Welcome to The 6 a.m. CFO, where finance chiefs share how they jump-start their days and engage with the tasks that are in front of them.
Today, AvePoint’s Jim Caci shares what he views as the keys to success, his favorite leadership lesson and the most important beverage in work fridge.
Be sure to check out the entire 6 a.m. CFO series, and if you’d like to be featured in a future post, please email us here.
AvePoint
![AvePoint’s Jim Caci](/imgproxy/PIUiY4YyVOSyQ6xO6DY2-ZJqiC-ltNRLwKVTQnlOgG4/g:ce/rs:fit:1264:1264/bG9jYWw6Ly8vZGl2ZWltYWdlL0ppbV9oZWFkc2hvdC5wbmc=.webp)
- Description: A global leader in robust data management and data governance
- Founded: 2001
- Size: 2,500 employees
- Total annual recurring revenue: $274.5M
MORNING ROUTINE
Walk us through your normal workday morning routine: Get up and look at Teams chat and email. As a global company, some teams are wrapping up their days, or are mid-day, so there is already a lot of activity happening. I want to see if there is anything that needs to be addressed immediately before continuing with my morning routine.
Then, I exercise, usually listening to a podcast while I do so.
Tell us about a recent morning when things didn’t go according to plan, and how you adapted: I'm usually punctual and hardly ever miss my wake-up call, particularly since I travel frequently.
However, a couple of weeks back, I accidentally slept in and was on the verge of missing my flight for a family trip. I raced to the airport, and thanks to an empathetic agent who ran with me through the terminal, I boarded just in time. I was always loyal to United Airlines, but my appreciation for them grew after this!
How do you structure your first few hours after you log on at work and what do you prioritize? Every day is different, but I prioritize short-term goals in the morning and ensure there are no roadblocks for our team. That way, the team is set up for success right away — and we have the flexibility to pivot throughout the day as needed.
LEADERSHIP AND INSPIRATION
Favorite quote or mantra: My youngest daughter just graduated from Duke University and her commencement speaker, Jerry Seinfeld, offered advice that resonated with me.
![Jerry Seinfeld](https://d12v9rtnomnebu.cloudfront.net/diveimages/seinfeld.jpg)
Seinfeld’s three keys to life are: work hard, pay attention and fall in love. I couldn’t agree more that to succeed, you must put in a lot of time and effort, stay curious and keep your eyes open, and find the big and small loves of your life.
Favorite leadership lesson: Early on in your career, get as much experience as you can in all aspects of the business to gain a more well-rounded skillset.
For finance professionals, taking on other business operations projects can be an asset, especially as business complexities evolve and this becomes more of a CFO responsibility.
Many years ago, in another organization, I assumed the role of interim CEO, which meant I was responsible for our sales targets and performance. Selling our solutions and working closely with our sales teams, both closing deals and losing deals gave me a whole new perspective on the business. With this new perspective, I was more connected with sales leadership and understood their role in a way that allowed us to collaborate better than ever before.
Something important to know about you that you wouldn’t know from your business bio: My role as CFO requires strong management and interpersonal skills, which you can’t always tell by looking at my LinkedIn profile or business bio. Striving to be an effective leader and trustworthy manager is something I’ve always done throughout my career, and has been critical to success in my role today.
I will never ask my teams to do something I wouldn’t do, and I think my ability to be in the trenches with our team when there’s hard work to be done is what sets me apart and has led to successful teams.
The last job you did at your company that fell outside your traditional scope of work: Restocking the refrigerator with our most important beverage — Coke Zero.
How do you manage work-induced stress? Preparation always mitigates stress. Putting the effort in pays off, and I believe the harder you work, the luckier you get. Good things happen and opportunities arise when you put the time in.
Favorite number: I have always loved how numbers tell a story and how you can find patterns among them. Two of my favorite numbers are 11 and 24 and they each have significant meaning in my life.
Number 11 was my little league number as a kid. My oldest daughter was born on the 29th and two years later, my son on the 18th. 29 minus 18 is 11. Then, my youngest daughter was born in the 11th month of the year.
Number 24 is the day I was born, and the day I got married. Growing up in a home full of Yankees fans, I loved Lou Gehrig (number 4) and Derek Jeter (number 2), another instance of 2 and 4 or 24.
The most noteworthy items in my workspace: I have a crystal globe that rotates by hidden magnets powered by the sun. It’s a mesmerizing representation of what the Earth looks like from space.
![Pebble Beach golf links, 7th hole, Monterey County, California](https://d12v9rtnomnebu.cloudfront.net/diveimages/Pebble_Beach_Golf_Links_hole_7.jpg)
I also have a book from Pebble Beach Golf Course, which brings back memories of golfing there (in the rain!) with my son, which had always been a bucket list item of mine.
Finally, I have three signs from each of the colleges my children attended: Middlebury, Clemson and Duke.
Do you have a pet sitting in your office right now? No pets! Not unless you consider the alligators that occasionally roam the pond in our backyard.
Favorite phone app that is unrelated to work: YouTube and Spotify for entertainment and podcasts.
The most important book you’ve recently read: “Into Thin Air” by John Krakauer. John was on the Mt. Everest expedition in the 1990s where the worst disaster on Everest ever occurred.
![Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer](https://d12v9rtnomnebu.cloudfront.net/diveimages/Into_Thin_Air.jpg)
It’s a fascinating book, and there are so many stories within it of teamwork and unselfishness, as well as mistakes and the compounding effects of mistakes if left unaddressed, that I’ve tried to apply in the business world.
When a challenge is in front of us, we need to think about doing everything we can to change our course.