What is it about CFOs?

The best CFOs I've worked with have this incredible knack of pushing all the right buttons to unlock performance beyond expectation. It's all about pushing the boundaries of what's thought possible.?

?

I'm approaching the end of an annual challenge I participate in to support Dravet?Syndrome UK - a small charity very close to the hearts of good friends of ours, Mike Ward and his wife. 4 years ago they launched the "Run 5km every day in May for Dravet" challenge. When I first took part, there were just 40 of us taking this on, which has grown this year to over 400 participants.?

For the last couple of years, the combination of the total distance (155km) and the logistics of fitting it in every day around work meant this was a hard, but achievable, challenge. My lack of pace control (I always basically go flat out) didn't help either.?

This year, given the amount of running I'm doing for the commute, I very nearly didn't sign up as I was worried about having no rest days. I'm so pleased I did - being part of the community supporting this charity is really inspiring.?

By May 15th I had covered the 155km that the challenge would typically require*. I referenced this whilst trying to drum up donations from colleagues. In steps my CFO, Andrew Baddeley , with a smile on his face, ready to push my buttons... "I'll donate ￡100 if you cover 400km in the month"

Challenge accepted!?

I've had a lot of time (whilst pounding the pavement) to think about how smart - and calculated - this provocation was from Andrew. And it really reminded me of the power of a BHAG - a Big, Hairy, Audacious, Goal.?

I was first introduced to BHAGs by another CFO, Andrew Findlay , during our time at easyJet. The BHAG was first conceived by Jim Collins in his book, Built to Last. On the author’s website he states:

A BHAG is a powerful way to stimulate progress. A BHAG is clear and compelling, needing little explanation; people get it right away…The best BHAGs require both building for the long term AND exuding a relentless sense of urgency: What do we need to do today, with monomaniacal focus, and tomorrow, and the next day, to defy the probabilities and ultimately achieve our BHAG?

I certainly feel like I’ve been operating with monomaniacal focus since the 16th May!?

Back to the 400km. Certainly clear and stretching. But with the right sense of urgency it felt within the edges of possibility. If I had been covering 10km a day to the 15th**, it felt possible I could do 15km for the last 16 days of the month. The beauty of Mr Baddeley’s target setting was that it was stretching enough (a 50% increase), but not totally without grounding (given my track record). If he’d given me that target at the start of the month, I don’t think I’d have signed up to it - it would have felt too fanciful. The BHAG can’t be so far out of reach it feels totally unachievable. That won’t unlock the motivation required to push boundaries. We’ve all been part of budget setting exercises where the targets feel like fantasies. Those aren’t BHAGs.?

So how am I getting on??

3 days left to go and I’m confident I’ll get his ￡100 for Dravet Syndrome UK . But there was another good CFO lesson along the way… ALWAYS CHECK YOUR DATA. I’d been tracking my total monthly data on Strava , which is where I took the 155km at Day 15. It wasn’t until Day 23 that I realised that what I was looking at was a total distance covered (including distance walked). My running distance was 40km short of where I thought it was. I was then at a cross-roads, do I count it all, or come clean and accept I’ve 40km to make-up? And now here I am 4 days into running a half marathon every day for a week… 3 to go!?

?

What am I spending time thinking about? How we translate our Commercial objectives and plan at Evelyn Partners into a BHAG. Watch this space…

?

If anyone is able and willing to give to this great cause, we’d really value your support.

?Https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/every-day-in-may-4-dravet-2024

?

* Or so I thought - more to follow

** I hadn’t…