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Simplifier or Complexifier?
I’m not a finance guy.
But I’ve done enough finance in my life to understand the principles when I put my mind to it. My brain can build many connections fast, but when it comes to finance, I need to think.
That’s why I’ve always admired people who can make complex stuff easy to understand.
I remember working with one CFO, who I still remember being the best finance expert I’ve ever met, not just because he knew what he was doing, but predominantly because he could explain what he was doing in layperson’s terms so everybody would understand it.
When you left a presentation with him, you felt you were a finance expert yourself. That’s how good he was.
Finance was also the only thing he cared about. As soon as we started to discuss other topics, he would take his blackberry out of his pocket and start doing other stuff. He didn’t care and was only interested in the numbers game.
He was, in my eyes, a simplifier.
Not just because he could simplify what he was saying but also because he did his work and lived his life; I don’t think I saw him ever dressed differently than a pair of slacks and a jacket.
