Siegfried professionals are uniquely poised to deliver strategic value in any project environment, combining a unique set of intangibles with a meaningful foundation of experience and expertise to work across all areas of client need. Through our Financial Advisory Support Services (FASS), Siegfried professionals provide organizations with the critical support to improve their financial operations and make more informed decisions, increasing efficiency and enhancing enterprise value.
For Max Formica, Senior Manager in New York, a FASS project was the perfect opportunity to showcase the power of his intangibles, and he went above and beyond to deliver on Siegfried’s value proposition, despite starting with no directly relevant experience. “At Siegfried, our soft skills – our intangibles – make us stand out,” explained Max.
Max’s client, a global window covering manufacturer, was recently acquired by a private equity firm, and the company was undergoing an extensive transformation to consolidate, streamline, and optimize operational efficiency. By taking an open, communicative, and relationship-based approach, Max leveraged the resources around him to learn and explore opportunities at the client, creating efficiencies across multiple departments and working strategically with key finance leaders.
“Communication and collaboration are essential to getting work done in any industry or role,” Max continued. “Many issues arise simply from a lack of communication. When you prioritize building genuine relationships with the people you’re working with, collaboration improves, and together, you achieve better results.”
Harnessing the power of relationships
Max was deployed within his client’s global integration and transformation office, responsible for the company’s zero-based budgeting model. His team was charged with managing over $1.2B worth of spend in SG&A (selling, general, and administrative expenses) – and more in supply chain, procurement, and people operations. He supported the director, a Siegfried alumnus, through the company’s strategic initiatives, ensuring a smooth transformation.
“In a global role, you collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders. It was critical for me to fully integrate into my client’s environment to identify where I could provide value, elevate it, and execute,” reflected Max. “I demonstrated that I was a high performer who could partner effectively with those around me and be a dependable resource.”
Max hit the ground running, working in lockstep with the global FP&A team and collaborating closely with members of senior leadership to advance the company’s transformation goals. This included automating and standardizing processes to drive cost savings and increase efficiency across the organization.
“They had a significant amount of work that they needed to accomplish. I began by collaborating with global leaders to build budget and guidance tools for SG&A, which evolved into coordinating the budgeting process for one of their divisions through the budget cycle,” said Max. “I learned as much as I could by collaborating with those around me, jumped in, and executed. And so, the client quickly realized the value of having me on board.”
Enhanced collaboration and exponential change
By getting the right resources around the table, defining the work that needed to be accomplished, upholding transparency, and ultimately, executing on the end goal, Max far exceeded his client’s expectations for the project.
“When you engage with different stakeholders and take the time to understand their roles, challenges, and day-to-day lives, you begin to see areas of potential,” Max explained. “Through maintaining open communication and proactively identifying growth opportunities, I earned the freedom to take on new work beyond my core responsibilities, delivering value the client had not initially anticipated.”
After discovering that the global HR department lacked visibility into SG&A expenses for certain P&L line items, Max took initiative to create a bottoms-up model, providing improved data visualization and mapping. He also established himself as a go-to resource for cross-departmental questions on the company’s new Oracle EPM consolidation system, co-leading global training sessions with the FP&A teams to maximize utilization.
“When working across various groups and stakeholders, you are never going to have all the answers. Thus, it is essential to collaborate with the people who do and can coach you,” said Max. “And when you welcome them into the process – and everyone is aligned and nothing gets missed – you can create the best possible final product.”
An elevated impact
Throughout his time on the client, Max continually reached higher and penetrated cross-functional areas of need, distinguishing himself as a top performer. The global director of integration and transformation gained so much trust in Max that he handed him the reins in meetings with the C-suite.
“You may not always be working at the executive level right off the bat,” Max explained. “But if you go above and beyond to deliver high-quality work, the results will speak for themselves. C-suite and other key stakeholders will see those results and they will resonate. Senior leadership will take notice, allowing you to take on more responsibility, which opens the door for even more interesting and challenging work.”
Max’s collaborative and genuine approach created mutual benefit for himself and his client. He sparked organizational improvements, provided global leadership with the input needed to make strategic decisions, and furthered his professional development through unmatched exposure.
“At a past MY Journey® event with Siegfried, our guest speaker was Keith Ferrazzi. He talked about showing up early to the golf course when he was a caddy to be of service and the best he could be. So, I asked myself, how could I show up early to the golf course at this client? How could I go the extra mile and set myself apart? I’ve done this by being so available to help different stakeholders and so willing to take on different challenges beyond how my role was defined,” reflected Max.
“Relationships are what we do best at Siegfried. This focus really helped my client’s processes and work environment, but it also helped me become a better, more knowledgeable leader.”
Siegfried’s higher purpose – to help people transform themselves into better leaders to exponentially improve their lives – extends to all who experience it. Explore how our higher purpose comes to life through our unique business model, where clients experience our strategic service offering and our professionals experience interesting and challenging work.
