What do you wish someone had told you at the start of your CFO career?
“One of my colleagues had a great expression. She used to always say ‘most business problems wear shoes.’ And what she meant by that is that most of the problems that you need to solve in business are people-related, so when trying to fix problems, you know where you really need to focus. I counseled my team on this. You really need to focus on the individuals involved. This is something that I probably learned later in my career that I wish was shared with me when I was a lot younger, but I think it’s an interesting expression, and it certainly rings true in most situations.
“I consider myself pretty self-aware. And knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and being willing to complement your weaknesses with a team that in fact has that complementary skillset, is pretty powerful. So don’t be shy about that, don’t be afraid to hire people smarter than you. And I’ve always done that. I’ve never been afraid of my weaknesses. I just go and recruit folks who are much better at those things.”
Listen to our interview with Larry HERE