The single most important thing any leader or manager can do to be successful is to build trust with his or her team. When working with a new client or joining a new organization, the first thing I know that I need to do to be successful is to build Read more…
Note: I am not a lawyer, and what follows is not legal advice. The below are guidelines for typical business situations. If there are legal privacy concerns, like personal medical records or financial information at stake, then you should seek proper legal advice. There are a couple of important things Read more…
What to do when you know there are critical control deficiencies in your business I was working for a global business in a regional finance leadership role. Internal Audit rotates their work so that each entity is reviewed every three years, and it was our turn. The issue was that Read more…
Avoid the tendency to over-analyze and explain 100% of the result. Everyone does it… Google the phrase “primarily due to, partially offset by” you will see 10s of millions of search results, many of them from amazing, reputable companies. Folks, you need to get out of the weeds as they Read more…
We hired a temporary receptionist in our small office in Central America. I was working a regional financial leadership role at the time. The agency we contracted with to hire her found out she was pregnant and fired her the day before she would have gotten her seniority and been Read more…
I was in a regional finance leadership role. I flew to meet with our accounting firm in the Caribbean. When I got to the office, everyone was looking very nervous. We chatted while we waited for the firm’s owner to arrive. About 20 minutes later, he comes in wearing a Read more…
Leading internationally diverse teams that span different languages, cultures, and geographies can be complex to say the least. Throughout my career, I have led and managed direct and indirect reports in Puerto Rico, New York, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Canada, and Martinique. Here is some of what I’ve Read more…