OK so you’re the new guy… Where do you start? Read below or click here to watch video You walk into a new job as a CFO, Finance Director, or related position. On your first week, you find out the books are behind, way behind, the audits are delinquent, and your organization is about to… Read More »

There are three main reasons why finance directors, CFOs, and other top financial and accounting professionals get fired in their organizations.  Read below or watch video One. Management skills. You need to learn to delegate, communicate, and manage the expectations of your superiors and the stakeholders of your organization. “Let everybody and God know when… Read More »

Professionals Who Make Time For their Dad Have No Regrets at their Deathbed.  Watch video Today’s MuniTemps CitySpeak article is to remind all of my colleagues of how important it is that we all make time in our busy professional lives to spend time with our dads. As I told you a couple of weeks… Read More »

If your organization was an orchestra or a mariachi group, what instrument would you play? Watch video My wife today told me that a trumpet player is loud, proud, and confident. She even threw in that a trumpet player is full of hot air. She is 100% right! You simply can’t play the trumpet the… Read More »

Would you quit your job?  Would you give up on your life? Watch video. My dad never gave up, even when he was sick or injured from work, he kept on working so that our family could have food and shelter. Today my dad is dying from pancreatic cancer, but he has not quit holding… Read More »

Have you ever stood in front of an NFL football player? I have, they make you feel small. What does an NFL football player have to do with “fairness” or “fair play” in FMV? Allow me to share a brief true story so I can explain, or you can click here to watch the video… Read More »

Today’s “Motivational Monday” LinkedIn post shares the lessons learned from a REORG (reorganization) at a City government organization when I was the Director of Finance in 2005. Watch video It was quite frustrating to me, back then, when the REORG required that I work through a new level of management. Previously I could go directly… Read More »

Chicken little yells, “the sky is falling“!  Watch video The media today thrives on Chicken Little style news reporting that sells, and that makes money for their organizations, with money sometimes having a higher value than the truth. Back in the day, we relied on Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Harry Reasoner, and others, to report… Read More »

I had a dream an H.R. Director turned me down for a Finance Director interview at her City.  Click to watch This was just a dream, but in my dream, I empathized with the H.R. Director as she sheepishly had to use legal means to explain why I was not a good fit for their… Read More »

Work-Life Balance: Click to watch video or listen to audio: A colleague on LinkedIn recently suggested I should speak about work-life balance and how I achieved it during the 47 years of my working life. The bottom line of this CitySpeak blog post article is that it’s all you! What does the plane stewardess tell… Read More »