months
00:08:40
ago it's reality now with a gaming
00:08:42
company installing an AI as their CEO
00:08:45
earlier this year
00:08:46
now yeah sure it's it's great publicity
00:08:50
for that company and it's a great way to
00:08:51
get your your story to go viral for a
00:08:53
day but the changes being wrought here
00:08:57
are very real technology is disrupting
00:09:00
expectations interactions workflows like
00:09:03
never before and so to be sure this
00:09:06
conference is going to be all about
00:09:07
harnessing technology to to drive
00:09:10
autonomous Finance harnessing digital
00:09:12
and data to drive Innovation and
00:09:15
profitable growth
00:09:16
and yeah if it's not already you are
00:09:19
soon going to have ai and ml executing
00:09:23
large parts of what humans used to do at
00:09:25
your organization
00:09:27
so why is the human CFO our topic here
00:09:31
today why why am I not up on stage
00:09:33
talking about how we're going to program
00:09:34
the AI CFO to navigate these disruptions
00:09:37
for us
00:09:38
well even though this environment is
00:09:41
marked by all the ways in which
00:09:43
technology is changing the game here
00:09:45
improving our people leadership is
00:09:49
actually more important than ever
00:09:51
so let's talk for a minute about that
00:09:53
talk about how these changes are
00:09:54
impacting our employees and impacting
00:09:55
what it means for us to be a leader
00:09:58
and then let's go a little deeper on
00:09:59
what it means for us as CFOs
00:10:03
let's start with the kind of the bigger
00:10:05
picture here because lots of employees
00:10:07
across all kinds of Industries all kinds
00:10:10
of functional areas they're feeling a a
00:10:13
new and unsettling relationship with
00:10:16
technology
00:10:17
they're seeing these headlines about
00:10:19
jobs that look like theirs now being
00:10:21
taken by AI about these jobs is
00:10:24
disappearing to to be done by machines
00:10:27
but as much as someone on your team
00:10:29
might fear that advanced technology is
00:10:31
coming to take their job away from them
00:10:33
altogether the picture that's actually
00:10:35
emerging is a lot more complicated
00:10:39
in practice what we're seeing is the
00:10:41
emergence of a human machine learning
00:10:44
Loop
00:10:46
an ecosystem in which humans and
00:10:48
machines are are doing what they're best
00:10:50
at and interacting with each other so
00:10:52
you have technology providing trip wires
00:10:55
and and Trigger warnings and formulating
00:10:58
simple recommendations cleaning and
00:11:00
refining data
00:11:01
and then you have humans that are
00:11:03
interpreting that data they're
00:11:04
formulating new goals identifying new
00:11:07
problems taking on more complex
00:11:09
decisions and recommendations
00:11:13
it's instead of having a technology
00:11:16
replace a person what we're seeing
00:11:18
happen far more often is that the human
00:11:20
and the Machine are complementing each
00:11:22
other
00:11:23
and making about making each other
00:11:24
better
00:11:26
or at least that's the theory right this
00:11:28
is what it looks like when it when it
00:11:29
goes right
00:11:30
but making it go right it's not easy at
00:11:33
all actually think about
00:11:36
how challenging this must be for someone
00:11:37
on your team
00:11:39
continuously changing their their
00:11:41
workflows and their routines that
00:11:43
they've built around these tools to the
00:11:45
overwhelming feeling that they must have
00:11:47
staring at this mountain of work that
00:11:49
they have to do to to keep the
00:11:51
proverbial lights on
00:11:52
and then constantly being told that
00:11:54
there's all kinds of new opportunities
00:11:55
out there for us to innovate quicker or
00:11:57
faster right and and push harder
00:12:01
The Human Side of this learning Loop
00:12:04
that's where the real risks are
00:12:06
and our transformation efforts right now
00:12:08
if we can't keep our analytics team
00:12:11
engaged and dialed in with all the
00:12:13
change that we're throwing at them if we
00:12:14
can't retain that Hotshot new head of uh
00:12:18
artificial intelligence that we've got
00:12:20
who's going to develop our AI strategy
00:12:22
for the organization that's a much
00:12:24
bigger risk than a software pilot
00:12:27
crashing and burning
00:12:29
managing this human element is as
00:12:32
critical as it has ever been
00:12:35
but I'm not up here today to just give
00:12:38
you a reminder to pay attention to your
00:12:40
leadership I know how important this is
00:12:42
for for so many of you already
00:12:45
what's news here
00:12:47
is how much this environment has changed
00:12:50
what your people need from you as a
00:12:53
leader
00:12:55
now my colleagues in our HR practice
00:12:57
here at Gartner they're experts in all
00:12:59
things leadership and they have
00:13:01
absolutely caught on to this emerging
00:13:03
relationship that people have with
00:13:05
technology
00:13:06
and the leadership Gap that's emerging
00:13:08
here
00:13:11
and Gardner we've written a lot in the
00:13:13
last few months about the call to human
00:13:15
leadership in today's world
00:13:18
now human leadership it is fundamentally
00:13:20
what it sounds like it's corporate
00:13:21
leadership with a foundational human
00:13:24
component to it but as straightforward
00:13:26
as that might sound
00:13:28
Being Human as a leader
00:13:31
it's actually not that easy
00:13:34
