I remember sitting in monthly leadership meetings feeling insecure because I didn’t fully understand the financial numbers. I had technical training as the head of quality, but lacked the financial education to be an active participant.
Knowing I had this knowledge gap, I proceeded to sign up for “Finance for the non-finance professional”, aka “Finance for Dummies”. I came away with a few tips to improve my understanding, but still lacked the financial savvy to ask good questions or highlight risks & opportunities.
I struggled for a few more years until I was approached by the head of operations to help quality leaders be able to be more influential by translating risk & opportunity into calls for action in the language of business.
While sitting over coffee with an experienced consultant we discussed this topic and how I still felt like a dummy. He then said everything boils down to “Top line growth”, “EBITA – or profitability”, and “Cash on Hand” and that was it! Those were the only three lines on the P&L I needed to know. If I could translate the work I did to direct impact on the business, then I have found the keys to financial acumen.
Check in with your employees to find the gaps and pair them with the resources they need. No one should have to feel like a dummy!
And if you want to know how I got through not only this challenge and hundreds of other challenges and transformed who I was, please connect with me at https://dropinceo.com/contact and lets continue the conversation or email me at [email protected]