Episode 114 encore: Does your organization have the ability to overcome a crisis or overcome rapidly changing business and economic conditions? Is decision making lagging due to financial systems that cannot adapt or because of legacy processes that don’t support change? Being agile means, you can quickly assess and adapt to rapidly changing conditions. Sometimes this lies in processes, but often it can be with leaders who are not able to see change indicators which also means that you may not be measuring for changing conditions.
Episode outline:
- How finance agility and digital transformation gives you more flexibility in a turbulent environment,
- Finance and digital transformation are keys to being more agile, and
- What are your next steps?
Please connect with me on:
1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii
For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy: financeleaderacademy.com.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Stephen McLain (00:00):
Hi, this is Stephen McLain of the Finance
Leader Podcast.
This is bonus episode number 78.
Finance agility continues to bean important topic in our
strategic planning.
What does your organization dowhen changes start to occur
rapidly?
This change can come from avariety of sources the market,
the political environment, newtechnology, an internal crisis
(00:23):
and many other ways.
First, can you even recognizechange when it is happening?
Second, who will lead thischange?
What systems or processes doyou have to have in place to
recognize and address change?
This week, I am sharing anencore replay of episode 114,
unlocking Finance Agility andDigital Transformation in
(00:45):
Today's Unpredictable BusinessEnvironment.
Here is the episode outlineNumber one how finance agility
and digital transformation givesyou more flexibility in a
turbulent environment.
Number two finance and digitaltransformation are keys to being
more agile.
And three what are your nextsteps are keys to being more
(01:07):
agile.
And three what are your nextsteps Now?
Please enjoy this Encoreepisode, episode 114, unlocking
Finance Agility and DigitalTransformation in Today's
Unpredictable BusinessEnvironment.
Have a great rest of your week.
Thank you for choosing theFinance Leader Podcast.
Until next time.
Thank you for listening, takecare.
Thank you for listening, takecare.
(01:31):
Does your organization have theability to overcome a crisis or
overcome rapidly changingbusiness and economic conditions
?
Is decision-making lagging dueto financial systems that cannot
adapt or because of legacyprocesses that don't support
change?
Being agile means you canquickly assess and adapt to
rapidly changing conditions.
(01:51):
Sometimes this lies inprocesses, but often it can be
with leaders who are not able tosee change indicators, which
also means that you may not bemeasuring for changing
conditions.
How is your organizationassessing risk and what can it
do to make quicker and betterdecisions based on changing
conditions?
Also, is your organizationmoving in the direction of
(02:15):
finance and digitaltransformation?
Please enjoy the episode.
Welcome to the Finance LeaderPodcast, where leadership is
bigger than the numbers.
I am your host, stephen McLean.
This is the podcast fordeveloping leaders in finance
and accounting.
Please consider following me onTwitter, facebook, instagram
and LinkedIn.
(02:35):
My usernames and the links arein this episode's show notes.
This is episode number 114, andI'll be talking about why your
organization should practicemore finance agility and adopt
digital transformation, and Iwill highlight the following
topics how finance agility anddigital transformation gives you
(02:55):
more flexibility in a turbulentenvironment.
Number two finance and digitaltransformation are keys to being
more agile.
And three what are your nextsteps.
Pierre Nantiermi, former CEO ofAccenture, said Success is no
longer about changing strategiesmore often, but having the
(03:15):
agility to execute multiplestrategies concurrently.
And success requires CEOs todevelop the right leadership
capabilities, workforce skillsand corporate cultures to
support digital transformation.
What does your organization dowhen changes start to occur
rapidly?
This change can come from avariety of sources the market,
(03:37):
the political environment, newtechnology, an internal crisis
and many other ways.
First, can you even recognizechange when it is happening?
And, second, who will lead thischange?
What systems or processes doyou have to have in place to
recognize and address change?
Also, by the way, did you missepisode number 113, embrace
(04:00):
Intense Accountability?
We all need a boost on beingmore accountable to ourselves
for our goal setting andaccomplishment.
If you missed this episode,please go back and listen.
I know it can be a tremendoushelp for you.
It has been a great reminderfor me too.
Now we need CFOs and othersenior leaders to drive change.
