Gaurav Mehta's Linkedin Analytics

Right from the beginning of my career I wanted to work for EMIRATES airline After few years once such opportunity arose I got an interview call & appeared for it. Waited anxiously for the outcome and BOOM, a huge disappointment REJECTED ! Most people move on. I couldnt. I called the guy who got selected. Congratulated him. Asked him what worked. He casually told me Hey, American Airlines is hiring too. Most people would’ve never made that call. But I did. A month later I was working for American Airlines and 3 months later, I was promoted to a Finance Manager too. Sometimes the opportunity isn’t in the job. It’s in the conversation that job rejection forces you to have. Dont give up too soon :) -------- Looking for career guidance and support? DM me.

~ 30% more salary than the market. One of the MD's I supported, he had a unique style of work. He had a close team of 3 directors who used to handle most of the business operations. All 3 managing separate critical clients. The smartest thing about this MD was, he gave about ~30% higher salary to all 3 of them compared to what market would have offered. One thing it ensured what these guys were not getting the jobs in the market at salary higher than what he was offering. Even if they tried, even if the MD got mad at them, even if he was unreasonable sometimes, he knew these guys were there to stay. Obviously the business was big and the margins were pretty good so we could afford that. Not saying everybody can do that, or everybody should do that, however, sometimes paying above market isn’t a cost. It’s insurance against disruption.

Two decades working for the same company. I left my first job in 2004. Since then, I have worked across India and abroad. With global MNCs, aviation players, ad agencies, startups. I have grown, failed, reinvented, earned well and learned even more. Last week, I bumped into a colleague from that first job. He’s still there. 20+ years. Three promotions since we worked together. Same cubicle, just new furniture. Was he happy? Maybe. I didn’t ask. But if I had stayed, would I have been happy? Absolutely not. Not because it’s wrong to stay. But because I would have outgrown it 18 years ago. Because for me, growth didn’t mean climbing a taller ladder in the same room. It meant - leaving the building - learning new industries - figuring out different cultures - breaking & rebuilding my identity as a professional. There’s no one right path. But if you are wondering whether to stay or move, you just need to ask yourself -- are you growing, or are you just aging in the same chair? #Job #Longevity #Stability

I know a CFO (Chartered Accountant) making 3 Cr but also I know a CFO (Chartered Accountant) making 36 Lacs The market doesn't necessarily pays for the degree. It pays for the value you bring along with the degree. No one cares ONLY about your certifications. No one cares ONLY about your education. No one cares ONLY about your skills. They care about the RESULTS you can provide. Learn to become valuable.

Controllers think in months. CFOs think in moves. Controllers are focussed on - monthly closes - reconciliations - reporting cycles - compliance deadlines Basically the mechanics. CFOs are playing a longer game. They are thinking strategic moves. - Should we acquire? - Raise capital? - Change pricing? - Exit a market? Soch badlo, role badlege :) #Controller #CFO

Sometimes, ONE sentence can reduce ALL your stress. I was living in Malaysia and my extended family had come to visit. When it was time for them to return, I went along to drop them at the airport. At the check-in counter, one bag was slightly overweight, 30kg instead of 25kg per bag rule. Not a big deal overall, the total luggage was within the allowed limit, but the airline had a per-bag rule. Cant even pay extra. And that bag had gifts for their family in India. Couldn't have thrown it away. - No time to reshuffle. (other bags were gone) - Can’t carry it as hand baggage. - No choice but to abandon it. But since I was there I told them "Leave it with me. I will bring it when I visit India next." Just one sentence and problem solved. No drama. No loss. Even at work, one sentence can change your day. It could be from your boss. Your colleague. Your mentor. Anyone. ▸ Don’t worry I will handle it. ▸ Take a break. I know it’s been a lot. ▸ You are doing better than you think. ▸ Your health > this deadline. Always. ▸ You don’t have to prove anything to me. ▸ Let me deal with this, you focus on recovery. Simple words. But when said at the right time, they carry more weight than a performance bonus. Use these words more often. Take care of your teams. #Team

People are loyal to your POSITION, not to YOU. They support you because you have power, access and/or authority. But if that changes, if you lose influence or are seen as on your way out, they stop supporting you. Not because they hate you. But because you are no longer useful to their goals. So the loyalty was never personal. It was always about your role. Just in case you had forgotten this :) #CFO ----------- Hi, I am a CFO turned CFO-advisor. I work with finance leaders in their overall career growth and development, including their online visibility. DM me for more details.

