Create More Value

Greg Milano explains how the status quo in incentive target-setting unintentionally leads to destructive behaviors and decisions. From asymmetric risk exposure to a myopic focus on variances to “sandbagging,” typical corporate goal-setting and planning processes incentivize mediocrity and time-consuming target negotiations. Alternatively, setting ambitious, stretch targets can spur significant new sources of value creation. By emphasizing improvement over prior results, deploying incentives t...

Entrepreneur, investor, and innovation strategist Jonathan Aberman joins us to discuss how corporate leaders can turn AI from a short-term efficiency play to a long-term competitive advantage. Rather than viewing AI purely as a cost-cutting tool, Aberman suggests CEOs can assess where human differentiation truly drives pricing power and innovation and how to measure and strengthen it. Organizations can use structured assessments of “Original Intelligence” to understand how their people solve ...

Expert in the economics of organizations, Professor Richard Langlois, joins us to explore how and why firms decide between internal production and market transactions. Drawing on Ronald Coase’s foundational theory of transaction costs, Langlois explains that companies “make or buy” based on which option is less costly and more effective, a question that underpins the broader structure of firms, ownership models, and vertical integration. He argues that the dominance of large, vertically integ...

Karl Pichler, CFO of Sourceability Global Holdings and former CFO of Rackspace, shares insights from more than 25 years as a public company executive, investor, and educator. We discuss Karl’s evolution from corporate finance expert to enterprise leader, covering his role in scaling Rackspace from $80 million in revenue to over $2 billion, through an IPO and eventual sale to Apollo Global Management. This episode features a practical discussion of capital allocation and value measurement best...

J. Michael Bruff, CFO of Envision Healthcare and a veteran finance and operating executive, joins us to discuss the core attributes of effective CFOs. We discuss internal controls, Michael’s broad functional and operational experience, and the importance of a deep understanding of how financial statements work together to drive lasting value. Michael shares insights from his time at Varian Medical Systems, where the company shifted its capital allocation priorities from buybacks to life-savin...