(04:20):
Agility often rests with thelevel of leadership that is in
place.
Do you have leaders who areopen to change and who are
looking for change?
Does your leadership get aheadof potential problems?
We are talking about financeagility and also digital
transformation this week.
In this environment,organizations need to be more
agile, meaning they have to bewatching for and be more ready
(04:44):
to adapt to change.
This requires new thinking,more open-mindedness, leaders
who are not stuck in the sameprocesses in the same systems.
We need leaders who are askingthe right questions.
We need leaders at all levelswho are looking at metrics in a
different way, and we needcross-functional coordination
and cooperation to identify theright issues.
(05:08):
Does your organization invest inchange?
I am talking specifically aboutfinance and digital
transformation.
Are you investing in systemupgrades that can help collect
and process the right data,which then helps to make better
decisions, but also makesavailable key information to
decision makers faster and morereal-time?
(05:28):
Are you running more AI-drivenforecasts, taking into
consideration more factors thanbefore, which would include
market and economic factors?
Digital transformation is whenyou add technology to every
aspect of your business, frominventory management to customer
relations, to accounts, payableand receivables, and even your
(05:49):
POS system, transportation andshipping systems and anything
and everything that affects yourbusiness.
These systems need to beinterconnected and are able to
collect, store, manage andcalculate relevant data that
help you make better decisions.
Digital transformation is keyfor any size of business.
Small businesses especially,must dedicate resources and
(06:12):
leadership to assess the digitaltransformation processes and
how agile they are.
There is too much risk anduncertainty in the market and
economy to remain the same.
What can you do to review andupdate your processes and
infrastructure as a smallbusiness owner to stay ready and
relevant?
(06:32):
Digital transformation willoften lead to more value
creation.
I believe that agility anddigital transformation go
together.
Please assess risk in yourcurrent setup.
Being more agile has proven tobe the right focus to sustain
growth and to be ready forchanges that could come from
anywhere.
This could be a new competitorentering your market with a
(06:54):
different strategy or a supplychain problem.
Maybe it's a change in theeconomy overall and even a
global political scenario thatmight cut off your market or
supply chain source.
But when you are more agile inyour processes, in your use of
technology and also in yourleadership approach, then you
increase the chance ofovercoming any of these
(07:16):
challenges.
Now let's talk about a criticalpitfall.
I love getting ahead ofproblems, but we need to ensure
they are the right problems.
Otherwise you will be chasingissues that may not even exist.
We want to go after the rightproblems, the right issues, and
(07:37):
not distractions that waste timeand other resources.
Be different, but ensure youare solving the right problem
and be open to thinkingdifferently to solve that
problem.
Additionally, to know what theproblem is, we need to eliminate
department and leadership silos.
Leadership communication andinformation sharing must be
across up and down theorganization to maximize
effectiveness.
Staying agile means becomingmore flexible and adaptable.
(08:01):
How many of your organizationsare using legacy systems, which
can be very frustrating.
When was the last time yourcompany invested in new tech or
a new financial planning andanalysis system or any new IT
system?
It can be annoying, so we needto advocate for newer and better
tech and new processes always.
(08:22):
Now let's talk about why yourorganization must be more agile.
Number one, how finance agilityand digital transformation
gives you more flexibility in aturbulent environment.
Being more agile helps leadersto identify the right issues and
problems to solve.
Agility provides a leadershipphilosophy of rapidly adjusting
people and resources andchanging conditions.
(08:44):
If you can't adjust quickly,your organization is at risk of
losing market share, of losingthe best deals in the supply
chain, maybe even losing accessto natural resources in the
manufacturing of your products,and all sorts of other issues.
The companies that can adjustquickly has the greater chance
to win overall.
You must create relevant modelsto test your strategy, your
(09:08):
market, the strength of yourcash flow and many others, and
apply those models with risk inmind.
This provides limits on whatyour organization can do and
perform during turbulent periods.
Number two finance and digitaltransformation are keys to being
more agile.
Digital transformation means weare adding technology to all
(09:29):
aspects of the business so thatchange can be better addressed
and therefore a catalyst forchange and for more value
creation.
