The CFO Who Was “Ill Equipped” to Save Lehman Brothers

What actually prepares someone to become a CFO? CJ revisits Erin Callan’s short, brutal run as Lehman Brothers CFO and pulls lessons from past guests on operational reps, simple communication, fast-moving bad news, budget mistakes, and why great finance leaders can’t just report the numbers, they have to shape them.

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SPONSORS:

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LINKS: 

Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN

CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/

Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/

Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/

Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com

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RELATED EPISODES:

Steve Isom

https://youtu.be/a4lEdrgFW5E

Jake Kornreich

https://youtu.be/GKo0B1w4bo4

Manu Diwakar

https://youtu.be/J0J4Rfne54E

Dan Bettes

https://youtu.be/b4w_OHpSNNw

Alan Imberman

https://youtu.be/UD9lYhkfA6U

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TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Erin Callan: Lehman's CFO Set up to Fail

5:48 Steve Isom: broadcaster vs. team captain

9:37 Be in rhythm with the business

11:15 Sponsors — Anrok | RightRev | Pulley

14:07 Jake Kornreich: title vs. impact

18:23 Get into the room where decisions are made

22:08 Sponsors — Rillet | Maximor | Brex

25:23 Dan Betts: don't church it up

27:11 The higher up you go, the simpler it gets

29:04 Dan Betts: the many faces of EBITDA

30:39 Understand what success means to them

32:07 Jake Kornreich: the $5M budget bust

33:04 Bad news travels fast

35:01 Alan Imberman: the $100K coffee tab

38:15 ROI on perks

40:25 Alan Imberman: long-term vs. short-term investors

43:28 Would you take the Lehman job?

45:44 Credits

#RunTheNumbersPodcast #CFO #FinanceLeadership #StartupGrowth #FinanceHistory