most of us aren't getting there you look
00:13:35
across the Executive Suite not just
00:13:38
Finance but operations supply chain I.T
00:13:41
everywhere employees tell us that less
00:13:44
than 25 percent
00:13:46
of their leaders are meeting their
00:13:49
expectations for human leadership
00:13:51
25 that's not good
00:13:54
so what are we missing
00:13:55
it's gone wrong here well let's break it
00:13:57
down because there are three core
00:14:00
components of human leadership that
00:14:01
we've identified here at Gartner
00:14:03
their adaptivity
00:14:06
empathy
00:14:07
and authenticity
00:14:10
and let's take a minute and look at
00:14:11
these three things and figure out where
00:14:13
we're doing okay but where it is that we
00:14:15
have work to do to meet the expectation
00:14:17
that our employees have of us
00:14:20
and let's start with adaptivity and I
00:14:22
think on this one actually this is kind
00:14:24
of a good news story here we all deserve
00:14:25
some credit here our employees are now
00:14:27
demanding a more customized a more
00:14:29
flexible work experience and by and
00:14:31
large we've responded to that demand
00:14:34
not just with hybrid I know a lot of you
00:14:36
are meeting the the new expectations
00:14:39
that your employees have about when and
00:14:41
where they do their work right and
00:14:43
accommodating their desire to be at home
00:14:45
for several days a week or to shift work
00:14:48
around so you can do some things in the
00:14:49
evening to be with their family in the
00:14:51
afternoon things like that but it's not
00:14:53
just when and where we're working more
00:14:55
and more of us are extending that
00:14:56
radical flexibility to things like
00:14:59
with whom I'm working and how much work
00:15:01
I'm doing I don't necessarily want to
00:15:03
just be assigned into a relationship
00:15:05
with a random co-worker I don't want to
00:15:07
have to be kind of eight hours a day in
00:15:09
this one place day after day after day
00:15:11
and I want more flexibility in that or
00:15:12
even extending to what work I do
00:15:15
recognize that hey as an employee I'm
00:15:17
going to be more engaged to have the
00:15:18
opportunity to protect my time for this
00:15:20
thing and get after that
00:15:23
no the pandemic the ensuing shutdown it
00:15:26
may have forced our hands here to be
00:15:28
sure but
00:15:29
you've continued to meet the bar in the
00:15:31
years since and responding to the
00:15:33
demands of your employees here so so
00:15:35
credit to to this group actually and
00:15:37
this element of human leadership uh
00:15:39
honestly good work and there's more to
00:15:40
be done here our mission isn't finished
00:15:42
here by any means but it does mean if
00:15:45
adaptivity isn't the sticking point here
00:15:47
if that's not what we're falling down on
00:15:49
then it's the next two pillars where we
00:15:52
really need to dial in
00:15:55
let's start with empathy
00:15:57
what does it mean
00:15:58
to lead with empathy
00:16:01
I think when we picture empathy As
00:16:03
Leaders there's a good chance a lot of
00:16:04
us are getting it kind of wrong
00:16:06
because empathy isn't just being nice
00:16:09
it's not just saying kind words to
00:16:11
somebody the most productive way to
00:16:13
think about empathy is as a cognitive
00:16:17
process right it's not an inherent trait
00:16:20
something we're either born with or not
00:16:21
but it's more like an exercise that we
00:16:24
can choose to do or not do and sure the
00:16:27
the Baseline conception of choosing to
00:16:29
to bring some kindness to an interaction
00:16:31
that could be a good starting point on
00:16:32
this journey
00:16:34
but true empathetic leadership requires
00:16:36
more
00:16:37
past the articulation of kindness into
00:16:40
taking the time to cultivate a
00:16:43
deliberate understanding of the
00:16:45
motivations the experiences of someone
00:16:47
else and leaving your own biases behind
00:16:49
while you do that
00:16:52
and then building on that turning that
00:16:54
understanding into intentional action
00:16:58
right actually creating change
00:17:00
engineering our workflows based on that
00:17:03
empathetic understanding that we've
00:17:04
built
00:17:07
this is a critical mandate for us over
00:17:09
80 percent of the HR leaders that we
00:17:11
work with at Gartner they're telling us
00:17:12
that the emerging Generations see
00:17:14
Workforce
00:17:15
they've got a higher bar for empathy for
00:17:17
emotionally intelligent leadership at
00:17:19
work
00:17:22
and then authenticity
00:17:26
think about how there's no more hard and
00:17:27
fast line between who you are at home
00:17:30
and and who you are at work that that
00:17:32
boundary has been obliterated right it
00:17:34
is routine now that you're having a
00:17:36
catch up with one of your employees one
00:17:38
of your team members
00:17:39
in their bedroom
00:17:41
you think about that that's weird It's
00:17:42
Not Unusual That Someone's Child or
00:17:45
their dog becomes a new participant in
00:17:48
your one-on-one that day right that's
00:17:49
normal and it's raise the bar for
00:17:51
authenticity in our leadership at work
00:17:53
and you might be thinking yeah no I get
00:17:55
this I've been I've been reading the
00:17:56
books and and thinking about this I've
00:17:58
been doing these Town Halls he's asking
00:18:00
me any things where I'm super
00:18:01
transparent about what's going on I
00:18:04
actually did this feature on our
