Kevin M. Smith

Busyness is often a symptom of missing leadership clarity. F𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀, 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀. I have seen this pattern many times. When there are several promising paths, keeping options open can feel like the responsible thing to do. You can move in many directions. And that is exactly the challenge. Growth rarely fails because leaders lack ideas. It fails because they do not commit. They keep several strategic paths open, waiting for a level of certainty that rarely arrives. The irony is that the more options we try to preserve, the busier the organisation becomes — while real progress slows down. The difficult part of leadership is not seeing possibilities. It is choosing a path, saying no to several attractive alternatives, and then building the commercial and organisational focus to make that path real. Often with imperfect data. And full accountability. When clarity arrives, execution becomes much easier — and usually faster than expected. What have you found harder in real life: creating options, or closing them? 📌 Save this post to look back on. ♻️ Like, Comment, Repost if this was helpful.

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Leadership is about taking the organization to a place it would not have otherwise gone without you, in a value-adding, measurable way." George M. C. Fisher, chairman and CEO of Motorola This is important to consider whether you are leading a team or not. An FP&A role can get busy. You may be chasing from a budget meeting to a financial model review, to updating the management reporting deck, to trying to figure out why you missed the revenue forecast last month. And, worst of all, you may think that because you are busy with obviously important things, you are doing a good job. But if you don't regularly pause and think, "Hey, is there a way we can do things differently?" then you simply continue the status quo without leaving your mark. So, take a step back at least once a month and ask yourself how you could - potentially - try a different way to analyze results, report different metrics, or use a new forecasting technique. If you do, your company will recognize you as the leader you are.

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Anticipating about Future as a Leader Anticipating future is about future predictions & likely changes around based on emerging trends, technology development, Innovation, political, social & economic changes. Anticipating change provides ability to predict likely future outcome, enable in proactive actions for future changes, ability to handle future challenges, provides clarity for long term, understand potential risks & opportunities. As a leader need to focus on anticipating future to have strategic advantage with strategic foresight for sustainble performance. #Leadership#Strategy#Innovation#Future

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Could not agree more! Working (and living!) in an environment characterized by Kindness is not a given, but is basic to feel a Human Being and when human is respected, performance is there <3

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What if the opportunities, you're looking for are already in the room? You just haven't trained yourself to see them. Last Friday, I spoke at the RxVP Global International Women's Day Panel: five continents, five panels, one conversation on how some leaders see what others miss through three lenses: mindset, culture, and courage. Six principles from my own journey. If you're leading a team or building a career, swipe through. #LeadershipDevelopment #FutureOfWork #WomenInLeadership #FinanceLeadership

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Kraft Heinz shared aggressive category pivots in 1Q25. Here's how emerging brands should position themselves based on their latest earnings report: Kraft Heinz’s latest earnings call shared they’re doubling down where demand is growing and cutting back where it isn’t. For emerging CPG brands, this is a real-time map of where consumer demand is heading: 𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆-𝘁𝗼-𝗘𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀: 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 Kraft is leaning into the ready-to-eat (RTE) meal category, even as inflation squeezes consumer wallets. Emerging brands should prioritize grab-and-go solutions that balance quality with convenience. Shelf stability and premium meal kits are prime opportunities. 𝟮. 𝗦𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗲𝘀 & 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: 𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 Kraft is pumping resources into its "Taste Elevation" platforms, focusing on sauces and condiments. Implication: Pantry staples with high consumption frequency are a hedge against economic downturns. Emerging brands need to differentiate with bold flavors, clean labels, and packaging that resonates with younger consumers. -- Kraft Heinz isn’t just reacting; they’re reshaping entire categories with offensive investment. What other categories should Kraft look into further for growth?

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