Upside/Downside - Grow Your Profits and Cash Flow
Poor profits and cash flow got you down?
My name is Matt Cooley and value creation has always been central to my career, from start-ups to multi-billion-dollar product lines. As a finance executive at successful companies, I've noticed a thing or two about what creates versus destroys value. In this podcast, we explore value creation and share a few laughs on the way to higher profits and cash flow.
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I wish you the best on your value creation journey!
Matt Cooley
Upside/Downside - Grow Your Profits and Cash Flow
Ep 16: Career Questions from Students of Professor Chang Xia, St. Francis College, Brooklyn
Mitch Peipert, CFO of Thomasnet, returns to Upside/Downside to help me answer career questions from students of Professor Chang Xia at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. From navigating the transition into your first job to why continuous learning is so important, we share our thoughts and remind you to take a deep breath and enjoy the journey. Join us!
Thank you for listening and please visit Upside/Downside podcast and enter your email for my FREE list: "10 places to look for higher profits and cash flow right now!".
Matt
Hi, this is Matt Cooley, host of the podcast Upside Downside, where we explore what it takes to be the best finance business partners possible. I'm a finance business partner myself and former president of the New York City chapter of Financial Executives International. Joining me today is Mitch Piper, CFO at ThomasNet and my very first guest on Upside Downside. Welcome back, Mitch. Hey, Matt. Thanks for having me. I appreciate being here. Thank you. I really appreciate your time. We're going to do something different this time and answer career-related questions from college students, finance and accounting students, in fact. And today's questions come from students of Professor Chang Xia at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. So Mitch, let's jump right in. Sure. So Professor Xia gave us lots of questions, and we've distilled it down to a number of interesting ones. So do you think having the ability to take risks and make decisions are fundamental qualities for a finance professional?
SPEAKER_01:Ironically, finance professionals are kind of intrinsically anti-risk, although they are good decision makers because accountants are typically conservative people, right? So I think it's a good idea to take calculated risks. I know I'll agonize over my pros and cons when making big decisions, but I think whether you're a risk taker or not, it's critical to be able to make decisions and being decisive is one of the qualities that will help you climb the corporate ladder. Leaders do make decisions.
SPEAKER_00:Right. And I like that answer and I totally agree with it. One of our roles in finance is helping to quantify those risks as much as possible. And it's fundamental to making good decisions. And at my company, we've basically trained people to understand that risks are good and risks are necessary, but it's the kinds of risks, what you do if risks actually... come about, et cetera, that is something that needs to be taken into consideration as well. So definitely not a bad word. Yeah, I like that. Number two, what happens if the career I'm pursuing is not the one I thought it would be? That's a good one.
SPEAKER_01:This is a great question. And it actually happened to me. So I'll share my experience. Very interesting. So many people actually get upset when they think that they're pursuing the wrong career. But I think you should look at that as a positive rather than a negative. Because once you make that realization, you can course correct and pursue something that's more fulfilling and makes you happier. So a little bit about my story briefly. Early on, after public accounting and then going to Merrill Lynch as an accounting manager, I thought I hated accounting. So I wanted to try something different. And at the time, financial planning, personal financial planning was a big deal. So I joined a firm, got licensed to sell all kinds of things like life insurance and securities. And I gave it a try for two years. What I found out is you had to ultimately be a salesperson and sell products to people to make the big money. And it wasn't always proper. So it didn't sit well with me. And then I went back after that to my typical career path, became a controller and then CFO. And I'm very happy I did. But had I not at least tried, I would always wonder and, you know, you have to give it a shot if you think that you can try something else. So the good thing is it set me on a career path. It gave me a better attitude. And I'm a very happy CFO at this point. So I say, do your dreams, you know, give things a try, but don't fret over it. You know, you have so many options in finance because it really truly is the best foundation for any career in business.
SPEAKER_00:Wow. Well, so far we're thinking alike on these. Yeah. From my perspective, I agree with everything you say. And it is a good platform for almost any other kind of role. So take it Take a deep breath if you feel that way and know that you at least have a good foundation under you to do anything that you want. So I very much agree with that. Next one, what can you do to develop better organizational skills if you feel like nothing you have done is working? What do you think about that, Mitch?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, great question. I actually use two apps that really keep my life in order and keep my mind clear when I go to sleep at night. So I use a to-do list app called Todoist And there are many others that are just as good, but I keep all the things I need to do professionally, excuse me, and personally in there. And as soon as I have a thought, especially before I go to bed, I'll clear my mind and add it to the list. They're all prioritized by importance. They have due dates and categories. And I literally use this throughout the day to guide me what I should focus on. The second thing I use, second app is Google Calendar, which many people use. And I color code meetings, items, other items I do for work, personal personal appointments, et cetera. And then I review these the night before and kind of plan my day, you know, the day before it comes up. And I'll view this either on my phone, my iPad and the MacBook Pro. And I really feel organized at all times, which reduces stress and obviously increases my productivity.