00:18:05
corporate internet last week and get to
00:18:07
know your leadership team they came and
00:18:09
took some pictures of my house my family
00:18:10
and all that and sure that's not wrong
00:18:14
per se that kind of sharing isn't bad
00:18:17
but it's not sufficient for True human
00:18:19
leadership right just like we saw with
00:18:21
empathy sort of a spectrum of approaches
00:18:23
we can use to organize our thinking here
00:18:26
and authentic human leadership requires
00:18:29
more than personal sharing it requires
00:18:30
also a level of personal candor
00:18:33
that we bring to our interactions
00:18:35
honesty and transparency
00:18:38
that sets a tone for others to do the
00:18:40
same
00:18:42
it requires us to be genuinely
00:18:44
vulnerable in front of our our boss our
00:18:48
our teams our peers
00:18:51
to show people that they can take a
00:18:54
personal risk they can put themselves
00:18:55
out there and not be punished by the
00:18:57
system for doing so
00:18:59
which is by the way not the case right
00:19:01
now
00:19:02
over half of your teams over half of
00:19:04
Finance employees are telling us
00:19:06
they are afraid
00:19:08
to take a calculated risk on behalf of
00:19:11
the organization because they're afraid
00:19:13
it's going to blow back on them
00:19:16
so we need to challenge ourselves to
00:19:17
raise the bar here for what it means to
00:19:18
lead with authenticity
00:19:21
think about this maybe in terms of how
00:19:23
you might uh I might share some details
00:19:25
about a vacation that you took right
00:19:27
maybe you uh put a social media post out
00:19:29
there with a picture of of you and your
00:19:32
family and you're dressed beautifully
00:19:33
and you're all getting along and you're
00:19:35
smiling and you're sitting in front of
00:19:37
this beautiful Oceanside view right yeah
00:19:40
sure maybe that's some kind of of
00:19:41
sharing
00:19:42
but true authenticity would be the
00:19:45
Candor in letting people see just how
00:19:47
stressed it made you to keep your kids
00:19:49
contained and occupied on the seven
00:19:51
hours worth of flights that it took to
00:19:53
get there or or the vulnerability in
00:19:56
letting people know that when it came
00:19:57
time to uh to take that step off the
00:19:59
bungee jump platform you you got a
00:20:01
little nervous you started to
00:20:02
second-guess the decisions in life that
00:20:05
that led you to that point when you role
00:20:07
model what it means to be authentic in
00:20:09
this way you Empower your teams to be
00:20:12
their authentic selves
00:20:16
and the payoff here for nailing this
00:20:18
it's incredible if we lead our teams
00:20:20
with adaptivity empathy and authenticity
00:20:23
well for one thing that turnover and
00:20:25
attrition that we're always dealing with
00:20:28
the average human leader improves
00:20:29
intention to stay by full 12 points over
00:20:32
the average leader
00:20:37
net burnout
00:20:38
that we're always seeming to feel on our
00:20:40
teams and trying to get ahead of the
00:20:42
the pervasive weariness that we can
00:20:44
sense sometimes
00:20:46
human leaders improve well-being by a
00:20:49
full 30 points compared to their peers
00:20:53
and that disconnection that we see where
00:20:55
folks are turning off their cameras and
00:20:57
they're kind of dialing back and they're
00:20:59
just doing kind of the minimum that it
00:21:00
takes to get by for a while
00:21:02
human leadership drives up engagement by
00:21:05
37 points that is incredible that this
00:21:09
is why human leadership is the playbook
00:21:11
for this kind of environment of
00:21:13
disruption because this payoff is
00:21:15
amazing intention to stay well-being
00:21:18
engagement we know we need these things
00:21:20
we know how much value those things
00:21:22
Drive how much it improves team
00:21:23
performance
00:21:25
but
00:21:26
you might be sitting there right now
00:21:28
thinking
00:21:29
okay Dennis
00:21:31
I'm with you I buy this I like
00:21:32
everything I've heard
00:21:34
but it kind of sounds like something
00:21:36
that everybody needs to be doing not
00:21:38
just me but it sounds like something for
00:21:39
my CIO for my head of marketing for our
00:21:42
GMS right this seems like a good thing
00:21:43
for for everybody so
00:21:45
you know when you tell me that we're
00:21:46
talking about the human CFO yeah the
00:21:49
human part of that makes sense now
00:21:51
but what about the CFO part
00:21:54
because that's a finance leader we have
00:21:56
some unique responsibilities
00:21:59
we have to be the last line of defense
00:22:01
in protecting the financial outcomes
00:22:04
that determine whether the organization
00:22:06
gets to keep growing whether there are
00:22:08
new opportunities for people and whether
00:22:10
we get to live in that world of
00:22:12
expanding opportunities and Horizons or
00:22:14
whether we go the other way and things
00:22:16
start to shrink and we lose
00:22:17
opportunities for folks that's why the
00:22:20
organization has a CFO
00:22:22
it's not just signing off on the books
00:22:23
after everything has happened it is
00:22:25
making those hard decisions the tough
00:22:29
economic trade-offs that protect the
00:22:31
growth and profitability of the
00:22:33
organization the the outcomes that are
00:22:36
so foundational to everything else that
00:22:37
we're trying to do
00:22:40
and that need to make
00:22:43
hard trade-offs to protect Financial
