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A Cross-Functional Black Belt

Vocera Communications CFO Justin Spencer\u2019s strategic-finance breakthrough had little to do with corporate finance and everything to do with the drivers of strategic success. In an earlier CFO role, the tech executive heard just about every ERP horror story there is \u2013 sordid scope creep, sketchy implementation firms, unending projects, the organization's brutal rejection of IT-driven initiatives, and more \u2013 as he prepared to lead a massive Oracle upgrade. To side-step those nightmarish outcomes, he designed a unique approach. Spencer enlisted the company\u2019s best project manager as the full-time project leader, invested in a rigorous screening process to hire an elite implementation partner, set aside ample budget for unexpected contingencies, seeded the project team with A-players (priming them with performance incentives), and sucessfully branded the endeavor as a C-level mandate. The painstaking upfront work paid off handsomely as the project was completed on time and within budget while swiftly generating higher-than-expected productivity-related returns. \u201cMost strategic work is now conducted through large, cross-functional projects,\u201d Spencer notes. \u201cThat experience taught me how to influence and lead on a cross-functional b