Be a good listener. PERIOD! At the junior level, you are expected to DO At the mid level, you are expected to SOLVE But at the senior level, you are expected to SENSE Sense burnout. Sense red flags. Sense disengagement. Sense hidden agendas. And you can't sense any of that if you are too busy talking. Be a good listener. #Listen ----------- Helping you get noticed by CEOs, Investors & Boards. More details here: gauravmehta.me -----------

Your temper is their escape plan. When I was managing FP&A and I used to work with Sales Directors there was a very strong need to be extremely good communicator. And I will tell you what I mean. I had just joined new, there wasn’t a good trust built with them as yet. Every time you would counter them, or corner them, they would try and provoke you. They would instigate you. And the moment you lose your calm and say something aggressive, THATS IT. They got one over you. Now they will run to the CEO crying over how you misbehaved with them. All the attention will be diverted from the crux of the matter to your behavioural issue. They go scot free and you are explaining yourself to everyone. So before you even think of venturing into commercial finance, do these 3 things. 1. Learn to stay absolutely calm and pragmatic. 2. Build good partnership and trust with them 3. Never let them take advantage of your outburst. Good luck with your FP&A stint. --------- Starting a 7 day Finance Storytelling challenge. If you are not part of the community as yet, join now: nas.io/gaurav ---------

As the CFO, I did this 1 SELFISH act regularly HR used to send WELCOME emails to all new joinees, with CC to entire organisation. I used to reply back to all of those emails. • To every new joinees • Across all the departments • Welcoming them all to the team Technically ↳ As a CFO, it was not my job ↳ I had no reason to make time for this ↳ But I still did it. I wanted them to feel special The culture of an organisation is not just built by HR. Every senior leader, their conduct builds the employee trust and shapes the work culture. Besides, I was SELFISH. It helped me in 2 ways - ✅ People (across levels) started knowing me from Day 1. My visibility quotient went up significantly. ✅ People valued my small gesture and I was gaining more and more respect all across. Creating this kind of visibility isn't luck. It's a small & smart way to ↳ make a lasting impact and ↳ be more influential. Its high time the CFOs (& finance team) work in silos. Its time to network, mingle & make your presence felt. #CFO #Visibility

CFO job I got in Malaysia, it was never advertised. I got that job through my ex-boss's referral. The CFO job for the startup in India I worked with. It was never advertised. I got that job through a LinkedIn cold message. What do both these jobs have in common? 1) They weren't advertised 2) Networking played a huge role 3) Came from putting myself out there. Stay in touch with past colleagues. Share your expertise publicly. Reach out, even when it feels uncomfortable. #Connection —————— 121mentoring.carrd.co

Finally became the CFO. And within 30 days, was questioning everything. One of my clients just got promoted. First-time CFO. A proud moment. But when we spoke last week, he said, life is more than working 14 hours daily, Gaurav. I take the local train, spend 1.5 to 2 hours commuting each way. I reach office, work non-stop for 10 hours and then head back, exhausted. I have been doing this for 15 years. And getting the CFO title hasn't changed that. What do I say, I myself did the same years ago. 4 hours of commute. Barely seeing my kids awake on weekdays. Fighting traffic every morning & evening. The position though sure comes with authority and recognition, but if it doesn’t shift how you experience your day to day life, then what exactly do you gain? Do titles matter if the quality of your day stays the same? #CFO #Struggles

I used to drive a BMW X5. But when I came back to India, I got a Honda. Why this downgrade? I was the Group CFO working abroad with perks. However when I decided to move back to India, it was a fresh start. Now there was pressure to maintain a high standard and buy an expensive car. Me and my wife spoke and we decided we had better priorities than a luxury car. • We minimised our debts • Created emergency fund • Maximised the retirement fund • We paid off our home loan mortgage • We invested in health and term insurance After coming back to India, I joined a startup and wanted to explore and learn how startups work, how entrepreneurs play. Someone asked me the same question - Why a downgrade from working for a huge billion dollar company to a small 20 million dollar company. My response • I learnt how startups work and scale • I learnt how entrepreneurs think and operate • I learnt so much about business beyond finance My neighbour once saw our old pictures on Insta with BMW and asked this same questions, why Honda? My response in one word 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 If you work for a company where your priorities are met, fantastic. If NOT, aspire for something bigger, not to show off, but to meet your priorities. #Priorities ______________ If you are a Finance Professional and learning to write online and creating an influence is a PRIORITY, DM me.

