CEO Success Report - October 2001

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          CEO Success Report - October 2001
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Increasing the Effectiveness and Enhancing the Lives of CEOs
and business owners.

Contents of this issue...
   .. Welcome - A few words from the publisher, Gary Lockwood
   .. Thought-Starter - "If it Feels Like Work, ...!"
   .. Guest article - "The Changing Role of the CFO"
   .. CEO Resources
   .. Quotes to use in your staff meeting this month
   .. Humor to lighten up the executive suite
   .. Contact the publisher
   .. Subscribe and unsubscribe instructions

See past issues of the CEO Success Report at:
     http://www.CEOSuccess.com/archives

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      WELCOME to this issue of the CEO Success Report!
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Hello again. I'm Gary Lockwood, President of CEO Success.

Welcome back once again to the CEO Success Report. I know you
have no shortage of material to read and I thank you for choosing
to read our newsletter.

Like many of you, I became quite reflective in the aftermath of
the attacks on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. I was
thinking about the thousands of people who left for work that
morning, planning to come home again at the end of the day.
Surely, few of them considered that September 11 would be their
last day to live.

During this time, I was thinking about how many people I've met
who don't REALLY enjoy their work. Where does it say that you can
have fun only when you're away from work. What rule dictates that
your business is where you must "be serious"? Far too many people
spend five days of their week just waiting for the weekend where they
can have a good time and relax. How sad.

My Thought-Starter for today suggests that, "If it Feels Like Work,
You're doing it Wrong"

May I ask a small favor? Please forward this issue to other CEOs
and company presidents who may be interested in receiving
these messages. Thank you.

We work hard to provide practical ideas, thought-provoking concepts
and useful information for you. Please give me some feedback
about this issue or about the website. Send your comments me at
   mailto:Gary@CEOSuccess.com

On to our guest article for this month...

According to our guest author, the role of the Chief Financial Officer
is far different than the role a CFO played 5 or 10 years ago. Has
your business grown to the point that you think that you need a CFO?
Or are you wondering if your current Chief Financial Officer is
fulfilling his/her duties?

Our guest article this month is by Dennis Feidner, CFO-to-Go. In
his article, Dennis discusses the most important duties and
responsibilities of the modern Chief Financial Officer.

Read more about Dennis at the end of his article.

I hope you enjoy receiving these articles and ideas to
help you sharpen your thinking about being an effective CEO.

My wish is that you use the ideas in the CEO Success Report to
get the results you really want. If you want some help in putting
them into practice, or if you have questions, email or call.

As you know, our specialty is Increasing the Effectiveness
and Enhancing the Lives of CEOs and business owners.

Enjoy this issue with my compliments.

Sincerely,
Gary Lockwood
CEO Success

P.S. Starting in November, I have openings for two new coaching
clients. A couple of projects are completed, and that makes
room for you. If you are ambitious, ready to tackle some big
achievements, and are willing to be accountable for the results
you produce, let's talk.

Coaching is not cheap, nor is it easy. If you are in charge of your
life, ready to move quickly, and can afford to invest in your future,
contact me at 909/984-3344 or at Gary@CEOSuccess.com

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
       This month's THOUGHT-STARTER
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    If it Feels Like Work, You're doing it Wrong!

Where does it say that you can have fun only when you're away from
work. What rule dictates that your business is where you must "be
serious"? Come on; lighten up a bit. Far too many people spend
five days of their week just waiting for the weekend where they can
have a good time and relax.

Much of this goes back to the Industrial Age economic model. In this
Industrial Age model, jobs were broken down into smaller and
smaller tasks that could be repeated again and again for maximum
productivity. The assembly line, right? As it turns out, it wasn't
just the assembly line jobs that were treated this way. Salespeople,
accountants, managers and others in the organization were
subjected to the same job design.

As a result, for the past 150 years, we have been taught that time on
the job must be non-stop hard work in order to be most productive.
Many of us learned this from our parents and early bosses. We heard
messages such as "Work really hard and you will be rewarded." Or,
"You're here to work, not play around. Get busy."

No wonder so many people started to look toward their time away
from work as a respite from hard labor and grim pressure. Days off
and weekends began to be treasured as time to enjoy ourselves,
relax and have a little fun. Trouble is, many people now feel they
have to take fewer days off to stay caught up with increasing work
demands. Working weekends has become standard practice for
many over-worked business professionals.

