Appearances May Be Deceiving
Looks Can Be Deceiving. (Doesn’t it I look like I have it all together?) As a CFO I have guided major projects from start to completion. I have presented information to board members...
Looks Can Be Deceiving
(Doesn’t it I look like I have it all together?)
As a CFO I have guided major projects from start to completion.
I have presented information to board members and worked with them on shaping strategy.
I can talk about the various ways I’ve improved financial structures at different organizations.
I can come across with confidence, because I really good at what I do.
(And I look the part.)
You would come away thinking I am really on top of everything from a financial standpoint. And I typically am, in my professional life.
Well, my personal life is a little different.
I’ll admit it, I don’t actually want to do our finances.
I don’t want to keep track of the details of my daily expenses. I don’t want to understand the nuances of YNAB (You Need A Budget software application) in order to manage our families overall financial structure.
I don’t want to do any of it.
But, of course, I am doing it and my commitment to staying engaged continues to grow.
The problem is your internal barriers to creating the life you really want can pop up and get in the way. That happened to me recently.
So I’m supposed to be on top of making a monthly tax payment to the IRS, so we can pay off a large bill from 2023.
I set up this payment.
The login is my favorite password.
I determined the type of payment and had emails sent directly to me about the payment structure, due dates, etc.
One would expect me to know what to do. Right?
Well, from May 15-31 Deb asked me regularly why the payment hadn’t hit our checking account.
Finally, I committed to getting it done.
I spent 40 minutes waiting for the Maryland tax department representative to answer the phone.
Did you notice the problem? Wrong tax department.
It was our federal income tax payment that had to be made, not state.
I felt stupid. And Deb was amazed at my ability to forget all of that. She thought the whole time we were both talking about our federal return.
She noted that I have some pretty strong “protector parts” if they could manage to erase all that info from my CFO brain. We did laugh about it in the end (that’s also the result of A LOT of work as a couple!)
But that’s what happens to humans. A lot. We avoid. We forget. We get overwhelmed. We don’t do things we’re totally capable of doing for a variety of reasons. Can you relate?
Tip of the Day - Have a way to keep track of your projects so you can easily refresh yourself when you need to pick it back up again.
You probably have a lot going on professionally and personally. It’s likely you may touch something, and then have it sit for 3-4 months.
This tip is very helpful, especially when you are waiting on another person to take the next step.
We’ve started using Trello and having weekly, monthly and quarterly meetings - both personal and business.
Deb also has a “waiting for” list (an idea she learned from Katherine North and David Allen’s book Getting Things Done). That and our almost-daily YNAB updates kept her on top of this one.
I’m still playing with and tweaking my systems now that so much of my life depends on me being clear about priorities and due dates etc.
It wasn’t all bad, though.
My 40 mins waiting for the Maryland rep led to a $40 refund for overpayment!
P.S. Are you a Black leader of a non-profit who wants to increase the financial capacity of your organization, but isn’t ready to hire a full-time CFO? Or do you know someone who fits that description? Let’s talk.