A few weeks ago, I had the chance to be featured in Diana Patel’s newsletter. Diana is the Founder and President of Resonant LLC, and her work focuses on something that does not always get enough attention in business conversations: fulfillment.

In her article, Diana wrote about working with high-achieving people who had the titles, accomplishments, and external success, but still found themselves asking, “Is this it?” That question matters because fulfillment is not something that automatically appears after the next milestone. It is not, “If I achieve this, then I’ll feel fulfilled.” In my experience, fulfillment has to be part of the foundation.

When Diana asked me how I define fulfillment, this was my answer:

“Fulfillment, to me, is building a sustainable foundation that aligns with your core values and leaves a meaningful, positive legacy for your family, your employees, and your community.”

That answer still feels right to me. It may sound philosophical at first, but for leaders, fulfillment becomes very operational. It shows up in how you make decisions, how you hire, how you lead, how you respond under pressure, and how you think about growth, succession, and legacy. It shows up in whether the company you are building is actually aligned with the life, team, and future you say you want.

That is the part of the work I find most fulfilling. I like helping business owners and leadership teams make better, more aligned decisions. I like having a seat at the table when the questions are complicated, the next step is not obvious, and the numbers need to be translated into something the business can actually act on.

In many ways, that has always been the role I care most about: being a guide. Not just reporting what happened or building the model, but helping leaders see clearly enough to make decisions they can stand behind. For me, fulfillment looks like helping companies move from uncertainty to clarity, helping owners build something more sustainable, and helping leadership teams connect financial reality to the kind of business they are actually trying to create.

That idea of being a guide is also connected to something new I am building. I have been thinking a lot about finance professionals who are stepping into bigger leadership roles, whether they are building their own fractional CFO practices or preparing for, stepping into, or growing inside a CFO role within an organization.

In both cases, the technical skills matter. They always will. But technical skill is not the whole job. The real work is judgment, communication, trust, presence, and knowing how to sit at the table, understand what is really happening, and help people make better decisions when the stakes are real.

That is not always something you can learn from a course, a certification, or a template. Sometimes you need someone in your corner who has been in those rooms before. Someone who can help you think through the situation, sharpen your judgment, and grow into the role without having to figure everything out the hard way.

That is the kind of mentorship I am opening up. One track will be for finance professionals building a fractional CFO practice. The other will be for people preparing for, stepping into, or growing inside a CFO role. I will share more about both soon, but for now, I will just say this: I am excited to help more finance professionals become the kind of guide that growing businesses actually need.

Diana will be joining me on Ask the CFO on August 18 for a conversation calledCultivating Fulfillment: Why It Comes First. I am looking forward to this one because it gives us room to talk about the human side of leadership in a way that is still grounded in real business decisions.

Here is what is coming up on Ask the CFO:

Tuesday, July 7 at 10:00 AM CT
The Cost of a Bad Executive Hire with Carl Kutsmode
Most organizations feel the pain of a bad executive hire. Few actually calculate what it costs. In this session, we will talk about what companies miss, what the real impact can be, and how to make better leadership hiring decisions.

Tuesday, July 21 at 10:00 AM CT
The 7 Exit Tax Mistakes Founders Make Before They Sell with Chris Clepp
By the time a letter of intent is on the table, many tax mistakes are already locked in. This conversation is about what founders and business owners need to understand before the deal is already in motion.

Tuesday, August 4 at 10:00 AM CT
If Your Marketing Isn’t Generating Revenue, Here’s Why with Dolores Hirschmann
If people cannot clearly tell what you do, who it is for, or why it matters, your marketing will not convert. This session is about the connection between clarity, trust, positioning, and revenue.

Tuesday, August 18 at 10:00 AM CT
Cultivating Fulfillment: Why It Comes First with Diana Patel
A conversation about what fulfillment actually means for business leaders, why it matters, and why it belongs at the foundation of the work, not just at the end.

All sessions are live on Zoom, free to attend, and open for questions.

For those building or stepping into the CFO role, here are the two mentorship tracks I will be talking more about this month:

Building a Fractional Practice
If you are in finance and thinking about building your own fractional CFO practice, the next few weeks of this newsletter are going to be worth your attention. We will be talking about what it actually takes to show up as a trusted advisor, not just a capable finance professional. That distinction matters.

Preparing for or Stepping Into the CFO Role
If you are moving toward a CFO role inside an organization, or you have recently stepped into one, this conversation is for you. The technical skills may have gotten you here. What happens next requires something different.

Lots of great conversations coming up this month!