00:22:45
discipline having that as a job one for
00:22:48
you as a finance leader
00:22:49
that can make my entire call to human
00:22:51
leadership that I've sounded here so far
00:22:53
make it feel maybe a little
00:22:55
remote from some of the hard questions
00:22:57
of your job
00:22:58
in fact it feels like what the
00:23:01
Enterprise is demanding of you
00:23:03
especially and again in this tough
00:23:05
economic environment that we're in is
00:23:06
something very different than human
00:23:09
leadership
00:23:11
and so we've been telling us in fact
00:23:12
over these last six months as we've been
00:23:13
doing research into how CFOs have been
00:23:15
responding to these changing economic
00:23:17
conditions and the unpredictability that
00:23:19
we've all been experiencing
00:23:20
and you've been telling us that even
00:23:22
though your CFO role it continues to
00:23:24
expand and evolve and all kinds of
00:23:27
interesting and unpredictable ways
00:23:29
you're leaning more than ever into
00:23:31
supply chain operations
00:23:35
corporate strategy Enterprise digital
00:23:37
transformation all these things but you
00:23:38
tell us that collectively amidst all
00:23:41
this your number one mission is still
00:23:44
about enforcing Financial discipline
00:23:47
he told us that in this environment
00:23:50
right now it is critical more than ever
00:23:52
for finance to provide things like
00:23:54
like scrutiny
00:23:56
right when our our teams are stretched
00:23:58
then cost of capital is high funding is
00:24:01
is scarce we need to make sure we're not
00:24:02
just throwing money at bad ideas right
00:24:04
so we're raising the level of scrutiny
00:24:07
that we bring to business cases we're
00:24:09
pushing harder on assumptions we are
00:24:11
looking at new spending requests with
00:24:13
more acute attention
00:24:16
and we know a lot of new bets that we're
00:24:17
making may not pay off so we're looking
00:24:19
for more and better data
00:24:20
to tell us if an investment is working
00:24:22
trying to find the good leading
00:24:23
indicators that give us Insight or or
00:24:25
the right metrics to put on a dashboard
00:24:28
and then more accountability
00:24:32
dialing up
00:24:33
business leader and project sponsor
00:24:35
accountability for the ROI that they
00:24:37
promised us putting their their feet to
00:24:39
the fire
00:24:40
now say what you want about this list
00:24:42
and how necessary you might think it is
00:24:44
to run this Playbook but
00:24:46
scrutiny data accountability
00:24:50
this doesn't feel like Humanity right
00:24:53
you don't see a lot of empathy and
00:24:55
authenticity emerging from this list
00:24:58
right I mean your business certainly
00:25:00
doesn't they tell us that that your
00:25:02
focus on financial discipline is
00:25:04
alienating to them
00:25:07
and I know this because Gartner we run
00:25:08
an exercise where we capture quantify
00:25:11
and structure the the feedback that you
00:25:13
get from your business partners on the
00:25:15
service that Finance is providing to
00:25:17
your stakeholders in the broader
00:25:18
organization
00:25:20
and in this exercise your stakeholders
00:25:22
are telling us loud and clear that
00:25:24
they're not feeling the human leadership
00:25:25
from you
00:25:26
it tells things like
00:25:28
if Finance is stifling innovation
00:25:31
you're creating a burden for my
00:25:33
department one CFO candidly remarked me
00:25:35
that his team had become known as the
00:25:36
office of business prevention
00:25:40
look Financial discipline is necessary
00:25:43
and I like standing in front of CFOs and
00:25:46
talking to them so I am never going to
00:25:47
stand up here and tell you to take your
00:25:49
eye off of that ball
00:25:50
but Financial discipline being necessary
00:25:54
doesn't mean it has to be alienating
00:25:57
it doesn't have to compete with human
00:26:00
leadership for our Focus
00:26:02
in fact
00:26:03
stewarding Financial discipline
00:26:06
can still be a human Mission at heart
00:26:09
and maybe the single most important
00:26:11
thing I can ask you to take away from
00:26:12
the time we have together today is this
00:26:14
that when we do it right the mission of
00:26:17
driving Financial discipline
00:26:20
is one in the same as the mission of
00:26:23
being a human leader
00:26:25
being a human CFO means that the impact
00:26:28
of our empathy and our authenticity it
00:26:30
shows up not just
00:26:32
in the quality of interactions we're
00:26:33
having not just in the feedback that we
00:26:35
get from our team on our managerial
00:26:37
performance
00:26:38
it shows up in improving our ability to
00:26:41
make those tough economic trade-offs to
00:26:43
protect Financial outcomes for the
00:26:45
entire Enterprise
00:26:48
it means that the human CFO
00:26:51
is a better CFO
00:26:54
that's a bold statement but it's what I
00:26:56
want you approaching the rest of the
00:26:57
conference with because this assertion
00:26:59
that the human CFO is a better CFO it's
00:27:02
not just some one-off assertion that we
00:27:05
derive for for this morning session
00:27:07
this imperative it's grounded in some of
00:27:10
the most important work that we've been
00:27:12
doing for you across the last few years
00:27:14
research that importantly didn't start
00:27:16
off on how to be a human CFO it started
00:27:18
off in questions like how do we grow
00:27:19
efficiently how do we expand our Top
00:27:22