The data shows that more agilecompanies survive the tough
times and can grow moreexponentially coming out of a
crisis.
If you stay stuck to the pastor the easy way, you will remain
(09:50):
there and therefore put yourentire organization at risk.
You need a well-trained teamwho are ready to be leaders, no
matter what their role is.
They need training anddevelopment, plus mentoring.
The more agile teams arequicker to move on from team
members who don't fit in.
Don teams are quicker to moveon from team members who don't
fit in.
Don't be afraid to move on froma team member who does not grow
and does not support where youare going.
(10:12):
It's not just a fit and it'sokay to move on.
Being more agile meaning youcan adapt to change means we are
going to look for non-routinesolutions to new problems and we
are not going to fear the riskof being different.
Number three what are your nextsteps?
We need leaders at all levelsto embrace and adopt agility and
(10:35):
digital transformation.
If there is no buy-in,especially at the highest levels
, then your organization willcontinue to stay behind its
competitors, who do adapt.
This is a leadership issue, soyou can move into the future now
.
Your organization should beusing a robust ERP that provides
close to real-time informationto senior leaders as much as
(10:57):
possible.
I have said this before I wouldlike to see the executive team
and other senior leaders to seereal-time or near real-time
dashboards on their phones andtablets so they are up to date
when a decision needs to be made.
Your analysts should bepartnering and solving
extraordinary problems withsenior leaders.
Your analysts should not bespending time on routine
(11:19):
reporting.
Automate the routine reportsand minimize manual processes.
They are error-prone andtime-consuming.
Develop an artificialintelligence strategy.
If you are not doing so already, how are you going to adopt AI
into your forecasting and otherprojection models?
Ai can help you refine yourstrategy and how you execute it.
(11:41):
We need better data and we needthe right data, and we need
that data to be stored, recordedand validated properly for
quick access.
You need to invest in yourteams and in your information
infrastructure.
You also need an IT team whoeasily partners with your
finance and accounting teams sothat the system stays ready for
change and the future For action.
(12:03):
Today, what are you doing tosupport better finance agility
and digital transformation inyour organization?
If you manage a team of staff,accountants or financial
analysts, you can still bringagility to your team.
You may be stuck with thesystems you have, but you can
lead change.
You can ensure you areautomating what you can.
You can teach and expect yourteam members to partner better
(12:24):
with senior leaders.
You can ensure you areautomating what you can.
You can teach and expect yourteam members to partner better
with senior leaders.
You can improve any manualprocesses you use and you can
work on skills development plusinclude lots of coaching and
mentoring.
Additionally, you can advocatefor change at an organizational
level.
You can make a huge positivedifference, no matter what role
(12:44):
you are in.
Please check outfinanceleaderacademycom when you
get a chance.
We want to help you with yourgoal planning and career
advancement.
You can find all the previousepisodes of the Finance Leader
podcast and the free FinanceLeader Guide.
Become a Finance Leader.
Please sign up for my weeklyemails so I can share a short
suggestion each week.
(13:05):
I promise that my emails areshort and can be read and easily
understood quickly.
Today, I talked about theimportance of adopting finance
agility and digitaltransformation into your
organization, and I highlightedthe following points Number one
how finance agility gives youmore flexibility in a turbulent
environment.
Number two, how finance agilitygives you more flexibility in a
turbulent environment.
Number two finance and digitaltransformation are keys to being
(13:29):
more agile.
And three what are your nextsteps?
We need adaptable, flexible andfuture-oriented finance and
accounting leaders in everyorganization who are ready for
change, who are prepared tothink about, plan and to
implement new technology andupdated processes, who are
willing to take risk and adopt adigital transformation
(13:50):
philosophy to ensure that we arecreating more value and
delivering better and moreusable information to decision
makers.
I am an advocate for leadershipdevelopment because it makes a
difference when you want tobring out necessary change.
Great leaders focus on what ispossible instead of we can't do
that.
I know that this audiencebelieves the same.
(14:13):
What can you do to help yourorganization be more agile and
address digital transformation?
I hope you enjoyed the FinanceLeader Podcast.
I am dedicated to helping yougrow your leadership skills, to
change your mindset and toclarify your goals so you
advance your career.
