When I Think What Might Have Been

My new mini-program, Finance Career Strategy Builder, is open for enrolment at the moment.

It’s based on the career strategy module in my flagship development program, CFO Readiness Builder.

And one of the things that prompted me to create it was a comment from a student who said that he found that module really helpful, and that it was “worth its own standalone course”.

What did he find so valuable about it?

Multi-dimensional Analysis

His main comment was that he was “pleased to see a lot of areas I can build on in my current role over time.” (Emphasis mine.)

Because the process focuses on development and experience gaps, it’s not just about upward progression, or even just about job moves, ...

... and it’s not just about doing more courses.

The process enabled him to see that there were, in fact, opportunities within his current role to get the experience he needed, both to practice and improve, and to build a reputation in the business.

And that business-focused reputation was something that would help him move towards being CFO ready.

How This Would Have Helped Me 20 Years Ago

I've also been reflecting on how this process would have helped me 20 years ago.

You see, in putting the Finance Career Strategy Builder process together, I realised that if I’d used it 20 years ago it would have helped me to avoid a bit of wrong turn in my career.

And it was a wrong turn that arguably sent me backwards and caused a few struggles later on. Don’t worry. I’ll try not to bore you with all the details.

What I will say is that, at the end of 2001, I was ousted from the Finance Director position I’d held for just over 2 years, due to the rapid expansion of the business and the group’s desire to have someone more experienced overseeing further growth.

At that point, if I’d had the career map that I’ve built into Finance Career Strategy Builder, I would have had the tools to assess my position and my options in a more balanced way.

I would have realised that I’d actually built a great reputation as a business-focused FD and as a leader. And I would have encouraged myself to see my next step as a similar senior business-focused role, which could have led back to another commercial FD or CFO role.

As it was, with my confidence shot, from being told I was being replaced, I started to believe that my rise to the FD position was “just luck”.

And I looked around for a different kind of role to round out my experience. So, I took on a role in Group Accounting in a large listed group.

There I became known for technical accounting and overhead management, and other niche disciplines. None of that added anything to my experience. I already had that. All it did was drag me away from the direction I really wanted to go.

And from there, my career has been full of twists and turns (for various reasons), but not what you’d call solid progress.

A Strategic Approach Can Help You

Of course, I would never have started Supercharged Finance if things hadn’t gone that way. So, I have no regrets in one sense.

My point to you is, wouldn’t you like to avoid making a wrong turn like the one I made?

If you try to make career decisions without a strategic framework, that’s what can happen.

And that’s what I want you to see if you were to consider investing $149 in Finance Career Strategy Builder.

It’s your chance to do rigorous thinking, strategic thinking, about your career...

... and (to a large degree) avoid making decisions arising solely from your own biased emotions or bruised ego.

Conclusion

So, with all seriousness, I’d encourage you to think about it.

Wouldn’t you rather your career strategy was based on a couple of months of rigorous, strategic thinking (guided by someone who has the benefit of a bit of hindsight)?

Is your current approach to career planning really robust enough?

So, if you want to work with me to develop your unique Finance career strategy, join me in Finance Career Strategy Builder.

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Finance Career Strategy Builder

Finance Career Strategy Builder is a 6-12 week mini-program that will guide you to build your own unique Finance career strategy, using a rigorous, thought-through process, based on sound strategy development processes and tools.

CLICK HERE to find out more. But be aware: Spaces are limited. AND enrolment closes on Tuesday 6th February 2024.

Here’s a quick summary of what you get:

• All my best training material on how to build a Finance career strategy, including everything from that CFO Readiness Builder module I was talking about earlier
• Career strategy summary worksheet
• Career goal clarity and current state assessment worksheet
• 3x online group workshop sessions, where we will get together and help each other get past uncertainties and questions at key stages

As bonuses, you’ll also get:

• Up to 12 weeks of progress review by email – send in your worksheets and get my feedback whenever you feel you need it
• 360-degree feedback questionnaire – to assess your current career position, and your development needs, asking other people is much more reassuring than trusting yourself to be objective. This questionnaire has been designed to get feedback that relates to the career map we’ll be using. It’s a great tool.
• Get your investment taken off the cost of CFO Readiness Builder if you buy that within 12 months.
• An invitation to join our exclusive private Student Community Facebook group, only open to Supercharged Finance students, for community support and sharing whenever you need it.

The Purpose-Driven CFO Newsletter

You can subscribe to The Purpose-Driven CFO Newsletter by clicking the ‘+ Subscribe’ button at the top of this page. If you want to hear my thoughts each week, exploring how we can raise our game in the Finance function by starting with the end in mind, consider subscribing. All it means is that LinkedIn will notify you when I publish a new edition.

About the Author – Andy Burrows

I’m Andy Burrows, and I’m Founder and CEO of Supercharged Finance, a provider of online learning and coaching, aimed at helping Finance professionals get better at helping the businesses they work for.

I qualified as a chartered accountant in the UK, and have worked for more than 25 years as a senior Finance professional in a variety of businesses of different sizes and sectors.

I’m now a popular writer in Finance and Accounting. In 2019 Anders Liu-Lindberg described me as one of the "Top voices on LinkedIn for Finance, accounting and FP&A". And in 2024 I was given official LinkedIn Top Voice status (see the little blue badge on my profile!)

If you’d like to hear even more from me, go to my profile and click the follow button!

CFO Readiness Builder

And, finally, if you are keen to progress quickly in your Finance career, you need to focus on the skills and capabilities that make the difference.

Our CFO Readiness Builder program is designed to help you to do that. CLICK HERE to find out more and register your interest, either for you or for your team.