When I accepted an interim CFO position in 2014, I quickly realized that financial statements alone wouldn't help me understand the organization. So I did something unexpected: I sat beside team members, learned every accounting function, and documented every major process. What began as a learning exercise became one of the most important leadership lessons of my career.

Many organizations approach ERP implementations as technology projects. In my experience, the most successful implementations have far less to do with software and far more to do with leadership, communication, and managing organizational change.

Instead of heading home, we drove to one of my father's businesses to unload everything. Realizing the candy wasn't for us, I quietly slipped a half dozen Snickers bars into my pockets. I wasn't nearly as sneaky as I thought I was. My dad caught me almost immediately.