Business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals are even worse
at this. This group works an average of 12 hours per week more than
the average employee.

So where do we have room to have fun? How do we have the time to
enjoy the work? Let's examine this from a couple of different angles.

First, let's step back a few paces and take a bird's eye view of your
business or job. Are you really doing something that you enjoy?
Does your job or your enterprise give you satisfaction? Are you fully
using your natural talents and aptitude?

How do you discover your natural talents? First, write down a list of
those things that you do that seem easy for you. These are the things
that you can do that seem almost effortless. Often, the tasks that are
easy for us are those where we have a special aptitude.

Next, make a list of those things you do where time just seems to
fly by. When you are doing these activities, you may look up and
realize that several hours have passed without you even realizing it.
This is a good clue to activities where you have natural talent.

Then, write all the activities that make you happy. These are things
that make you smile. These are the tasks you would do just for your-
self, with no promise of gain, just because they're fun, interesting
and fulfilling.

Look through the three lists to find the common activities. These are
likely to be the areas of your natural aptitude and talent. These are
the areas of greatest potential for you. Imagine if you could spend
most of your time developing and playing at something that makes
you happy, where time flies and where it's easy for you. Wow!

Now, let's take a look at your enterprise or job from a different
perspective. What can you do to make your time at work more
enjoyable? Here are a few ideas to try.

One of the ways to make work more fun is contests. You could be
the only contestant or you may include a few others. The object of
the contest is to strive for a small, obtainable goal each day, then
get a prize for achieving it. Examples: Book three sales appoint-
ments today and you win a half-hour in the park. Find two new
ways to reduce expenses and you win your favorite dinner. Follow
up with five customers and win a "no working" Saturday.

You get the idea. Just set a few interesting targets that, just by
pursuing them, make your business better. Couple that with some
simple rewards for yourself that make the game fun.
Go on. Have a little fun.

Another idea is to acknowledge and encourage laughter. In many
offices, the absence of laughter is like a wet blanket over the team.
You can even get your clients in the act. Look for opportunities for a
little chuckle when you're talking with your clients. They appreciate
happiness, too. They'll start to realize that you're a real person,
just like themselves.

Being in the right job or business, and having a good time while
you're there will lead to increased productivity, more satisfaction
and less stress.

Measuring your success in this endeavor is easy. If it feels like
work, you're doing it wrong.

© Copyright 2001 BizSuccess   All rights reserved. No duplication

   About the Author...
Gary Lockwood is Increasing the Effectiveness and Enhancing the
Lives of CEOs, business owners and professionals.
Get the Free BizSuccess newsletter -
     http://www.bizsuccess.com/newsletter.htm
or send any blank email to mailto:subscribe@BizSuccess.com

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
          Guest Article
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

     What is the role of a Chief Financial Officer in the year 2001?
     by Dennis Feidner

I can tell you from experience that it is far different than the role
a CFO played 5 or 10 years ago. Has your business grown to the
point that you think that you need a CFO? Or are you wondering
if your current Chief Financial Officer is fulfilling his duties? Here
is a summary of important characteristics of the position:

** A CFO must have hands-on experience within his/her industry.

** A CFO must understand and be able to participate in the bidding
or product pricing process.

** A CFO should be an active participant, not a historian.

** A CFO must understand the importance of cash and be proactive
in the management of the most important asset a company has.

** A CFO must be honest, must strive for excellence in his or her
performance and most importantly, he/she must have the highest
level of integrity.

I am sure that everyone reading this could add some other char-
acteristics that they believe to be important. This is just my top
five.

This article is addressed mostly to those who are willing to call the
construction industry their home. My background has a heavy bias
toward the construction industry; I also have paid my dues in the
capital equipment manufacturing industry. I have been a CFO for
the past 12 years with companies ranging from twenty million to
over one hundred million dollars in sales.

A CFO must wear many hats in most organizations. If a CFO were to
prioritize his responsibilities, the list would go on for pages. There
are some areas that require a disproportionate amount of time.
These responsibilities must be attacked with conviction and passion.

It is important that as organizations grow during these good
economic times that the CFO insure that he is creating and
maintaining the "financial infrastructure" that is appropriate for the
company's size. I have seen a lot of organizations struggle with this
part of their business. I believe that your next estimate / pricing
decision is only as good as the financial information you used to
make that decision. Are you happy with accuracy or timeliness of
your financial reports?