Never lie to a finance guy. They remember everything. Numbers. Promises. Deadlines. Excuses. They don’t shout. They may not argue. But they document everything. And if you lie, they will expose you in the next one. In front of the CEO. In front of your boss. #NeverLieToFinance

The promotion I never asked for. I had just joined American Airlines as an Accounts Assistant. Rs.12,000 salary. I was the first finance hire in India. The Finance Manager was set to join from British Airways in 3 months. Until then, I was holding the fort. You can very well imagine, it was long hours, no backup but also I had no complaints. However deep down, I was counting days till the Manager joined. Then, 1 week before his joining, he backed out. Refused to join. Damn ! The Country Manager said, we can’t wait 3 more months to interview someone else. You will take over. Boom. Just like that. I was accounts assistant one day and the Head of Finance the next day. No interviews. No transition plan. No formal announcement. I didn’t ask for it. I wasn’t chasing it. You know sometimes, you won’t always get a 3 month heads up, you won’t always get a roadmap. Your opportunity will walk in through the back door. And if you are not ready, you will miss it. ↳ So show up. ↳ Do the boring work. ↳ Handle the grunt work. ↳ Build credibility quietly. Because when the moment comes, they won’t look around. They will look at you. #WorkHard

For the first 10 years in my career, I only grew from an Assistant to a Manager Next 7 years, grew from a Manager to CFO. HOW? All thanks to this advise I received. One of my ex boss and mentor told me BE GOOD AT WRITING. I could never understand. I didn't want to become a writer. I have always been a Finance guy. How would being able to write better, help me in growing in my Finance career? He said 1- It doesn't matter if you are in Finance, Sales, Marketing or any other field. 2- Being good at writing will let you become good at clear thinking. 3- If you will be able to think clear, you will communicate better. 4- You will be able to step into other person's shoe, you will make rational decisions. You will make things easy to understand. You will be able to express your point of views better. Did it make sense to me back then? NO Does it make sense to me now? a BIG YES #Write #Clarity

Never surprise your boss. If something’s going wrong, escalate early. Leaders don’t fear bad news, they fear finding out late.

We had 2 CFOs in the same company. When I accepted the CFO offer, I was told the current CFO was being let go. It felt a little awkward, but I assumed the company had already had that conversation with him. Three months later, I joined only to find he was still there. Still operating as CFO. Still unaware that someone else had been hired to replace him. Turns out, they hadn’t told him yet. They wanted to be sure that I wouldn’t back out, so they waited until I joined to break the news to him. That one decision put me in an incredibly uncomfortable position. For the next 30 days, there were effectively two CFOs in the same office, and the atmosphere was tense. - He was bitter. - He assumed I had taken his job. The transition was messy. He gave me bare minimum information and made no effort to make things smoother. I had to dig my way through fragmented data, half explained processes and a team that didn’t know who to report to. It was my first real taste of how leadership transitions can get political and personal. And how little control you have over the situations you walk into, no matter how good the title sounds on paper. That’s why I tell people, forget your 3 year plan. First step- play to win your first 90 days. Because if you don’t survive that, nothing else matters. #CFO

My son shouted from the washroom.. ((( Dad ))) I was on a call, I ignored He shouted again, much louder ((( DAD ))) I went upto him WHAT? He: I forgot my towel outside. Pls pass it to me Me: - Why didn't you take it before going in. - We are also busy doing our stuff. - You should have taken it earlier. - Why this carelessness? He: Dad, pass me the towel first. We can talk about this later. If a team member comes to you with a mistake/problem in hand, help them solve the problem first. You can scold them later (if at all). Be a reasonable boss. Not a Nitpicker. #Team

Finance is a thankless job. No one will ever come to you & say - Thank you There are other functions who will always get more limelight. However, you still continue to do the good work. One of my ex-boss and still a mentor used to say this to us. When no one complains about you → consider it a job well done When no one escalates the matter → assume you killed it at work When business is thriving with no problems → tell yourself you are the reason behind it. Dont just keep waiting for external validation. Self appreciate. You will remain happier at work :) ——— Join me here : nas.io/gaurav