Patrick Coggins

Operator, Drummer, Partner CFO's Domain

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

Thrilled to announce that CFO's Domain has been acquired by @Solomon_Edwards to expand their Office of CFO capabilities! It’s been an incredible journey the last 7 years, from starting my own firm with my partner to navigating a global pandemic 9 months later, to growing and selling the company, I couldn’t be more excited for what lies ahead.

Grateful beyond words to our families, team, clients, and everyone who supported this journey. Couldn't have done it without you.

Full details: https://t.co/fJbIyleFCu

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@MalikHughess Every time. The classroom gives you the framework. Life tells you whether it actually holds.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

Three things shifted how I lead and none of them happened in a classroom.

The first was learning to get comfortable with discomfort. Early in my career I avoided hard conversations hoping things would work themselves out. They never did. The moment I started having them early, everything got easier including the relationships.

The second was realizing that confidence and certainty are not the same thing. Some of the best decisions I have made were ones where I did not have the full picture. Waiting for certainty is just procrastination with better posture.

The third was becoming a father. Nothing recalibrates your priorities faster than being responsible for someone who has no idea what a P&L is and does not care. They do know what a PB&J is though, and they want it now.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@0xbrandonjack @MikeHoffmann The skills gap is already showing up in finance and the roles that relied on manual processing are shrinking. The roles that require judgment, communication, and strategic thinking are where the demand is going. The window to reposition is open but it won't stay that way.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@mattgillis Exactly. The first hard conversation is the hardest. After enough reps it just becomes how you operate.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@naumeguveya Both of those hit. Acting responsibly within uncertainty is the whole skill. And parenthood has a way of sorting your priorities faster than any leadership course ever could.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@RushRicketson I've sat in that messy middle more than once. There were moments where quitting felt like the rational choice. Looking back, the only thing that separated those moments from the breakthrough was deciding to stay in it one more day.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@mattgillis And what holds under pressure was built long before the storm arrived. That's the part most people don't think about until they're already in it.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@mattgillis And the only way to remove the avoidance is to make the hard thing the habit. That took me longer to learn than I'd like to admit.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@ashleymayer The assumption you lead with shapes the environment before you say a single word. People feel it and they respond to it.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@SeanMcPheat The small problem that never got shared is almost always behind the crisis that felt like it came out of nowhere.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@itsalvinhuang True. The best CFOs aren’t the ones who never miss, they’re the ones who correct early and adjust without noise.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@naumeguveya You often feel it in how you show up before you can explain it.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@profithuntercfo Agreed. You just get a bit more comfortable moving forward without having it all figured out.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@markmacleod_ The drain is real and it's not just on the leader. The people around the mediocrity feel it every day and they're watching to see what you do about it.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@mattgillis The leaders I've learned the most from weren't the ones with the best answers. They were the ones willing to share what the road actually looked like before I got there. That's a different kind of generosity.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@thecoachindex Exactly. And the longer it waits the more expensive it gets for everyone. The conversation is almost never as hard as the thing you've been avoiding by not having it.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

Everyone talks about what great managers look like. Not enough people talk about what they actually do.

The best managers I have worked with and learned from share a few things in common. They give credit loudly and take blame quietly. They have hard conversations early instead of letting small problems become expensive ones. They know the difference between being needed and being useful. They make their team look good in rooms they are not in. And they care about the person, not just the output.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

@RushRicketson And the patterns you miss in that first window are usually the ones that cost you later. They were always there. You just weren't looking yet.

[Patrick Coggins @PatrickCFOD]

The first thirty days in a new role will tell you everything you need to know. The question is whether you are paying attention.

Most people spend that window trying to prove they belong. The best people spend it listening. Who has influence and who has title? Where are the landmines nobody put on the org chart? What has already been tried and quietly failed? You cannot get that information from an onboarding deck.

Show up curious before you show up smart.