Learning to be a leader: Grab a mirror and a book

For Dan Griffiths, CPA, CGMA, the president at Lume, a deodorant company headquartered in Utah, taking a rigorous approach to analysis – whether it be marketing spending or performance management – is critical. The human side of running a business is also important. In a conversation more than seven years ago, Griffiths spoke about emotional intelligence, a skill that has served him well in a fully remote company. "We have to be paying much closer attention to what cues we're getting from different members of the team," he said. In this Journal of Accountancy podcast episode, Griffiths offers leadership tips, reflects on what he did and didn't know in making a move from a CPA firm to a retail company, and uses a baseball analogy to explain how performance management should work. Griffiths is scheduled to speak at next week's AICPA & CIMA CFO Conference on the topic of performance management.