My publicist continued, “Matt. With all the things you’re working on, how on earth do you prioritize?” She sipped another sip of her chai latte and fixed her glasses. She already had 8 pages of notes. She frantically flipped through them as if to assert that I owed her an explanation for my ability to do it all.

I was chatting with one of my favorite professional contacts recently who asks excellent questions. Perhaps this is why I thoroughly enjoy our meetings. She asked tough questions. Direct questions. Almost like an interview. It’s how business people used to (pre-pandemic) get to know each other. 

Leaning back from the table at the bustling coffee shop, I took a moment to consider how to best articulate my response. Matt in his 20’s would have rushed into an explanation that would make it seem as though I had it all figured out. Running as many businesses as I do now, being responsible for as many people’s livelihoods as I do now, and managing as many moving parts as I do now, it takes time for me to figure out how to put things in such a way so as not to talk down to others while painting a picture.

I pressed in, “I remember reading Traction for the first time.” I started with a response that gives people a little more context and answers their real question which is usually some version of, “Where did you learn all this?” I think people expect me to give credit to a former employer. Nope. A college education. Nope. I learned most of what I do in business from other people’s mistakes, from reading, and from connecting the dots therein. 

Prioritization is a heavily discussed topic in many strategic thinkers’ meetings. At Strategic Voyages, we have to prioritize each and every day. It’s so vital to our success that I even wrote about it in my book, Taboo Business Questions.

Prioritization post pandemic seems to be a hot topic as many business owners are coming up for a proverbial breath of fresh air. They’re trying to see what is what now that the Supreme Court declines appeal from Illinois’s Governer Prtizker relating to a mask mandate and Senate passes government funding bill with $13.6 billion in Ukraine aid leaving out any COVID spending. These two moves make it clear what the government’s priorities are. 

“The book. Traction that is. Discussed this topic at length.” Here’s a link to a free resource that may help you in your business. Click here. I put my pen down, sat up a little straighter, and continued, “All CFOs need to do this. Hell. All professionals should do this. So what’s on a CFOs to do list post pandemic? I’ll tell you.”

I opened my padfolio and pulled out my weekly agenda. On the back, I had listed out 5 priorities. Here’s what needs to be on a CFOs to do list post pandemic:

1. Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC)

An urgent Item on every CFO’s list should be to determine ERTC eligibility status. Don’t know what the ERTC is? Here’s a link to more information. Click here. Essentially, it’s a tax credit for employers who kept employees on their payroll even though their revenue dipped during the pandemic. Your CPA should be very familiar with this and can help you determine eligibility. Or, you can contact Strategic Voyages Business Consultants, the CFO Team for businesses who don’t have a full-time CFO.

2. Cash Position

Every CFO needs to thoroughly review their cash position, their burn rate, and their access to more capital. The pandemic presented an unprecedented sequence of events that no one could predict. What hit many business owners the hardest was lack of access to their local banker. Bankers were so busy, so overloaded, and so backlogged that a new term had to be invented; “Lending Fatigue.” It’s a psychological sister-term to “decision fatigue.”

3. Budgeting Capital Expenditures

Thinking about how you want to grow, what tools you’ll need, what items will need to be purchased, you’ll need to reference your financial forecasts. You have to. Every CFO needs to be budgeting capital expenditures to be proactive about these things instead of reactive. How will the monthly payments fit into the monthly breakeven? Or, will the business stroke a check and take cash out of reserves for its capital expenditures? These are questions that all CFOs need to address post pandemic.

4. Building Back Routines in Process and Strategy with the team

The pandemic caused many businesses to have to shift their weekly flow. It’s time to build back routines in process and strategy with the team. This starts with leadership. I’m sure everyone wants predictability in their pay. So, why wouldn’t a CFO expect the team to embrace predictability in reporting, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and in reviewing the business’s strategy. 

5. Write personal thank you notes to the team for sticking with the company through the pandemic

Likely the pandemic weighed on each and every member of the team. Sure. Some more than others. Those with kids on e-learning (also called no-learning), having to shift to a work from home atmosphere, being on dozens of zoom meetings each day or week, and knowing that your boss/company is literally monitoring you at your computer now. It’s been tough. It’s time to express gratitude to those faithful employees. Write them a personal thank you note.

What’s on your to do list post pandemic?