I was asked an interesting question recently: is there a difference between a CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and FD (Financial Director)? Well, for a minute I was stymied. I had to give it some thought. CFO is definitely a relatively new term – financial director has always been the classic description of the most senior financial executive. But there now seems to be […]
I am sometimes left aghast at the sheer naivety of some of my clients. They maybe aware of themselves in social situations, but at work this seems to magically disappear. Yesterday I met with a young woman. She came to see me because she was feeling stuck in her career and wanted to explore various options before making a […]
Regularly I meet emerging executives who are overly self-critical. I am usually stunned as, because I am entirely objective, I can clearly see parts of their value that they are missing. I had a rather interesting experience which I thought might be valuable to share with you. I recently met with a young CA who again reminded me of the power […]
A lot of he work that I do is about helping young CA’s with their career progression. What fascinates the most is how many of them play small. As a result they quickly become bored and begin to feel frustrated and stuck. In reality what has happened is they are not stepping up into the executive space. They might […]
Working with different CAs(SA) is, for me, indeed an honour. I meet great people and, as a consequence, am given the opportunity to share in their growth, development and change. What saddens me is how senior executives can mindlessly mess things up – and in the process, they mar the careers of unsuspecting very talented young people. I have a […]
My life is filled with wonderful encounters! I meet a lot of CAs(SA) every week. Being in the career advisory space I often encounter clients who are stuck – they just don’t quite know which way to go. Using a few searching and hard-hitting questions it becomes apparent that usually they are avoiding that one thing that needs to […]
Have you recently qualified as a CA(SA)? Congratulations to you and everything of the best going forward! Now that you have the best business qualification available, there are quite a few things that you can do as a CA(SA) – and I’m not talking about partying on Ibiza or taking an excursion into the Himalayas! There are a number of […]
WAR STORIES FOR EXECUTIVES is a new series of articles discussing ominous experiences that have been revealed in coaching sessions by higher level executives – lessons we can all learn from. Sometimes I come across some real pearls. People tell me stories that pique my professional interest and remind me of how mindless we, as executives, can be. […]
(The above picture resonates with me in a big way! Kite surfing is on my agenda within the next 5 years, together with diving Lake Malawi). Reaching retirement and finally having the freedom to do all the things that you ever wanted, sounds deliciously enticing. But maybe not. I wonder how many retirees are that happy? A client of mine told […]
It took me sometime to learn that there is a good chance that impulsive buying will get me a sub-optimal deal. Patience, together with some solid research is one the most effective ways to acquire the things you want. With access to the internet, this is far easier than it has ever been. This is a general rule. But in business it is especially […]