Line while also driving bottom line
00:27:24
efficiency improvements simultaneously
00:27:27
or research on the right strategies to
00:27:29
allocate capital in this environment to
00:27:30
get full value from our digital
00:27:32
investing portfolios
00:27:35
or research on how to optimize cost and
00:27:38
generate sustainable profitability
00:27:42
what kept emerging in all this research
00:27:44
on questions of financial performance
00:27:47
are unexpected but very real themes of a
00:27:51
human CFO at work
00:27:53
of CFOs accessing their empathy and
00:27:56
their authenticity to drive Enterprise
00:27:58
outcomes
00:28:04
so let's take the remaining time that we
00:28:06
have together and let's look at some of
00:28:08
these examples where the answer is all
00:28:11
about being a human CFO share some human
00:28:14
examples of what it means to lead with
00:28:16
empathy and authenticity in your CFO job
00:28:22
and we'll start with empathy as a CFO
00:28:23
remember when we're talking about
00:28:24
empathy here we're not just talking
00:28:25
about how to be nice how to be kind
00:28:28
right that's a reasonable entry point to
00:28:30
exercising empathy but how do we take it
00:28:32
up a step and exercise a more deliberate
00:28:35
understanding of what matters to others
00:28:39
and then critically use that
00:28:41
understanding to make us a better CFO
00:28:46
well let's start here it's probably not
00:28:47
a surprise to most folks in the room
00:28:49
here that CFOs who drive corporate
00:28:52
performance have a strong CEO
00:28:54
relationship that's a powerful predictor
00:28:57
what the nature of that relationship is
00:28:59
what matters here
00:29:00
the most effective performance driving
00:29:02
CFOs
00:29:03
are able to challenge their CEOs and not
00:29:07
just challenge them on the financial
00:29:08
implications of a choice that they've
00:29:10
made but actually challenge them on some
00:29:12
of the fundamental strategic options
00:29:14
that they're dealing with and you know
00:29:16
people don't like being challenged right
00:29:19
they don't like having their beliefs
00:29:20
question there's great research out
00:29:22
there in the field of psychology on how
00:29:24
we defend our strongly held beliefs in
00:29:27
the face of countervailing evidence how
00:29:29
we stick to a decision that we made much
00:29:31
longer than than we should
00:29:33
so I was struck by how one CFO that we
00:29:35
work with he used empathy to better
00:29:39
challenge his CEO by working through a
00:29:41
big deliberate role play exercise with
00:29:44
them he said when they're faced with a
00:29:46
major strategic decision
00:29:48
they take a 30-minute meeting where they
00:29:50
intentionally switch chairs they they
00:29:52
attack the problem from each other's
00:29:54
perspective the CFO is forced to think
00:29:58
about and articulate if I were the CEO
00:30:00
here with all those stakeholders and all
00:30:01
those pressures on me what would I do
00:30:04
and the CEO is forced to articulate
00:30:06
things from a CFO perspective and try to
00:30:08
spell out what they would do with that
00:30:10
hat on
00:30:11
and then with about you know five
00:30:13
minutes left to go they go back to their
00:30:14
original chairs and they they talk about
00:30:16
what it is that they've learned here and
00:30:17
the CFO
00:30:18
made it a point to mention to us several
00:30:20
critical decision points that their
00:30:22
organization had reached where
00:30:24
where this deliberate understanding that
00:30:26
they work to build it changed not only
00:30:28
the answers that the CEO was naturally
00:30:30
inclined to run towards but it changed
00:30:32
the very nature of the questions that
00:30:33
they were asking to begin with
00:30:36
it's a great exercise in building
00:30:38
empathy deliberately
00:30:40
and getting to a Better Business outcome
00:30:42
for it
00:30:46
and the farther we go on the Spectrum
00:30:48
the more we start to generate
00:30:50
intentional action and when we start to
00:30:52
engineer work and create change in a way
00:30:55
that's informed by that understanding
00:30:56
that we've worked to create
00:30:58
like the CFO that we work with at a
00:31:01
diversified industrial she recognized
00:31:04
that the Cadence of their monthly
00:31:05
operating reviews that Finance was
00:31:07
leading
00:31:08
it wasn't yielding anything productive
00:31:10
she talked about how it was always this
00:31:12
defensive posture it felt like debates
00:31:14
about the numbers themselves rather than
00:31:16
about what they meant maybe that sounds
00:31:18
familiar right it was always an
00:31:20
interrogation more than more than it was
00:31:22
intended to be
00:31:23
and and instead of attacking this
00:31:25
head-on with a single version of the
00:31:28
truth data and more authoritative
00:31:30
analysis to kind of quiet descent at the
00:31:32
beginning of these sessions this CFO I
00:31:34
think was very clever and she looked at
00:31:35
it from a human perspective with empathy
00:31:37
and and played out the fact that she was
00:31:39
essentially forcing her Partners in the
00:31:41
business to be defensive here
00:31:44
by by Leading with the financial review
00:31:46
and a review of results you're making
00:31:48
them defend their decisions
00:31:50
you're making them justify choices that
00:31:52
they made
00:31:53
defend their performance and so instead
00:31:56
what the CFO did she kind of flipped
00:31:58