You can find the episodewherever you listen to podcasts.
If this episode helped youtoday, please share and leave a
(14:35):
quick review so that others canfind the podcast Until next time
.
You can check out moreresources at
financeleaderacademycom and signup for my weekly updates so you
don't miss an episode of thepodcast.
And now go lead your team andI'll see you next time.
Thank you.
Hi, this is Stephen McLain of the Finance
Leader Podcast.
This is bonus episode number 78.
Finance agility continues to bean important topic in our
strategic planning.
What does your organization dowhen changes start to occur
rapidly?
This change can come from avariety of sources the market,
the political environment, newtechnology, an internal crisis
(00:23):
and many other ways.
First, can you even recognizechange when it is happening?
Second, who will lead thischange?
What systems or processes doyou have to have in place to
recognize and address change?
This week, I am sharing anencore replay of episode 114,
unlocking Finance Agility andDigital Transformation in
(00:45):
Today's Unpredictable BusinessEnvironment.
Here is the episode outlineNumber one how finance agility
and digital transformation givesyou more flexibility in a
turbulent environment.
Number two finance and digitaltransformation are keys to being
more agile.
And three what are your nextsteps are keys to being more
(01:07):
agile.
And three what are your nextsteps Now?
Please enjoy this Encoreepisode, episode 114, unlocking
Finance Agility and DigitalTransformation in Today's
Unpredictable BusinessEnvironment.
Have a great rest of your week.
Thank you for choosing theFinance Leader Podcast.
Until next time.
Thank you for listening, takecare.
Thank you for listening, takecare.
(01:31):
Does your organization have theability to overcome a crisis or
overcome rapidly changingbusiness and economic conditions
?
Is decision-making lagging dueto financial systems that cannot
adapt or because of legacyprocesses that don't support
change?
Being agile means you canquickly assess and adapt to
rapidly changing conditions.
(01:51):
Sometimes this lies inprocesses, but often it can be
with leaders who are not able tosee change indicators, which
also means that you may not bemeasuring for changing
conditions.
How is your organizationassessing risk and what can it
do to make quicker and betterdecisions based on changing
conditions?
Also, is your organizationmoving in the direction of
(02:15):
finance and digitaltransformation?
Please enjoy the episode.
Welcome to the Finance LeaderPodcast, where leadership is
bigger than the numbers.
I am your host, stephen McLean.
This is the podcast fordeveloping leaders in finance
and accounting.
Please consider following me onTwitter, facebook, instagram
and LinkedIn.
(02:35):
My usernames and the links arein this episode's show notes.
This is episode number 114, andI'll be talking about why your
organization should practicemore finance agility and adopt
digital transformation, and Iwill highlight the following
topics how finance agility anddigital transformation gives you
(02:55):
more flexibility in a turbulentenvironment.
Number two finance and digitaltransformation are keys to being
more agile.
And three what are your nextsteps.
Pierre Nantiermi, former CEO ofAccenture, said Success is no
longer about changing strategiesmore often, but having the
(03:15):
agility to execute multiplestrategies concurrently.
And success requires CEOs todevelop the right leadership
capabilities, workforce skillsand corporate cultures to
support digital transformation.
What does your organization dowhen changes start to occur
rapidly?
This change can come from avariety of sources the market,
(03:37):
the political environment, newtechnology, an internal crisis
and many other ways.
First, can you even recognizechange when it is happening?
And, second, who will lead thischange?
What systems or processes doyou have to have in place to
recognize and address change?
Also, by the way, did you missepisode number 113, embrace
(04:00):
Intense Accountability?
We all need a boost on beingmore accountable to ourselves
for our goal setting andaccomplishment.
If you missed this episode,please go back and listen.
I know it can be a tremendoushelp for you.
It has been a great reminderfor me too.
Now we need CFOs and othersenior leaders to drive change.
(04:20):
Agility often rests with thelevel of leadership that is in
place.
Do you have leaders who areopen to change and who are
looking for change?
Does your leadership get aheadof potential problems?
We are talking about financeagility and also digital
transformation this week.
In this environment,organizations need to be more
agile, meaning they have to bewatching for and be more ready
(04:44):
to adapt to change.
