Tag Archives: executive leadership

Ellen Wood, vcfo President & CEO, Published in Texas CEO Magazine

Texas CEO Magazine

How does an economic development plan created almost 20 years ago still inform the city of Austin’s success? Click here to read the latest edition of Texas CEO Magazine for more from Ellen Wood, vcfo’s President & CEO.

Capitalize on Historical Trends – 4 Questions for CEOs

image: plan to navigate the changing business environment

Charting the Course in a Changing Business Environment Late in 2020, I published a post that focused on how history informs business strategy. It provided a primer on insights introduced in The Fourth Turning, a book authored by William Strauss and Neil Howe. In short, the authors comprehensively examined events and tides that have unfolded …

WEBINAR: Understanding the Evolving Crisis and the Potential Impact on Your Small Business

  Click here to view the recorded webinar. We live in what feels like unprecedented times. Severe upheaval and dislocation in the systems and structures that have held society together are causing them to come apart in front of our very eyes. It is everywhere. In government and politics, our education systems, the environment, science …

Four Key Functions a CFO Adds to the Executive Team

Executive Leadership Team

Forming and growing a strong leadership and executive team is a vital and evolving challenge for business leaders. Deciding on the roles, the levels of experience and the capabilities required on the team depend on both the current stage and planned growth of the company. Financial and strategic expertise will always be a part of …

Pace Yourself During Periods of Transition

“Slow down to speed up.” You’ve heard this before, right? And, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” These familiar phrases are often used in life, and are applicable for business as well. Two places these phrases surface in business are during rapid growth and in a sudden crisis. Most companies grow organically. In the …

How History Informs Business Strategy

While living in Washington, DC in the nineties, I was introduced to a book that hit me like a brick and provided clear context for everything that was happening in the world around me. That book was The Fourth Turning, by William Strauss and Neil Howe. It held that events which many times appear unrelated …

Coping with COVID – Employer Considerations

As employers come to grips with the disruption wrought by the Coronavirus, three closely related concerns rise to the top – employee safety, communications, and compliance. Financial viability is right there too, but smart employers prioritize people and understand that financial viability isn’t achievable in the long term if these prerequisites are not effectively met. …

Forming a Board – Key Considerations for Growing Businesses

For public companies, having a board of directors is both essential and required to protect shareholder interests, weigh key actions, and support well-informed decisions. While private companies don’t have the same requirement, a board of advisors or directors can nonetheless be just as helpful and important  to maximize business success. However, forming a board that’s …

Do I Need a CFO?

Some form of the question, “Do I need a CFO?” surfaces in the course of conversation at a very high percentage of the lunches or professional events our vcfo consultants attend with business leaders. It’s a pivotal and not surprising question for CEOs to struggle with, especially when they have solid controllers and accounting managers …