Posted by denised in 
Riley Drake CFO
Contrary to the me-first mentality that pervades much of corporate America, once in a while a boss does the right thing, even if it means firing himself.
Riley Drake, a CFO in Orange County, Florida California took a look at the numbers and saw that business at the trade show management service company he worked for was hemorrhaging money. Somebody needed to be fired. Drake decided that that someone should be him. A week later, the 41 year old, married father of six had essentially, talked himself out of a job.
An entrepreneur at heart, Drake felt he could fall back on his faith and financial skills to tap what he saw as an unmet need in small to mid-sized companies that couldn’t afford a full time CFO but needed more than a bookkeeper. His plan was to start his own business, CFO4Lease, contracting his services to these smaller companies. The best laid plans…
Even with all his faith and skills, Drake admits, it’s been a struggle. He didn’t get any new clients for months and the family was forced to cut back. Still, he doesn’t appear to regret his decision. He says he, and his family, learned to survive on less and they’re closer as a result of the whole.
I always applaud entrepreneurs striking out on their own, but taking the hit so that other people’s jobs will be spared is the definition of taking one for the team. It’s a great testament to true leadership, and a lesson some of these multi-million dollar CEO’s could stand to learn.
To read the full story of the CFO who fired himself, click here.
