Charles Kunken

A good input metric is one that enables us to monitor and change our behavior. It should have the following characteristics: (1) Focus – it measures one thing; (2) Ownership –a specific person is accountable for its performance and accuracy of the measurement; (3) Benchmark – there is a target which informs whether or not performance is satisfactory.

Data is an investment, just like any other asset. This is why we have to think about it as such.

Whose responsibility are they and why should we treat them more like tennis than football? Just take a look at Johnsonville Sausage.

When you are first starting out you want to make a huge impact. It can be tempting to seek out the biggest problem and dive in. Caution. That’s not the purpose of your first deliverable. The purpose is to set an impression.

Don’t hide behind fear by calling it being ‘risk averse’.

I’m not referring to the scope of your idea, We’re talking about your approach to implementing it. Thinking small is the thinking required to execute. At work and in life.

When I think about my recent realizations from working the earth they sound like good ideas that could apply to careers as well: patience, persistence, things like that. Same goes for writing.

This post is to share some ideas that could hopefully inspire you if you’re feeling stuck looking for a job, at Amazon or anywhere. If it all sounds crazy then good! Your tactics should match your ambition!

In the world of tech finance, especially for analysts it’s not uncommon to step into a role supporting a business you have no prior experience in. When the conversation comes up of ‘how to get ahead’. This is what I offer…

It’s simple: make your employee’s goals your number one priority. Employee obsession boosts tenure and performance. It’s a virtuous cycle that amplifies customer obsession and results…

Sharing pictures with friends and family is great however, a different mindset can help leverage social media for business.

This is what I’ve learned by experimenting in the twenty nine months since publishing my first blog post...

The magnitude and negativity of news stories can give us a false sense of obligation to consume them all, but it can be counterproductive when it comes is at the expense of actually doing stuff. This is what I think when people tell me that I ‘should be watching more news’….

Not a coach. Not a celebrity superstar. They had a captain that led from the shadows. This post is a review of the book, ‘The Captain Class’ by Sam Walker and a summary of his fantastic work. His study adds a missing element to what we thought we knew about culture.

It's not just about the end target, but how calibrating the end target helps you move along the way…here are two lessons I learned from my Grandfather by the way he is revered…

This is the mission behind the new ‘Finance In Tech’ podcast - because where ever you work and wherever you’re from, it’s the stories that get us to the middle…

In addition to the core functions (receivables, payables, reporting, tax), here are three ways finance can add strategic value.

1: Translating Inputs To Outputs

2: Highlighting Risk & Uncertainty

3: Offering Tradeoffs

At Amazon they call it ‘dealing with ambiguity’. This post is about how to contribute in a situation where you haven’t been given a specific problem to solve.

What a hurricane taught me about leadership.

That question is: Are you playing a short game or long? (Episode #1 of the Amazon Fall series,, AF#1)