The fundamentals
First up, a quick ad for a product I stand behind!
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Okay, on to the blog! ⬇️
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I spoke in a recent newsletter about the danger
Of thinking your AI line-chef activity will make you irreplaceable
(it won't.)
[Quick plot recap for those who missed our last episode:
"AI Skills" will soon be table-stakes, easy to acquire, and not a differentiator.
And the vibe-coded tool you built that saves your company millions
Belongs to your COMPANY, not you. So not really sustainable job security.]
But it begs the question: If spending my weekends vibe-coding for my boss won't get me to CFO,
What will?
Easy: Investing your time in the fundamentals.
Refined, first-principles strategic thinking
Compelling storytelling and communication
Solid FP&A best-practices and techniques
Understanding how finance drives the business
Prioritization, escalation, and ownership
If you want to get better at these things, you have essentially 3 options:
Work as the CFO of a startup - you'll learn most of them the hard way... or you'll get fired :)
Work under an AMAZING manager who will train you and give you opportunities to practice
Take courses. There are many fantastic trainers who teach Fortune 500 finance teams all these skills. Many of them also have individual student offerings (and companies can reimburse you)
Do you also need to learn "AI Skills"?
Yes, don't be a luddite.
Embrace meeting summaries, use the Claude plug-in to make your worksheets prettier, and go spend 7 hours some weekend to vibe-code a little something.
But this isn't where the real differentiation lies.
Your company is doing layoffs. Which would you rather your CEO hear?
"Sally just built this cool AP tool that means she only has to work 1 hour per week!"
or
"Sally just gave a phenomenal presentation of an analysis with exceptional insights. It's changing what I think we should do next quarter."
It's your time, it's your career: Choose your tactics wisely.
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PS. If you want to explore the course route, Carl's training is an excellent option. Reply to this note if you want to hear about more programs like this, or want specific course recommendations for targeted skills.
