Executive Story Collection by David MacGrandle
Every episode starts with a story.
The title grabs your attention.
The story makes the lesson memorable.
The business topic helps you become a better leader.
Story
Business Topic
Leadership Lesson
Everyone
CFO Leadership
Successful CFOs understand the entire business and create value across it.
The Forecast Says Rain
Forecasting
Managed Services: To Be or Not To Be...
What Is Managed Services
At its core, Managed Services is built on the relationship.
Scotty, We Need More Revenue
Revenue Recognition
Revenue recognition protects credibility—not just compliance.
What If the Struggle Was the Lesson?
Learning
Sometimes the struggle wasn’t the obstacle. It was the lesson.
It's Tough Being a CFO
The Modern CFO
Today’s CFO creates value far beyond the finance department.
I'd Rather Go to the Dentist
Audits
Great audits begin months before the auditors arrive.
Dad, You Wanted to Talk?
Board Meetings
Board meetings should improve decisions—not just presentations.
The Crooked Path
Why Stories Matter
The crooked path often teaches the straightest lessons.
All Videos
Short stories. Practical lessons. Better leadership.
Each episode is one minute or less and built around one idea you can apply immediately.
THE STORY
Early in my career, I believed a CFO created value through accounting and finance. I eventually learned that the greatest opportunities came from understanding how every department operated and finding ways to make the entire business better.
THE BUSINESS TOPIC
CFO Leadership
The most effective CFOs understand far more than financial statements. They learn operations, sales, delivery, technology, HR, and customer relationships because every part of the business influences value creation.
THE LEADERSHIP LESSON
Successful CFOs understand the entire business and create value across it.
Financial leadership begins in finance. Business leadership happens everywhere.
THE STORY
Every weather forecast begins with one simple assumption: the future will behave like today's information suggests. Business forecasts work the same way. When assumptions change, the forecast should change too.
THE BUSINESS TOPIC
Forecasting
Forecasts are management tools—not predictions. They combine assumptions, KPIs, trends, and leadership judgment to help organizations make better decisions before results occur.
THE LEADERSHIP LESSON
Great forecasts don't predict the future. They prepare leaders for it.
Successful leaders don't judge a forecast by whether it was perfect. They judge it by whether it helped the organization make better decisions as conditions changed.
THE STORY
The definition of Managed Services has become surprisingly difficult to articulate. Ask ten executives what it means, and you'll likely hear ten different answers. This episode explains the business model that has transformed the technology services industry.
THE BUSINESS TOPIC
Managed Services
Managed Services enables providers to solve complex, bespoke business problems by combining subject matter expertise, proactive engagement, and measurable business outcomes. As organizations mature, they leverage intellectual property, operational efficiency, and organizational design to deliver increasing value while improving financial performance.
THE LEADERSHIP LESSON
At its core, Managed Services is built on the relationship.
THE STORY
Every executive has heard it: 'We need more revenue.' It sounds simple, but generating more revenue and recognizing more revenue are two different things.
THE BUSINESS TOPIC
Revenue Recognition
Revenue is recognized when performance obligations have been satisfied—not simply when an invoice is sent or cash is received.
THE LEADERSHIP LESSON
Revenue recognition protects credibility—not just compliance.
THE STORY
Most of us remember the lesson. We rarely remember the struggle that created it. Some of the most valuable lessons in our careers emerged from challenges we had to overcome.
THE BUSINESS TOPIC
Learning
Every career is built through Planned Learning, Applied Learning, and Frictional Learning. AI accelerates the first two but may reduce the experiences that develop judgment.
THE LEADERSHIP LESSON
Sometimes the struggle wasn't the obstacle. It was the lesson.
THE STORY
Today's CFO is expected to do far more than manage accounting and finance. The role now spans strategy, operations, technology, people, risk, and leadership.
THE BUSINESS TOPIC
The Modern CFO
The modern CFO is a strategic business partner helping shape decisions across every function of the organization.
THE LEADERSHIP LESSON
Today's CFO creates value far beyond the finance department.
THE STORY
Most people would rather go to the dentist than go through an audit. Both become much easier when you've been doing the right things long before the appointment.
THE BUSINESS TOPIC
Audits
Audits provide independent validation of financial reporting, controls, and operating practices.
THE LEADERSHIP LESSON
Great audits begin months before the auditors arrive.
THE STORY
When our kids were in college, we didn't expect perfect grades—we wanted to know they were making progress. Board meetings aren't much different.
THE BUSINESS TOPIC
Board Meetings
Great Board meetings are built on trust, transparency, and meaningful communication.
THE LEADERSHIP LESSON
Board meetings should improve decisions—not just presentations.
THE STORY
The most important lessons in life and business rarely arrive in a straight line. They come through unexpected experiences and difficult decisions.
THE BUSINESS TOPIC
Why Stories Matter
Stories connect experience with understanding and make lessons memorable.
THE LEADERSHIP LESSON
The crooked path often teaches the straightest lessons.
