In 2004, I first encountered the name, Ron Baker. I have Gary Boomer to thank for that at an event held in Kansas City for CPA practices. He recommended the book, The Firm of the Future. I couldn’t put it down while vacationing in North Carolina. While I consider Ron the (very young) grandfather of value pricing for CPA and professional services firms, many acolytes are sharing his message with zeal and effectiveness. One such person is Geraldine Carter.
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If You Liked College Behind Bars
During the winter months, I watched College Behind Bars which I thought was outstanding. Yes, I’m the guy who believes in putting the bad guys behind bars, but this film opened my eyes to rehabilitation and what it takes to reduce recidivism rates in the U.S. If you did see the series and liked it, now what? I have a few book suggestions that will augment what you saw.
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Ben Mosior on Better Decisions with Wardley Mapping
Once I started getting the general idea of Wardley Mapping, I still wanted to learn more. And that’s when I kept bumping into the great teaching of Ben Mosier who runs Learn Wardley Mapping (LWM) as well as his YouTube videos at ben at hiredthought. Behind his back, I’m calling him the Ryan Holiday or Shane Parrish of Wardley Mapping.
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Strategy Meets Wardley Mapping
I found the work of Simon Wardley several years ago, and I was hooked from the very beginning of his message on visualizing strategy. I’ve never been satisfied with annual strategic planning exercises. The work seems forced if not a bit contrived at times. In this discussion, we talk about Sun Tzu’s five factors, the OODA Loop, mapping, doctrine, and other key concepts of Wardley Mapping.
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Rasputin for Hire
As I search for books to highlight on the show, I’m looking for unique, 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 episode, we learn two of the most important requirements for being a consultant and why gig assignments between jobs may not be a great idea.
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ESOPs and Create Amazing with Greg Graves
Greg Graves is the former CEO for the employee-owned engineering firm, Burns & McDonnell based in Kansas City, Missouri. Greg’s new book is Create Amazing which a readable, informative, and even at times, an inspiring discussion on ESOPs. In this interview, several themes surfaced including how a band of committed employee owners tamed rivers and captured the wind by making a difference for the clients they served.
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The Microsoft Mastermind Behind the E-Strategy
Brad Chase was the marketing mastermind behind one of the most successful software launches ever – Windows 95. He replicated this success while serving at Microsoft on several other high-profile projects. Brad is the author of Strategy First: How Businesses Win Big. In this episode, we discuss the big ideas in his book including the E-Strategy and simple formula that’s simple, impactful, and memorable.
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What is a Rock Star CFO?
There is typically a 4-6 week delay between interviewing a podcast guest and going live with the show. Waiting on this one seemed like forever. Jack McCullough is the CFO of all CFOs. He’s the founder and President of The CFO Leadership Council. He’s also the author of the small pamphlet Secrets of Rock Star CFOs, a document he released in 2019. In this episode, we talk about the traits of great CFOs.
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A CFO’s Playbook for Data Science and Analytics
If I’m going to listen to a data science and analytics expert for nearly an hour, that person better speak a language that I can understand and that is relatable. I got lucky and found that person, and his name is Jon Daniels of BambooHR. In this episode, he talks about data lakes, data warehousing, ETL, data governance, no intelligence, BI, and AI.
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ERP Implementations with Ed Kless
I have no desire to read books on ERP project planning and implementation. This is a topic where I believe we learn by doing and by listening to the sage advice of others. One such person is Ed Kless, the co-host of The Soul of Enterprise podcast. In this show, Ed talks about what we do before, during, and after ERP implementations.
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