SPEAKER_00:Wow. Well, I'm impressed and I'm going to share what I do and I'm embarrassed to a certain degree. So I also use apps that are part of our desktop infrastructure at my companies So Microsoft Teams, Office 365, I use heavily for calendaring and to-do lists, things like that. I used to write everything down, but I've found over time using the tools really does integrate and increase your productivity. But I'm at a large company working in a startup unit with some new offerings. And so I'm busier than I've been in quite a while. So what I've been doing lately, quite honestly, when those tools aren't up to snuff, I'm actually using sticky notes and sticky notes. I pulled out for emerging emergency things that need to be done in the next couple hours. So rather than bearing them on a calendar or inside a tool, they're right on the top of my, my desk. And there's something that I know I have to get to within the next couple hours. So in my world, anyway, it's a combination of old and new, but I like your approach. I like your approach. Okay. Next one. And maybe I'll take a stab at this one first. When do you know you've developed all the proper skills to become successful in your field of business or for your company? This one's interesting because my previous role in my company, I was working on staff development for business controllers. Hopefully, you'll never know that you've developed all the proper skills. Careers are organic, in my opinion, and you've got to constantly be learning. There's always something new you can learn and you can always develop in additional areas. So you're never really going to have all the skills. It's sort of this evolving bag of tools that you have over time and what you bring to the table with those tools, as well as your attitude from my perspective. So don't fall in the trap that you have to learn all the skills because that word all is constantly changing. That's my thought on that one. What do you think, Mitch?
SPEAKER_01:Well, those are surprise, we're in total agreement on this as well. I believe a successful leader is constantly developing. So for example, myself, I read nonfiction books all the time to better myself in every way possible. And then I take CPE courses as required to make my CPA license. And that allows me to continue to hone my career skills in my profession. So, you know, like you, in summary, I would say, you really have never fully developed your skills, but it should be an ongoing thing. And you're always should be learning.
SPEAKER_00:Right. Excellent. Excellent advice. Next one. How do you improve relationships with the people you work with? This is a big one. Okay. Would you like me to go first? Oh, please do. It's a big one. I'm going to let the CFO go first.
SPEAKER_01:No problem. Yeah. So I think it's always a great idea to get to know people personally, if appropriate. And obviously in the olden days, we used to get together in person and have, you an opportunity to socialize either over lunch or over a drink. And that will happen again. And it's always good to get to know someone and improve relationships. But in the meantime, just do it virtually. Another way to improve relationships is by putting yourself in other's shoes and envisioning their point of view. This allows you to get out of your head and see how others react to your views and could help you improve your relationships.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I like that. Those are good. Yeah, I'd ask, I'd add that asking a lot of questions and truly being interested is a great way to start a good relationship at work and listening more than speaking. Those are things that I've found over time that add. Otherwise, I agree with everything you say. Next one, a couple more. What is the best advice for networking in the finance field? And I love this because an upside downside, the concept of networking has come up many times. Mitch, I think you're a master at this. So you take that one first.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I actually really enjoy networking and I always think the best time to network is when you don't need it. You want to have that network in place for when you do need it, like a job search or whatever. So one thing I would suggest and get involved with your local finance organizations like FEI, Financial Executive International, where as Matt mentioned, he used to serve as president and we were currently both board members. I would attend meetings like these in person whenever you can, but virtually for now. And I would make an an effort to meet new people, cultivate that relationship and stay in touch with people. LinkedIn is a great way to manage these relationships and stay in touch virtually. And the pandemic provides a great excuse to check in with your contacts. Just ask how they and their family are doing and it will always be appreciated.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's great. And I found, you mentioned FEI and something that I've done over the years after attending an FEI event in person, you always meet people, sometimes you get business cards or you swap LinkedIn information, sitting on the train, going home or whatever, when you get home, sending those folks a follow-up note really helps cement some of those relationships for the longer term. And so many people don't do that networking stuff. It can be uncomfortable for finance people, but once you get into it, it's a lot of fun and it's a great way to grow your career. Totally agree. Last one, sir. Smooth was the transition from student to professional in the finance world. We're going to have to go back a few years to remember that, but I think I have
SPEAKER_01:some. Take that one, please. All righty. So for me, it was a very smooth transition. I joined two accounting firms and the great thing was I was immediately surrounded by people I considered friends and that support group really helped me. And I think we helped each other, you know, get through the long hours and the craziness that you experience in a tax season in public accounting. And the good thing is I've now been close friends with these guys for over 30 years. The other thing I would suggest and I always look for were mentors. Mentors are key because you can look to these people for guidance when you have questions, you're not sure about your career. And to pay it forward, I happily mentor students in several colleges in New York City and also some friends' kids who are about to graduate or recently graduated For me, it's very fulfilling to do that.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, that's outstanding. My transition was a little rough. So for six months after graduating from college, I worked at a tiny startup in downtown San Francisco selling edutainment software. That's a word you hopefully won't hear again. But it was rough. And every day it was important to sell something and do the accounting for it and report back to the owners. do appreciate it though, because even though that was a rough six months, it was a placeholder until I was able to get a job literally across the street at the Pacific Stock Exchange. A great job, which was a great foundational experience for me. So despite that rough patch in the first six months, I considered it a holding pattern for a much better job and the launch really of my career. So take a deep breath again. It can be rough, it can be easy, but you're playing for the long game. So don't sweat the immediate transition. Great advice.
SPEAKER_01:Well, Mitch, how cool was that? This was awesome. I really enjoyed it, just like our first podcast.
SPEAKER_00:Excellent. And I want to say a big thanks to Professor Chang Sha again for submitting these questions, and I hope to have her on a future program. Based on this, I think there's hope for the future of our profession, my friend. I'm very excited about the future here. All right. A big thank you to the subscribers of Upside Downside for listening today, and we'll see you next time.
