It’s Academy Awards season. Let’s look at the best movies for CFOs…none of which are current nominees, but hey, great excuse for our community to talk about the most badass movie for finance and accounting folks, ever:

#5. The Bridge on the River Kwai, starring Alec Guinness

No, this is not the badass movie – you gotta read down to #1. We’re starting with a classic Hollywood movie. You ask why? Because, my lovely financial and accounting and audit experts, you would never let meticulous get in the way of accountability, of what’s right. Just because you can build something – in this case, planning, designing and constructing a bridge for the enemy – doesn’t mean you should. Or then defend it. When meticulous is not paired with integrity, you just get obsession.

Resumes are for job seekers. But you’re not a job seeker. You’re an interim executive wired for driving value, creating wealth, and scaling up. Your focus as an interim and fractional executive is on problem-solving. So stop blanketing the world with your resume.

Instead, master your pitch. Craft a compelling pitch that highlights your expertise and the value you can bring to an organization in need.

Identify pain points and opportunities within organizations and present solutions.

Remember: The perfect elevator pitch is not about your past experiences; it’s about the future you can create.

Manufacturers are grappling with a number of significant challenges in 2024. Some of them are new, some are left over from the pandemic, and some have been around for years. Here we list the top challenges facing manufacturers and our executives’ recommendations for dealing with them.

Labor Shortages

Identifying, recruiting, and hiring skilled workers is often cited as the No. 1 manufacturing industry challenge for 2024. Baby boomers hitting retirement age, a skills gap in areas like automation, and millennials’ demand for flexibility and remote work options all contribute to the challenge of hiring the right people for the manufacturing jobs of the future.

Interim CEO Tony Evers says companies can overcome this challenge. “Always focus on capability potential as this is the basis for growth – personal and business,” he says.

There are some tried and true ways to do that, says Ed Trevisani, an interim executive with extensive experience in business strategy, operations, and transformation.

Those include:

The Roy family of “Succession,” the critically acclaimed series about which of the Roy family offspring would take the reins of the family-owned media conglomerate Waystar RoyCo., should serve as a cautionary tale for any business owner considering retirement. Business succession planning cannot be left to underlings to duke it out for control.

Succession planning is important for any business — family-owned or not. It’s critical for business continuity, preserving the legacy, and a smooth transition.

When it’s time to step away from the helm and choose a successor, there are three options available:

By Robert Jordan

When your company is stalled or facing transition, there are two ways to get help: adding a new leader to the team or helping the leaders you have be the best they can be. When you need a new leader, an interim, part-time or fractional executive can be on site quickly, leading the change. When you have the leadership your company needs, bringing in a business coach can help him or her rise to the new challenge.

Yes, our InterimExecs RED Team executives sometimes play a mentoring role at companies where they serve. But that is a specific use case to mentor someone who is being trained into higher responsibility. Most interim and fractional executives do not consider their operational roles, even if including mentoring, to be the same activity as a dedicated business coach.

Business or executive coaches are an external resource. They work with the executive on leadership skills and personal development.

As entrepreneurs and small business owners, my partner, Olivia Wagner, and I have long understood the benefits of business coaching. We have met with a business coach and used his services to help us refine our business strategy and cement our professional partnership.

Business coaching offers a distinct form of leadership development. So, I wondered, how do business coaching services do what they do so well?