Time to Value: 6 minutes
“We have to check with finance.”
This was a statement I dreaded early in my career because it meant defending my strategy, building a business case, and seeking approval on something I was 100% sure would work.
As I grew in my career, the finance team and I became thick as thieves. They became my strategic partners for my crazy ideas and no longer the bureaucratic penny pinchers. Changing my perspective and engagement with this team led to more successful business decisions.
Now I’m watching founders make the same mistake I almost made—just in reverse. They’re not bringing finance to the table at all.
A founder told me last week they’re adding three sales reps in Q1. Strategic move, right? More salespeople, more revenue.
When I asked about ramp time and quota attainment assumptions, silence.
They’d modeled headcount, not outcomes.
They knew what three reps would cost monthly, but hadn’t mapped out what “success” actually looked like, or what would happen if those reps took six months to close their first deal instead of three.
So let’s talk about what changes when you bring finance in before you commit; starting with how you think about talent.
People: You Don’t Build Teams, You Build Outcomes
Recently, I’ve been in meetings with founders, executives, and heads of business units, working through their 2026 strategies.
Everyone wants more talent, better retention, and bigger teams.
The big blind spot? Too few are running the numbers before making moves.
Here’s what I tell every leader:
Your talent strategy isn’t just about hiring. It’s about modeling the impact.
- How fast does that hire ramp?
- What does success look like, and what’s the true cost if they miss the mark?
- Are your compensation and incentive plans actually driving performance, or just burning runway?
You want retention? Incentives are great, but if finance isn’t at the table mapping out cash flow and long-term margin, you’re guessing.
Action: Before signing off on any talent move, pause and pull in your finance partner.
- Map the outcome
- Check the cost
- Build a buffer if your expectations aren’t met
Process: If Finance Isn’t Co-Piloting Your Scenarios, You’re Flying Blind
This year, I’ve watched too many teams make bets on AI, tech, territory expansions, and product launches, with finance often being an afterthought.
Reality check:If you wait for finance to approve the spend after the plan’s made, you’re missing every early warning.
- Are you running best, base, and downside cases before you green-light an investment?
- Who sets the financial markers for pivoting, accelerating, or stopping?
- Does every strategic initiative have real triggers for success and for shutting it down?
Rolling out new tech or launching into a new market? Finance should be setting the guardrails, defining the checkpoints, and dialing in the early indicators before you commit.
Action: Next time your team plans a major initiative, ask, “What does finance need to see before we scale up?”
- Scenario-plan out loud
- Mark every big move against real financial milestones
Data: Track the Stuff That Actually Moves the Needle (Ignore the Fluff)
The worst mistake execs make is building dashboards that don’t connect to survival or scale.
Here’s my playbook:
- Track ROI for every hire
- Burn rate, runway, and productivity per head
- Actual adoption when you launch new tech or expand
- Are your expansion plans built on real market data, not just ambition?
- For every initiative, what’s the one metric that tells you it’s working or failing?
Finance is the difference-maker here. The right metrics, when modeled and tracked in collaboration with your finance team, turn information into actionable insights.
Action: Schedule a meeting with your finance lead this week.
- Review your dashboards—cut what doesn’t drive outcomes
- Choose one metric per function that means “we’re winning” and one that signals “time to pivot”
Tonio’s Corner
Finance isn’t the budget police. It’s the partner you want in every room, at every turning point, shaping both strategy and resilience.
Too many teams treat finance as a gatekeeper, the person who says “no” or slows things down. High-performance teams view finance as a strategic co-pilot, enabling confident decisions regarding people, processes, and data.
If you bring finance in from the start, whether through hiring, investing, expanding, or launching new lines, you build leverage, not just headcount. You create optionality instead of burning runway on hope.
The companies that master this don’t just survive tight markets; they build the financial discipline that makes them fundable when capital returns.
Try This Week: Gather your leadership and finance partners. Pick one major upcoming decision in each area: People, Process, Data. Run the financial model together. Clarify ROI, buffer, and decision triggers for each. Share learnings across the team, build a discipline that compounds momentum
What’s your biggest 2026 investment decision? Share below—let’s stress-test it together.