things she she moved the financial
00:32:00
review the the whole reason we're having
00:32:03
this meeting the the very thing that it
00:32:05
is that got us together here she moved
00:32:07
that to the very end of the agenda and
00:32:09
instead started with the stuff that was
00:32:10
more top of mind more relevant more more
00:32:13
urgent for her Partners in the business
00:32:15
on the other side of the table things
00:32:17
like uh how is the market changing
00:32:19
what's what's keeping you up at night
00:32:21
how is the customer changing what new
00:32:23
risks and opportunities are you seeing
00:32:25
emerging and so on it's a it's a much
00:32:27
less threatening conversation it's it's
00:32:28
way more empathetic of a CFO to to lead
00:32:31
it this way but what's great here the
00:32:33
best part about it is the CFO talked to
00:32:35
us about how she still gets all the
00:32:38
information she needs in fact even more
00:32:40
useful information and detail than ever
00:32:42
before
00:32:43
in this more empathetically grounded
00:32:45
discussion she told us that by the time
00:32:47
that you get to that financial review
00:32:49
item on agenda item seven and at the end
00:32:51
of the the two hours that we're spending
00:32:54
together
00:32:55
there's nothing left to say
00:32:57
all the important information that she
00:32:58
needs as a CFO about what's happening
00:33:00
and why has come out in a much more
00:33:02
empathetically grounded way
00:33:04
and I think this is what empathy can
00:33:06
really look like for you as a CFO using
00:33:08
that emotionally intelligent leadership
00:33:10
to drive better business results
00:33:14
so think about those places where
00:33:16
there's a gap in understanding between
00:33:18
business and the finance places where
00:33:19
you are forcing compliance instead of
00:33:22
enabling cooperation
00:33:25
and challenge yourself to tap into
00:33:26
empathetic leadership as your solution
00:33:29
here
00:33:30
by cultivating a deliberate
00:33:32
understanding of what matters to
00:33:33
stakeholders outside of yourself and
00:33:36
taking intentional action to create
00:33:38
processes and situations that are built
00:33:41
on that understanding
00:33:47
okay let me round out the picture here
00:33:49
by talking about authenticity and how
00:33:51
we've seen that make you a more
00:33:53
effective CFO
00:33:54
now remember here authenticity it's not
00:33:56
metering out strategic snapshots right
00:33:58
it's not the uh the carefully crafted
00:34:00
and curated social media post uh it's
00:34:02
putting your true self out there it's
00:34:04
raising the bar for Candor and
00:34:06
vulnerability in our interactions and
00:34:09
let's start with Candor and what that
00:34:11
means for us as a uh as a CFO because
00:34:14
there's a sense in which I bet a lot of
00:34:15
us think we have Candor nailed as part
00:34:18
of our job
00:34:19
right you know I'm the CFO I'm the one
00:34:21
who brings an unambiguous data-driven
00:34:23
perspective I cut through the Clutter
00:34:24
right with the data grounded perspective
00:34:27
that I bring but authentic Candor it's
00:34:30
more than Straight Talk
00:34:32
it's more than telling it like it is
00:34:33
authentic Candor is reciprocal it
00:34:38
enables Candor from others and that
00:34:40
Candor from others that's really what
00:34:43
you need as a CFO because at the risk of
00:34:45
shocking here I'm going to tell you
00:34:46
people don't always tell the CFO
00:34:48
everything they're thinking everything
00:34:50
that comes to you
00:34:51
it's been dressed up it's got its best
00:34:53
Sunday suit on its hair has been combed
00:34:54
it looks really nice before you see it
00:34:56
right and we need to use Candor to cut
00:34:59
through that
00:35:00
like one CFO we work with an energy
00:35:02
company who we identified as a leader in
00:35:05
efficient growth outcomes
00:35:07
he actually told his business leaders
00:35:09
and his executive team he literally said
00:35:10
this he said look it seems like once I
00:35:13
tell you that I'm going to apply a
00:35:14
hurdle rate to your proposals and do an
00:35:17
npv as part of that evaluation process
00:35:20
feels like it's all over at that point
00:35:22
because you're only going to bring me
00:35:24
things that meet those criteria becomes
00:35:26
all about dressing up your numbers to
00:35:27
make sure they get over that hurdle and
00:35:29
into the next stage of approval and that
00:35:32
becomes the entire game
00:35:34
so rather than continuing that back and
00:35:36
forth numbers game what the CFO did he
00:35:39
broke that Dynamic by leaning into
00:35:40
Candor and he said okay listen we're
00:35:44
going to stop doing npvs I'm going to
00:35:46
stop looking at your projects that way
00:35:47
they're getting in the way of a real and
00:35:51
honest conversation about what we want
00:35:53
to do and why
00:35:55
and so instead we're gonna have a
00:35:56
conversation that doesn't bury all the
00:35:58
specific details of your project under a
00:36:00
one-size-fits-all hurdle rate we're
00:36:02
going to dig in we're gonna have a
00:36:03
conversation about the operating
00:36:05
strategic Market customer dimensions of
00:36:07
your project we're going to talk about
00:36:08
you know what kind of tech does it
00:36:10
require how how complex is it has it
00:36:12
left the laboratory yet what's the scope
00:36:15
of this like is it bigger than the
00:36:16
things we've usually done smaller than