What I believe to be the important duties and responsibilities of a
CFO to be:

The CFO must have at his or her fingertips the latest and most
accurate cost and projected costs for all the contracts that makeup
the backlog. How does he do that? There should be one document
that is the "bible" for job costing. In the last twenty years I have
been developing a report that fills my needs this is probably
version 1000 or something like that, it has been changed so many
times I have lost count. The current version contains the following,
and more:

     Original sales price and cost estimate
     Projected final sales price and cost
     Billings to date, Balance outstanding
     Over/Under billing amount
     Remaining revenue and the cost to complete
     Margin variance for the year and the month
     Amount of unapproved change orders recognized as income.

The next responsibility that should always be a priority is a
relentless pursuit of ways to reduce costs, especially in the
overhead area. There are many areas that will yield large payoffs
with the proper approach. A few of these are the renegotiating of
health benefits, phone rates long distance and local, long term
loans and lines of credit.

The final responsibility is the one that is toughest to fill, the role
of "Strategic Leader". Most accountants are great at preparing
budgets and forecasts but when it comes to preparing a plan for
the future, it takes a special person. That person must be intimate
with the market and most importantly he must know the strengths
and weaknesses of the organization. This is not a job for a "number
cruncher".

When a strategic plan is prepared there is a lot of discussion that
is opinion based, and it is the responsibility of the CFO to separate
the "boasting from the truth". When the president/chief estimator/
marketing director of a company says, "we have the lowest cost" but
the competitors are taking the biggest market share, the CFO needs
to step up and address the inconsistency of the statement. This is
tough because we want to believe we are the best, but that is rarely
the case.

The CFO position is a very important position and it is vital that the
company have the best available candidate in that position.

About the Author...
Dennis E. Feidner has over 15 years of experience leading
companies from the #1 financial spot. The companies that he has
been involved with had sales in excess of $80,000,000. Dennis is
the CEO and founder of Chief Financial Officer On The Go, a company
that supplies the CFO functions to small and midsize businesses on
as-needed basis.

If you found this article of interest, please be sure to get on the
mailing list for our next newsletter. Register at the website...
    http://www.cfo-togo.com

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
        RESOURCES for CEOs
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

     The Executive Committee - Chief Executives Working Together
     http://www.CEOSuccess.com

     ** Attention CEOs
Business leaders are choosing a new way to better their companies
and themselves - through membership in TEC, an international
organization of CEOs.

Imagine the benefits of meeting regularly with a small group
of company leaders in your area to share experiences, exchange
ideas and solve common problems.

Thousands of chief executives turn to TEC for a learning
experience they cannot get anywhere else. We are committed
to connecting CEOs with the people, ideas and information they
need to help them improve their businesses and enhance their lives.

Check it out at        http://www.CEOSuccess.com

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      QUOTES to use in your staff meeting this month
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While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other
is busy making mistakes and becoming superior.
                  Henry C Link

Children need models rather than critics.
                  Joseph Joubert Persees

Half of being smart is knowing what you are dumb about.
                  Solomon Short

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me lay an
invincible summer.
                  Albert Camus

One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing
to do, and always a clever thing to say.
                  Will Durant, historian

The sun will set without thy assistance.
                  The Talmud

From error to error, one discovers the entire truth.
                  Freud

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      HUMOR to lighten up the executive suite
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        The Cat
-------

"No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be
plenty of kittens."
- Abraham Lincoln

"One cat just leads to another."
- Ernest Hemingway

"Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and
get back to you later."
- Mary Bly

        The Bible
---------
A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated
as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly something fell
out of the Bible.

He picked up the object and looked at it closely. What he
saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.

"Mamma, look what I found," the boy called out. "What have you
got there, dear?" his mother asked.

With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered: "I
think it's Adam's underwear."

                    ***excerpts from: http://www.joker.org/ ***

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       CONTACT CEO Success
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Gary Lockwood is the publisher of the CEO Success Report.
   Email: mailto:Gary@CEOSuccess.com
   Office: (800) 272-1575 (USA) * (909) 984-3344
   Fax: (815) 361-3041

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         Your Comments, please?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I appreciate feedback, corrections, and comments about the
CEO Success Report. Please send your thoughts to:
Gary@CEOSuccess.com <mailto:Gary@CEOSuccess.com>

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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Copyright © 2001 CEO Success All rights reserved.