Putting AI to Work Without Losing the Human Side of Business

AI is not coming someday.

It is already sitting inside our organizations, helping people write faster, analyze information, build models, organize processes, and complete work that used to take hours.

The real question is no longer whether businesses will use AI.

The question is whether we will use it thoughtfully.

That was the focus of our recent Ask the CFO conversation with Dolores Hirschmann, founder of Masters in Clarity. Dol…

Selling a business is rarely as simple as agreeing on a number, signing a contract and depositing a check.

The number at the top of the offer is not necessarily the amount you will keep. Taxes, debt, transaction structure, seller financing and other obligations can significantly change the outcome. By the time an offer arrives, many of the strategies that could have improved that outcome may no longer be available.

That was the focus of a recent Ask the CFO conversation with Chris Clepp, found…

On this week’s Ask the CFO, I had a great conversation with Carl Kutsmode of B2B-VIP Executive Alliance about something every growing company eventually has to face:

What does it really cost when you put the wrong executive in the wrong seat?

Most people think about the obvious cost first. Salary. Search fees. Time spent interviewing. Maybe some onboarding expenses.

Those matter.

But they are not usually the real cost.

The real cost shows up later, in delayed initiatives, missed revenue tar…

When I invited Paul Sippil to join Ask the CFO, I expected an interesting conversation about retirement plans.

What I didn't expect was how many assumptions—even my own—would be challenged.

As CFOs and business owners, we spend a lot of time managing costs that directly affect our organizations. We negotiate health insurance renewals, review vendor contracts, and scrutinize operating expenses.

But when it comes to 401(k) plans, many of us assume that because they're highly regulated, everythi…

Insights from Ask the CFO with John Gies

In our most recent Ask the CFO session, I had the opportunity to sit down with John Gies, founder of Resonant Business Solutions, to talk about something most business owners rely on—but very few truly manage well:

Referrals.

Before we get into it, here’s where you can connect with John and learn more about his work:

• Website: https://johngies.com
• Company: https://resonantbusinesssolutions.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnrgies/ (he’s…

In this session of Ask the CFO, I sat down with Ken Scales to talk about AI.

It’s everywhere right now. Every company feels like they need an AI strategy. Boards are asking about it. Leadership teams feel like they’re behind if they don’t have an answer.

But most of the conversations I’m having with business owners aren’t about strategy—they’re about pressure. It usually comes out like this: “What are we supposed to be doing with AI?”

So instead of trying to cover everything, we focused on wh…

One of the most common things I hear from business owners and sales teams is this:

“We can’t raise prices. Customers will leave.”

I’ve been hearing some version of that for decades, and in most cases, it simply isn’t true.

On this recent Ask the CFO session, we talked about pricing, margins, and why too many businesses wait too long to make adjustments. If your costs have gone up but your pricing has stayed still, you are likely putting pressure on your margins whether you realize it or not.

In this week’s Ask the CFO, we stepped away from financial statements and numbers for a moment and talked about something that affects nearly every small and family-owned business: making the tough people decisions.

If you run a business, you know exactly what I mean.

Most of the time, the hardest problems in a company aren’t spreadsheets or strategy. They’re people. And in smaller organizations—where teams are tight and relationships run deep—those decisions can be especially difficult.

But …