00:36:18
the things we've done what kinds of
00:36:19
execution risks are lurking here
00:36:22
and the full Candor is supported in this
00:36:24
conversation because at the end of it
00:36:25
all what the CFO does is actually
00:36:27
publish a list for the entire
00:36:29
organization
00:36:30
of the initiatives that they're funding
00:36:33
and why
00:36:34
so really being transparent about the
00:36:36
fact that hey guess what project
00:36:38
sponsors the the straight npv the
00:36:41
straight numbers of one of these things
00:36:42
that we're choosing to do might not have
00:36:44
been as strong as the MPV of something
00:36:46
else that we're looking at
00:36:48
but it was still the right thing to do
00:36:49
anyway
00:36:50
right and that Candor Cuts right through
00:36:52
the noise of the numbers game there and
00:36:54
it's enabled them to build a a growth
00:36:56
portfolio that is balanced and
00:36:59
achievable and not just the results of
00:37:01
uh of projections on paper
00:37:06
so take this one as another call to
00:37:08
action for you personally
00:37:11
think to yourself how can I explicitly
00:37:13
role model the kind of candor
00:37:15
that inspires Candor from others how can
00:37:18
I remove some of the trappings of my
00:37:20
authority some of the processes that I'm
00:37:22
tasked with enforeseen I mean maybe you
00:37:24
get rid of mpvs and hurdle rates maybe
00:37:25
maybe not right but how do I shed some
00:37:28
of those things to create a more
00:37:29
naturally candid conversation with my
00:37:31
stakeholders
00:37:36
now the more aspirational point on the
00:37:38
spectrum is vulnerability and uh saying
00:37:42
to this room that vulnerability is
00:37:44
aspirational
00:37:45
kind of like some of the other things
00:37:46
maybe I've said so far today it could be
00:37:48
a little bit of a tough sell
00:37:49
right because people look to you as a
00:37:52
CFO for for answers
00:37:54
for comfort
00:37:55
and when you walk into a room there's
00:37:57
more than one person who thinks
00:37:59
themselves
00:38:00
okay well there's the person who knows
00:38:01
what's going on they've got the real
00:38:03
answers the real data we'll hear what
00:38:05
they have to say
00:38:06
now this pressure uh to to have the
00:38:10
answers to be relied upon To Be steady
00:38:12
that is very real it's very much a part
00:38:15
of your job
00:38:16
so why am I talking about vulnerability
00:38:18
here
00:38:19
the answer is much like what we saw with
00:38:21
Candor if we don't
00:38:23
authentically role model and enable
00:38:25
vulnerability
00:38:27
in our leadership we're not going to get
00:38:29
it from others
00:38:30
and in an environment where over half
00:38:32
your team is afraid to take a calculated
00:38:34
risk for the organization we have to
00:38:36
enable that vulnerability we have to
00:38:39
create the space that allows someone to
00:38:40
say
00:38:41
hey I messed this up actually this this
00:38:43
project really isn't going that well
00:38:45
we're having a hard time getting the
00:38:46
kind of talent that we need hired on
00:38:48
time and I'm worried about the ramp up
00:38:51
or I might have been too aggressive no
00:38:54
check that I definitely was way too
00:38:56
aggressive in my forecast uh but I feel
00:38:59
like I'm locked into it and I'm gonna
00:39:01
defend it until month 12 because who
00:39:04
knows something might happen I don't
00:39:05
want to go through everything that comes
00:39:06
with forecasting down
00:39:08
uh or is funding I actually uh didn't
00:39:12
really need it this year but I thought I
00:39:14
was going to get it next year and I
00:39:16
thought if I didn't ask for it this year
00:39:17
it wasn't going to be there for me next
00:39:18
year
00:39:19
right you need to hear things like this
00:39:22
because people out there are thinking
00:39:23
them but I'm betting you don't hear it
00:39:25
very often
00:39:27
people feel like the system is set up to
00:39:28
punish them for bringing it forward so I
00:39:30
want to challenge you right now think
00:39:32
about the last time you said something
00:39:34
of the Forum hey
00:39:36
I really wish I had done that better
00:39:39
here's what I learned from that here's
00:39:40
what I need to do better next time
00:39:43
might be hard to come up with one that's
00:39:44
why I think it's a good challenge for us
00:39:45
to to Signal our own vulnerability to to
00:39:49
let the team know that hey you know what
00:39:51
I actually don't have a fully well
00:39:53
thought out theory of how generative AI
00:39:55
is going to change what it is that our
00:39:57
customers are looking for from us or
00:39:59
whatever it is that you don't have a
00:40:01
great answer on wherever it is that
00:40:02
you're trying to learn from your own
00:40:04
shortcomings remember this is not about
00:40:07
expressing concern for what other people
00:40:09
are doing this is about signaling that
00:40:11
you don't have all the answers
00:40:14
and that's an okay way to be because
00:40:16
it's much better than pretending we have
00:40:18
the answers when we don't
00:40:21
so let's ask ourselves
00:40:22
how can I dial up my personal candor
00:40:25
to enable Candor from others on things
00:40:27
like project upside and downside ways we
00:40:29
could be doing things better
00:40:31
and how do I role model that personal
00:40:33
vulnerability in my job as a leader here
00:40:36
so that someone is more willing to do
00:40:38
