Month: August 2011

Quote of the Day


"Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger."

                                                    Franklin P. Jones

Job Search: Out of Work for a Long Time


The media, politicians and economists are trying to convince everyone that recession has ended many months ago.  Well, good for recession, but from what I observe, a lot of folks are out of work.  There have to be a reason why unemployment benefits are extended up to 72 weeks in most states. 

Let's face it, the "employment gaps" are far longer now than they have been in many years.  It is especially true for CFO's and Controllers whose small and mid-size employers went out of business or contracted to the level of not being able to afford senior management.  Even though I never believed the old recruitment fable that every $10K of your desired compensation translates into one month of job hunting, the basic rules of statistics prove that it takes longer to find a high level position simply because there are less of them.  Now the available openings are further reduced by the economic contraction.  There are government aid packages designed specifically to stimulate hiring by small businesses, but it will take long time before we will see significant impact.

Knowing all that, nevertheless, does not prevent recruiters and HR managers from asking you point blank, "Why you have been out of work for such a long time?"  They know why.  They ask because they want to see how you handle the question.  Your ability to present yourself in the best light during an interview and explain the employment gap on your resume in the most appealing way is a very sensitive issue.

That is why I highly recommend that everyone, even those who are not actively looking at the moment, read The Ladders' article Why Have You Been out of Work So Long?

I don't always agree with their material, but what I like about The Ladders' advice pieces is that they give us the point of view of the hiring professionals, the very people on the other side of the table.   Those on the job market need to cater to their expectations and their mind-set.  This particular article has the most straight-forward advice on the employment gap issue I have ever seen.

I have to say, however, that almost until the end they got me worried because it seemed that the article practically recommended to make up a story to fill the gap: say whatever,  except that you were just looking for a job.  Only in the last paragraph the actual activities are implied.

And I would like to elaborate on that.  Please, don't make up stories – you never know where that may lead you.  Nobody looks for a job for 12 hours every day.  So, use your spare time to occupy yourself with one of those recommended activities, and then you can tell people about them.  Even if you buy a SOX manual and study it on your own, you can say that you have significantly expanded your internal control compliance horizons.


              

The Frustrated CFO Plays the Identity Game


Well, not exactly – rather we shall play a slightly modified version.  Instead of matching different profiles to people, I will provide just one set of characteristics and a multiple choice to pick a correct answer at the end.  Ookey-dookey, here we go!

This financial being…

  1. Never produces/makes enough to support himself/itself  and his/its dependents.
  2.  Yet, it habitually spends more than he/she/it can afford.
  3. To sustain his/its spending habit it constantly takes money from others – people and institutions.
  4. When the time comes to fulfill payment promises he/it gets money from another place and pays the old outstanding amounts, thus replacing the old obligation with the new ones.
  5. To keep appearances and convince everyone that  everything is fine, he/it acts very confident, as if he/it is on the top of the world and his/its own dealings are in perfect state.
  6. In the process of such activities, he/it pulls into this bullshit game everyone who depends on him/it, exposing them to the future financial problems.
  7. Eventually he/it runs out of places and people to take money from – some or all obligations remain unfulfilled.
  8. As a result, the entity looses his/its official and unofficial creditability and has to suffer punishment and/or public humiliation.
  9. When that happens, the entity acts as if it does not understand why it happened and claims it to be a misunderstanding on the part of those responsible for punishment.
  10. Of course, those related to the entity, whether formally or informally, closely or remotely, directly or indirectly, all get hurt.
  11. Under the new conditions, it is even more difficult for the entity to survive; the game of obligations replacement becomes more and more expensive, further deteriorating the financial situation.
  12. Yet, he/it tries to put on a smiling face, hiding from the rest of the world that the worst is yet to come and that a complete bankruptcy and collapse are just around the corner.

Who or what is this financial being?  Please select the correct answer:

A.  A credit card junkie

B.  A Ponzi-schemer, such as Bernie Madoff

C.  US Treasury

D.  All of the above. 

 


Everyone Loves Lucy


Images-1 Last week Lucille Ball would have turned 100 years old.  Not every celebrity achieves the level of popularity that justifies posthumous birthday announcements, and I am glad that it applies to this great comedienne, who entertained people for so many years.   (As a side note, I must mention that it is a testimony to our electronic dependency that Google doodles have become integral parts of establishing people's immortality – I love them too, by the way.)

And I love Lucy, who also undeniably belongs in this blog as a brilliant businesswoman – one of the most powerful Hollywood women of all times. 

The business success started with Desi's shrewd decision of setting up a television company Desilu (with Lucy's effigy right there in the logo), equally owned by the spouses and responsible for production of not just I Love Lucy, but also Star Trek, The Andy Griffith Show, Mission:Impossible, The Lucy Show, Our Miss Brooks, The Jack Benny Program, and many others.  Only three years into its existence, the company was considered such a powerful television presence that it became a natural choice of  many consumer product conglomerates, including Phillip Morris, for production of high quality TV advertisement.

Desilu was one of the first entertainment companies to recognize a power of merchandising – an entire line of I Love Lucy products, from pajamas and dolls to furniture sets, was a tremendous success.  In 1954 alone they brought a net profits of $500,000 (over $4 million in today's money).  After purchasing RKO's facilities, Desilu Productions has become the largest studio in Hollywood, running 33 sound stages (more than either MGM or Twentieth Century Fox).  When Lucy bought Desi out in 1962, she became the first female head of a major studio.

I've seen different numbers estimating Lucy's worth at the time of her death in 1989, wildly ranging between $25 million and $65 billion.  It does not really matter.  One thing we can say for sure – she did well for herself. 

Many biographers, TV historians, and ardent fans, have been arguing for decades, about whose contribution was most important in Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's financial success.  While Desi did present the company as a President, we may never know whose idea it was was to do this or that deal.  Without a doubt, Lucy was always a bankable asset.  Moreover, it is a known fact that the artistic merits and public appeal of such long-lived franchises as Star Trek and Mission: Impossible, that still continue spawning new feature movies, were evaluated and approved by her personally.  

But the most remarkable lesson in Lucille Ball's shrewdness as a business woman comes from a very personal matter.  Many enterprises fall apart on account of minor tiffs between unrelated partners.  Lucy and Desi Arnaz stuck together through marital problems for a long time and got a divorce only after the final episode of Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour was filmed.  Moreover, they managed their business separation in the most civilized and mutually-beneficial manner, remaining friends for the rest of their lives.