It Takes A Village To Build A BudgetThere’s no doubt that Finance runs the budget process, and probably should. But we can get so focused on the mechanics of getting the budget done, that we can almost forget that it takes a village to build it. Let’s keep in mind that the purpose of budget process is to allocate resources, and a… Read More |
Incredible Video on Coordination & PlanningHow do you get 185 people in 12 countries, who have never met before, to come together and sing in a virtual choir? Coordination & planning, that’s how. I don’t want to give too much away, but this video will set you back on your heels. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o7BrlbaDs I could spend a lot of time explaining… Read More |
A Failing City Calls in the Budget DoctorEvery once in a while I come across a podcast that I think is illuminating – makes a point but does so in a clever or revealing way. I found one the other day and wanted to share it. A Failing City Calls in the Budget Doctor http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=134430495&m=134431356 It’s only about five minutes, but you’ll… Read More |
Distributed BudgetingAt XLerant, we’re changing how budgeting is done… and who’s doing it Our clients use our flagship application, called BudgetPak, to distribute budgeting to the people driving the actual results. To understand why, read on. Who does the budget in your company? Chances are it’s the Finance department. Who drives the actual results of the… Read More |
How Impact Bias and Focalism Make for Bad DecisionsPeople who study purchasing behavior have discovered a curious phenomenon they call Impact Bias. It’s a tendency to overestimate the impact a particular change will have. There’s another phenomenon called Focalism; the tendency to magnify the importance of one thing until it overshadows everything else. Taken together, Impact Bias and Focalism distort reality, like a… Read More |
Overcoming the Twin Traps of Impact Bias and FocalismIn a previous blog we talked about how Impact Bias and Focalism and lead to some really bad decisions. In a nutshell, the problem is we so focus on our personal needs when it come to business decisions — like what budgeting system to buy – that our perceptions get distorted. Like a fun house… Read More |
Changing the face of budgetingI hate the word paradigm, don’t you? It’s been so over used, it hardly seems to have any real meaning left. But in fact it does have meaning — “A framework of understanding; a mindset based on a set of precepts.” The paradigm (don’t cringe) most of us have when it comes to corporate budgeting… Read More |
Getting the story behind the numbersWhen I worked at Pepsi as a FP&A Manager it was drilled into our heads that our job was to “get the story behind the numbers” and be able to communicate that story intelligently. But what does getting the story behind the numbers really mean? The report that almost every finance organization runs each month… Read More |
The role of leadership in BudgetingI don’t often do this, but a colleague of mine sent me a short video from the last TED Conference that I wanted to share with you. It’s on leadership, and it’s by a brilliant guy named Derek Sivers. It’s short (3 min), funny, and makes some very solid points. We don’t often associate Leadership… Read More |
How to your involve your user communityThe question of how to involve your user community in solution development is an important one; because the ultimate success or failure of any new system is wholly dependent upon whether or not it’s actually embraced by the user community… or rejected. There’s a lot of shelfware out there, and getting your users involved in… Read More |
