How CFOs and CEOs Talk Past Each Other on Capital Allocation
The CEO says “we have to win this market.” The CFO hears an unbounded cheque. The CFO says “the range is ugly.” The CEO hears a no dressed as analysis. Both leave the meeting sure they were clear.
This is not a personality clash. It is two jobs using different units. Coaching helps when each person can translate the other in the room, not in a corridor afterwards.
The usual miss
The pack has a model and a narrative on different slides. The narrative never states the kill date. The model never states the strategic bet in a sentence a director can repeat.
Coaching for CFOs covers the finance chair. Executive Coaching for High-Stakes Decision Making covers the CEO side. Use both when the pair is the client.
A shared page
| Field | CEO writes | CFO writes | Shared line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bet | What winning looks like | What it costs if we are wrong | One sentence both will say |
| Pace | Why this quarter | What breaks if we rush | A date they can defend |
| Kill | What would make them stop | The metric that triggers stop | An owner for the trigger |
| Alternative | What they will not fund | The next-best use of cash | A named rejected option |
If they cannot fill the shared column, do not take the paper to the board.
How to coach the pair
Meet them together once, then separately, then together again. The middle meetings are for the sentence they will not say in front of each other yet. Do not become a shuttle diplomat who carries softened versions.
For measurement language, see Measuring Executive Coaching ROI. Continue on LinusMurphy.com.