This requires new thinking,more open-mindedness, leaders
who are not stuck in the sameprocesses in the same systems.
We need leaders who are askingthe right questions.
We need leaders at all levelswho are looking at metrics in a
different way, and we needcross-functional coordination
and cooperation to identify theright issues.
(05:08):
Does your organization invest inchange?
I am talking specifically aboutfinance and digital
transformation.
Are you investing in systemupgrades that can help collect
and process the right data,which then helps to make better
decisions, but also makesavailable key information to
decision makers faster and morereal-time?
(05:28):
Are you running more AI-drivenforecasts, taking into
consideration more factors thanbefore, which would include
market and economic factors?
Digital transformation is whenyou add technology to every
aspect of your business, frominventory management to customer
relations, to accounts, payableand receivables, and even your
(05:49):
POS system, transportation andshipping systems and anything
and everything that affects yourbusiness.
These systems need to beinterconnected and are able to
collect, store, manage andcalculate relevant data that
help you make better decisions.
Digital transformation is keyfor any size of business.
Small businesses especially,must dedicate resources and
(06:12):
leadership to assess the digitaltransformation processes and
how agile they are.
There is too much risk anduncertainty in the market and
economy to remain the same.
What can you do to review andupdate your processes and
infrastructure as a smallbusiness owner to stay ready and
relevant?
(06:32):
Digital transformation willoften lead to more value
creation.
I believe that agility anddigital transformation go
together.
Please assess risk in yourcurrent setup.
Being more agile has proven tobe the right focus to sustain
growth and to be ready forchanges that could come from
anywhere.
This could be a new competitorentering your market with a
(06:54):
different strategy or a supplychain problem.
Maybe it's a change in theeconomy overall and even a
global political scenario thatmight cut off your market or
supply chain source.
But when you are more agile inyour processes, in your use of
technology and also in yourleadership approach, then you
increase the chance ofovercoming any of these
(07:16):
challenges.
Now let's talk about a criticalpitfall.
I love getting ahead ofproblems, but we need to ensure
they are the right problems.
Otherwise you will be chasingissues that may not even exist.
We want to go after the rightproblems, the right issues, and
(07:37):
not distractions that waste timeand other resources.
Be different, but ensure youare solving the right problem
and be open to thinkingdifferently to solve that
problem.
Additionally, to know what theproblem is, we need to eliminate
department and leadership silos.
Leadership communication andinformation sharing must be
across up and down theorganization to maximize
effectiveness.
Staying agile means becomingmore flexible and adaptable.
(08:01):
How many of your organizationsare using legacy systems, which
can be very frustrating.
When was the last time yourcompany invested in new tech or
a new financial planning andanalysis system or any new IT
system?
It can be annoying, so we needto advocate for newer and better
tech and new processes always.
(08:22):
Now let's talk about why yourorganization must be more agile.
Number one, how finance agilityand digital transformation
gives you more flexibility in aturbulent environment.
Being more agile helps leadersto identify the right issues and
problems to solve.
Agility provides a leadershipphilosophy of rapidly adjusting
people and resources andchanging conditions.
(08:44):
If you can't adjust quickly,your organization is at risk of
losing market share, of losingthe best deals in the supply
chain, maybe even losing accessto natural resources in the
manufacturing of your products,and all sorts of other issues.
The companies that can adjustquickly has the greater chance
to win overall.
You must create relevant modelsto test your strategy, your
(09:08):
market, the strength of yourcash flow and many others, and
apply those models with risk inmind.
This provides limits on whatyour organization can do and
perform during turbulent periods.
Number two finance and digitaltransformation are keys to being
more agile.
Digital transformation means weare adding technology to all
(09:29):
aspects of the business so thatchange can be better addressed
and therefore a catalyst forchange and for more value
creation.
The data shows that more agilecompanies survive the tough
times and can grow moreexponentially coming out of a
crisis.
If you stay stuck to the pastor the easy way, you will remain
(09:50):
there and therefore put yourentire organization at risk.
You need a well-trained teamwho are ready to be leaders, no
matter what their role is.
They need training anddevelopment, plus mentoring.
The more agile teams arequicker to move on from team
members who don't fit in.
