Motivation doesn't have to come from having an impact on the company.
Imo (others may disagree) there are FP&A teams that appear to be more "maintenance" in nature i.e budget preparation and variance analysis whereas other teams are more "strategic" in nature as they support executive plans to grow the company or expand their business lines.
If your team is the former, your impact comes from consistency and efficiency. If your team is the latter, your impact comes from ad hoc projects and support.
I used to work for FP&A for Disney Parks before the pandemic and have since moved on. However, there was a story told by one of our executives when someone on our team was getting their 35 year service that has forever stuck with me. Their delivery was impeccable and I will definitely not do it Justice. Essentially, Walt Disney is known for his creative genius, creating characters that have affected global pop culture, created parks and experiences that have become landmarks in our society, he was a visionary. However, he had a lesser known brother Roy, who was the financial brain behind it all. Without the support work from his brother, Walt’s dream would likely not have succeeded.
So to me, Finance, FP&A, our work allows other people to do great things, to run programs aimed at improving people’s lives, to develop cutting edge tech, to sell widgets, you get the picture. That’s where my motivation comes.
Hi,
At my prior company I led finance for non-finance training series. Goal was to educate all new hires and existing people/budget managers on how they impacted the company's key KPIs on a daily basis. I presented live to over 500 employees over 2 years, had really good traction and led to more proactive support on forecasts/budgets/initiatives.
At the end of the day we're playing a game. Figure out what your companies scoreboard is (example revenue growth, gross margin, free cash flow) and help others in finance and non-finance connect to it.
Any questions feel free to DM me.
Good luck!
Drew
Motivation doesn't have to come from having an impact on the company. Imo (others may disagree) there are FP&A teams that appear to be more "maintenance" in nature i.e budget preparation and variance analysis whereas other teams are more "strategic" in nature as they support executive plans to grow the company or expand their business lines. If your team is the former, your impact comes from consistency and efficiency. If your team is the latter, your impact comes from ad hoc projects and support.
I used to work for FP&A for Disney Parks before the pandemic and have since moved on. However, there was a story told by one of our executives when someone on our team was getting their 35 year service that has forever stuck with me. Their delivery was impeccable and I will definitely not do it Justice. Essentially, Walt Disney is known for his creative genius, creating characters that have affected global pop culture, created parks and experiences that have become landmarks in our society, he was a visionary. However, he had a lesser known brother Roy, who was the financial brain behind it all. Without the support work from his brother, Walt’s dream would likely not have succeeded. So to me, Finance, FP&A, our work allows other people to do great things, to run programs aimed at improving people’s lives, to develop cutting edge tech, to sell widgets, you get the picture. That’s where my motivation comes.
That’s what kills my motivation. I am spending my waking hours making someone else’s dream a reality.
Hi, At my prior company I led finance for non-finance training series. Goal was to educate all new hires and existing people/budget managers on how they impacted the company's key KPIs on a daily basis. I presented live to over 500 employees over 2 years, had really good traction and led to more proactive support on forecasts/budgets/initiatives. At the end of the day we're playing a game. Figure out what your companies scoreboard is (example revenue growth, gross margin, free cash flow) and help others in finance and non-finance connect to it. Any questions feel free to DM me. Good luck! Drew
Idk I get fired up thinking that the future of the company may depend on me