PE sponsors and CEOs often define their "vision" as a revenue or EBITDA target. This is an output metric, not an inspiring vision. High-performing CEOs create a compelling narrative about the business's value proposition and purpose that motivates employees and resonates with customers. Financial success is the result of executing this vision.

Product managers don't need to be financial experts. True business acumen stems from a simple curiosity about how the company generates revenue. Asking leadership direct questions about business priorities provides more roadmap clarity than analyzing a P&L statement.

The biggest skill gap for product leaders moving into the C-suite is financial literacy. Understanding P&Ls, investment models (VC, PE, public), and key business metrics is non-negotiable for effective business leadership at the CPO level, often more critical than deep product skills.

Don't confine financial data to the finance team. Use FP&A and BI tools to deliver real-time operational and financial data directly to plant and operations managers. This helps them understand the dollar impact of their decisions, transforming them from pure operators into business managers who actively drive profitability.

At the VP or C-level, a leader's primary role shifts from managing their function to driving overall business success. Their focus becomes more external—customers, market, revenue—and their success is measured by their end-to-end impact on the company, not just their team's performance.

Don't just review past performance with your financials. Use them to model how pulling one lever, like increasing marketing spend, will impact other areas of the business, such as the need for more sales staff. This shifts accounting from a reporting task to a strategic planning function.

Instead of just asking peer CFOs for solutions, Figma's CFO provides deep business context. This transforms the relationship from a simple Q&A into a collaborative thought partnership, creating a personal "internal board" of trusted advisors for nuanced problem-solving.

Figma's CFO measures his team's success not by forecast accuracy, but by whether other departments view them as creative problem-solvers. The goal is to be seen as a business accelerant that others want to involve, rather than a "go/no-go police" to be avoided.

Private equity firms often hire a strategic CFO for a portfolio company but fail to ensure basic operating procedures are in place. This forces the high-level executive to spend their time on tactical fire-fighting and spreadsheet management, neutralizing their strategic value. The foundation must be built first.