Don teams are quicker to moveon from team members who don't
fit in.
Don't be afraid to move on froma team member who does not grow
and does not support where youare going.
(10:12):
It's not just a fit and it'sokay to move on.
Being more agile meaning youcan adapt to change means we are
going to look for non-routinesolutions to new problems and we
are not going to fear the riskof being different.
Number three what are your nextsteps?
We need leaders at all levelsto embrace and adopt agility and
(10:35):
digital transformation.
If there is no buy-in,especially at the highest levels
, then your organization willcontinue to stay behind its
competitors, who do adapt.
This is a leadership issue, soyou can move into the future now
.
Your organization should beusing a robust ERP that provides
close to real-time informationto senior leaders as much as
(10:57):
possible.
I have said this before I wouldlike to see the executive team
and other senior leaders to seereal-time or near real-time
dashboards on their phones andtablets so they are up to date
when a decision needs to be made.
Your analysts should bepartnering and solving
extraordinary problems withsenior leaders.
Your analysts should not bespending time on routine
(11:19):
reporting.
Automate the routine reportsand minimize manual processes.
They are error-prone andtime-consuming.
Develop an artificialintelligence strategy.
If you are not doing so already, how are you going to adopt AI
into your forecasting and otherprojection models?
Ai can help you refine yourstrategy and how you execute it.
(11:41):
We need better data and we needthe right data, and we need
that data to be stored, recordedand validated properly for
quick access.
You need to invest in yourteams and in your information
infrastructure.
You also need an IT team whoeasily partners with your
finance and accounting teams sothat the system stays ready for
change and the future For action.
(12:03):
Today, what are you doing tosupport better finance agility
and digital transformation inyour organization?
If you manage a team of staff,accountants or financial
analysts, you can still bringagility to your team.
You may be stuck with thesystems you have, but you can
lead change.
You can ensure you areautomating what you can.
You can teach and expect yourteam members to partner better
(12:24):
with senior leaders.
You can ensure you areautomating what you can.
You can teach and expect yourteam members to partner better
with senior leaders.
You can improve any manualprocesses you use and you can
work on skills development plusinclude lots of coaching and
mentoring.
Additionally, you can advocatefor change at an organizational
level.
You can make a huge positivedifference, no matter what role
(12:44):
you are in.
Please check outfinanceleaderacademycom when you
get a chance.
We want to help you with yourgoal planning and career
advancement.
You can find all the previousepisodes of the Finance Leader
podcast and the free FinanceLeader Guide.
Become a Finance Leader.
Please sign up for my weeklyemails so I can share a short
suggestion each week.
(13:05):
I promise that my emails areshort and can be read and easily
understood quickly.
Today, I talked about theimportance of adopting finance
agility and digitaltransformation into your
organization, and I highlightedthe following points Number one
how finance agility gives youmore flexibility in a turbulent
environment.
Number two, how finance agilitygives you more flexibility in a
turbulent environment.
Number two finance and digitaltransformation are keys to being
(13:29):
more agile.
And three what are your nextsteps?
We need adaptable, flexible andfuture-oriented finance and
accounting leaders in everyorganization who are ready for
change, who are prepared tothink about, plan and to
implement new technology andupdated processes, who are
willing to take risk and adopt adigital transformation
(13:50):
philosophy to ensure that we arecreating more value and
delivering better and moreusable information to decision
makers.
I am an advocate for leadershipdevelopment because it makes a
difference when you want tobring out necessary change.
Great leaders focus on what ispossible instead of we can't do
that.
I know that this audiencebelieves the same.
(14:13):
What can you do to help yourorganization be more agile and
address digital transformation?
I hope you enjoyed the FinanceLeader Podcast.
I am dedicated to helping yougrow your leadership skills, to
change your mindset and toclarify your goals so you
advance your career.
You can find the episodewherever you listen to podcasts.
If this episode helped youtoday, please share and leave a
(14:35):
quick review so that others canfind the podcast Until next time
.
You can check out moreresources at
financeleaderacademycom and signup for my weekly updates so you
don't miss an episode of thepodcast.
And now go lead your team andI'll see you next time.
Thank you.
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