First Serve Strategies

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Title: The Changing Role of The CFO: Has the pendulum swung to far?
Location: Philadelphia Country Club
Link out: Click here
Description: CFO Alliance: Breakfast Roundtable
Prior to the 90s the main focus for the CFO was fiduciary responsibilities. In the 90s the focus shifted more toward strategy. Then came Enron, Worldcom, and Sarbanes Oxley. Has the pendulum swung too far?
Start Time: 7:30 AM
Date: 2009-09-16

Title: Moderating Panel Discussion for Global Creative Economy Summit
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center
Link out: Click here
Description: Creating a Culture of Innovation. This panel explores the creative context of entrepreneurship. We move beyond the initial founding of the venture with a novel idea to the entrepreneurial challenge of sustaining the creative spark as the business grows. Critical issues of team formation and organizational design as it relates to innovation and creativity will be addressed. In particular, panelists will explore how entrepreneurial companies might avoid falling into the traps of bureaucracy that inhibit innovation and creativity as companies grow. The panel will creatively combine research on organizational creativity with practical insights from experienced entrepreneurs.
Start Time: 1030
Date: 2009-10-06

Driving the twenty-five mile trek through hairpin turns and beautiful vistas from the southern entrance of Sequoia National Park, my mind is flooded with metaphor. It is a good thing my family is not aware of my reverie. They are confident I am concentrating on maneuvering each twist and turn, keeping them safe.

Immediately I am struck by the beauty and majesty of what I see. In the presence of the greatness that envelops me, I experience dual emotions—insignificance and motivation. Surrounded by a beauty too big to be captured through the lens of a camera, I realize just how transitory and small I am. At the same time, surrounded by such greatness, I feel the need to achieve—to make a difference in the world. If you want to be an effective leader, and make a positive difference in the world, surround yourself with greatness.

If you have never experience the beauty of the Giant Sequoia, there is nothing quite like it. As I drove into the Park I expected to see 404,051 acres of Giant Sequoias. Instead, we traveled roughly 15 miles without seeing even a hint of the big boys. Just as I was becoming convinced I was in the wrong Park, we rounded a bend and were confronted by the most amazing sight—clusters of Giant Sequoias that towered over us like something from a JRR Tolkien novel. As it turns out, the Giant Sequoia is quite rare, growing only under very specific condition.

While I was treated to hundreds of these majestic trees that grow up to 300 feet in height, 30 feet in diameter, and have a lifespan that can reach 3,000 years, they are rare. In the midst of 404,051 acres of awesome beauty and greatness, the Giant Sequoia stands out among all others. Humanity is much the same. While only a few leaders stand as tall or have as lasting a legacy as the Giant Sequoia, great leadership comes in many shapes and sizes.

©Mark P. Loschiavo