something that might represent a
00:40:40
personal risk for them
00:40:42
what is good for the outcomes that we're
00:40:44
all trying to drive as an Enterprise
00:40:50
okay I think these are hopefully some
00:40:52
good examples of what it looks like when
00:40:53
we bring empathy and authenticity
00:40:55
as a human CFO and this human playbook
00:40:59
for driving Financial discipline
00:41:01
it's only going to get more and more
00:41:02
important in the years ahead because
00:41:03
right now our digital investing
00:41:05
portfolios are growing rapidly I.T
00:41:08
spending is more foundational to
00:41:10
everything we're doing in our business
00:41:11
than ever before and yet from a human
00:41:15
perspective
00:41:16
the state of the CFO CIO partnership
00:41:20
is not great
00:41:22
it's usually arm's length
00:41:24
it's polite it's not antagonistic
00:41:26
usually but it's not grounded in empathy
00:41:28
and authenticity and I get it CFOs and
00:41:30
cios are they're cut from different
00:41:32
claws so we tend to live in different
00:41:33
worlds but the upshot is only three out
00:41:36
of every 10 of us in this room here have
00:41:39
an effective relationship with our
00:41:41
technology leaders
00:41:44
so let's give ourselves kind of a quick
00:41:46
check in here this might be a good
00:41:48
chance for you to internalize some
00:41:50
opportunities for you to lean into being
00:41:52
a human CFO ask yourself
00:41:57
do I have the reciprocal Candor that
00:42:00
creates transparency into each other's
00:42:02
priorities with my CIO
00:42:04
in other words
00:42:06
do you know Kenny rat off right now your
00:42:08
cio's objectives and how they're
00:42:09
tracking towards them and what role USA
00:42:12
Finance leader play in them can they do
00:42:14
the same for you
00:42:17
are you present at the I.T Road mapping
00:42:19
process not as the owner of finances
00:42:21
piece of that pie
00:42:23
but as a true partner to your CIO taking
00:42:26
advantage of an incredibly leveraged
00:42:28
opportunity to cultivate some deliberate
00:42:30
empathy with each other
00:42:32
and
00:42:33
are you explicitly role modeling
00:42:35
cooperation with your CIO
00:42:39
one CFO that we work with makes sure of
00:42:41
this he co-leads town halls with his CIO
00:42:44
they jointly issue statements about
00:42:47
Enterprise digital strategies both their
00:42:49
names both their pictures on it they
00:42:50
stand up and advocate for each other's
00:42:52
priorities in in leadership meetings and
00:42:54
kind of things that you just don't see
00:42:56
that often from these two Executives so
00:42:58
if you're three for three on this list
00:43:00
if you said yep yep yep that's that's
00:43:03
awesome that's great news that is real
00:43:05
markers of human CFO at work for you a
00:43:08
lot to build on there
00:43:10
insofar as you left some opportunity on
00:43:13
the table there it's a great thing to
00:43:14
get after
00:43:16
because when the CFO and CIO have that
00:43:18
kind of relationship we see that the
00:43:20
organization is significantly more
00:43:22
likely to deliver the intended outcomes
00:43:24
from their business portfolio
00:43:26
and they're significantly more likely to
00:43:28
keep spending in line with the budget
00:43:32
right this is the financial discipline
00:43:33
that we want as CFOs and it's by being a
00:43:36
human CFO that we get it
00:43:40
so that's our mission going forward here
00:43:42
let's ask ourselves walking out of here
00:43:44
how can I be a human CFO that drives
00:43:48
better Financial discipline through
00:43:50
empathy and authenticity
00:43:53
because in the months ahead you're going
00:43:55
to be making hard trade-offs about where
00:43:57
you can afford to invest and where you
00:43:59
can
00:44:00
you're going to be sitting in business
00:44:01
reviews where performance is choppy and
00:44:03
uncertainty you're going to be trying to
00:44:04
drive folks back to plan you're going to
00:44:06
be sitting in executive meetings with
00:44:08
real strategic decisions in front of you
00:44:11
and as you navigate those core CFO job
00:44:14
responsibilities I'm challenging all of
00:44:16
us here to look at human leadership
00:44:19
not as a part-time job not as the thing
00:44:21
that we do when we're running team
00:44:23
meetings or having one-on-ones but as
00:44:26
our path to Greater Financial discipline
00:44:28
as our path to being a a better more
00:44:31
effective Finance leader
00:44:34
I know that you're going to learn so
00:44:35
much in these next two days you're going
00:44:37
to meet a lot of amazing people you're
00:44:39
going to hear from some of the smartest
00:44:40
people in the world on things like
00:44:42
building use cases for AI and finance or
00:44:45
delivering real-time analytics to your
00:44:47
business and as you do that
00:44:49
I want you to keep your role as human
00:44:51
CFO front and center here knowing that
00:44:54
as technology continues to disrupt
00:44:56
everything we know about our lives it's
00:44:58
only accelerating the trend for us to
00:45:01
bring cognitive empathy and personal
00:45:04
authenticity
00:45:05
to the Enterprise outcomes at the heart
00:45:08
of our CFO role let's let's go out there
00:45:10
let's meet some people let's learn some
00:45:12
things let's have a lot of fun let's go
00:45:14
make it a great conference thank you all
00:45:16
so much
00:45:16
[Applause]
00:45:26
[Music]
00:45:36
Love Goes a pretty long way
00:45:39
[Music]