Tips for Crafting a Stellar Career

Thirty years as a finance pro with the same company? It can be done, and Patricia Cochran, CFO of vision benefits provider VSP, is the proof. In a recent interview with Business Finance blogger Steve Player, Cochran offered these tips for a long, successful career in finance.

Steve Player: How do your colleagues react when you tell them you've been at the same company for 30 years?
Patricia Cochran: They're usually shocked! But then when I explain the company's growth and the wonderful challenges and rewards that I've had along the way, I think they understand.

SP: What advice would you have for people coming into finance in terms of how they can advance their career?
Cochran: If they come with a finance background, that's very, very powerful, because they understand about growing the business. When they see a financial statement they understand what it's trying to tell them -- and so many people working in businesses don't really understand that. They can translate the results of the business and communicate with the rest of the management team. They can explain what the economic outputs are from all the work that's been done. That's something that's sought after and appreciated.

To the degree that you can get exposure to other parts of the business -- participate in teams that are working on projects and provide some advice and expertise -- you'll be quite valued. My advice to everyone on my team is: When an opportunity comes, take it. If somebody asks you to work on a project always say yes, because it will lead to other opportunities. It will help you grow, help you stretch and learn new things.

Another thing that's important is keeping up with what's new in management skill sets and business philosophies. You don't have to wait for somebody else to bring it to the organization; you can bring it in yourself. A good example is activity-based management. We jumped on that bandwagon fairly early. We jumped on the bandwagon of enterprise risk management early, and the same with corporate performance, dashboards, and scorecards. If something new is coming, don't be afraid to introduce it to your colleagues and your leadership team and ask about it, because doing so will help the business.

SP: We're seeing more women in finance, but if you look at the top spot -- the CFO -- it's usually not a woman.
Cochran: Yes, and I do try to give advice to women who are coming into finance or into business about how they can feel rewarded and nurtured and be successful, because when I first started this in the 1970's, it was the days of "Superwoman -- You can do it all! You can be a mom, be a leader, do all this." And we bought into that and ran ourselves ragged and felt very frustrated, because we weren't successful moms, wives, or CFOs.

Today's young professionals coming into our organization have a much better sense of work life balance, and that's what they're working for. And I totally believe in that too. I have five children and four grandchildren, so I try to make sure that there's that balance. One of the things I tell these young women is to ask for help. You cannot do it all by yourself; you have to have help in all aspects of your work. You also have to figure out where you're going to be satisfied. You can't strive for perfection. You just try for something that's going to work for you along the way.

SP: I know you're active in professional groups and volunteer work. What role has that played in your career development?
Cochran: That's one of the key ways that I've developed my career, because it helps you build new skill sets. You can learn some things in a low-risk environment where you're doing some good, and at the same time you're expanding your networking skills, your strategic planning skills, your corporate speaking skills, all those things that you may not have a chance to practice in your current role in the organization.

I've done a lot of volunteer work for not-for-profits in our community and in Sacramento, but I've also been volunteering for the profession through the California Society of CPA's and now the American Institute of CPAs. I just joined the board of the AICPA. I think all my volunteer work along the way certainly prepared me to take on that national role.

Of course, you don't go into volunteer work solely for the sake of your career. It's been very rewarding, from the standpoint of my own sense of value to the world at large, to be able to give back some of the wonderful things I've been given. And the nonprofits in our communities are desperate for talent; they don't have the resources to hire the kind of talent they really need. I've found that whatever I can do is very much valued and appreciated.

We have a leadership training group here, and I usually speak to them once a year about the power of volunteering. My first message to them is to volunteer only for something that you're passionate about. There are so many worthwhile causes; you should find one that you care so much about that you'll really feel fulfilled and rewarded by contributing.

Read more of Steve Player's interview with Patricia Cochran here.