In this Short Talk episode Judith Germain and Ben Risser discuss financial intelligence vs financial literacy and how it empowers business owners to make better financial decisions. Key Takeaways Financial intelligence provides high-level, actionable data to make key business decisions. Financial literacy is the ability to understand financial information. Together they provide financial situational awareness. Many small business owners operate financially blind between meetings with their accountant. A fractional CFO can provide guidance throughout the year. A CFO can help prevent costly mistakes and position a business for growth. Their fee is small compared to the value they provide. Accurately projecting cash flow is critical for a business to have financial situational awareness. A CFO provides an experienced, strategic perspective. In this conversation Ben shares that accurately projecting cash flows is critical but difficult, determining distributions and avoiding shortages. Financial partners provide strategic foresight to balance owner isolation in decision-making. Ben Risser is an aerospace engineer turned Fractional CFO, focused on helping executive leaders replace financial uncertainity with Financial Situational Awareness, thereby increasing their mission impact. You can find out more about our guest and today's episode in this Maverick Paradox Magazine article here. --- Maverick leadership is all about thinking outside the box and challenging the status quo. It's about having the courage to take risks and the confidence to lead in a way that is authentic and genuine. But amplifying your influence as a leader isn't just about having a strong vision or a big personality. It's also about having the right leadership capability and being able to execute on your ideas and plans. The consequences of not having the right level of influence as a leader can be significant. Without the ability to inspire and motivate others, you may struggle to achieve your goals and make a real impact. How Influential Are you? Take the scorecard at amplifyyourinfluence.scoreapp.com and see.  Catalysing Transformation - 1 min video Judith's book: The Maverick Paradox: The Secret Power Behind Successful Leaders.  Judith's websites:  The Maverick Paradox Magazine - themaverickparadox.com The Maverick Paradox Website - maverickparadox.co.uk Judith's LinkedIn profile is here, her Twitter profile (MaverickMastery) is here, Facebook here and Instagram here.