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, Intuit’s CFO, Sandeep Aujla, shares how he starts his morning, investing in his team’s growth and his inspirational parents.
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Intuit
- Global financial technology platform that operates Intuit TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks and Mailchimp.
- Year founded: 1983
- Number of employees: 18,200
- Revenue: $16.3B in fiscal year 2024
MORNING ROUTINE
Weekday wake-up time: I wake up at 4:45 a.m. every day — even on the weekends.
Morning beverage choice: I drink coffee, preferably Four Barrels single origin from South America. Two cups at least.
Non-work-related morning activities: I am a practicing Sikh and prioritize spending 30 to 45 minutes for morning prayers.
Workday start time: I start work around 6 a.m. and typically focus on pre-reads and preparing for the day’s meetings and discussions. My kids typically come down for breakfast around 7:30 a.m. so I ensure that I hang out with them before they leave for school. As for work meetings, I rarely start before 9 a.m. unless it is something critical. Spending time preparing for the day helps me reflect on what key items we need to discuss and address in each meeting.
How I usually spend the first hour of my day: I tend to start my day with more deep work, thinking and problem-solving.
Best advice for writing an effective email: Don’t overthink it. Stay succinct and address the topic at hand. I have found that when I put off responding because I want more time to send a more thorough email it leads to me falling behind.
First dashboard I review: During tax season I review the TurboTax dashboard daily. Outside of that, I review funnel metrics across our business two times a week and set aside time to do a thorough dashboard review each Tuesday.
How I structure my morning meetings: I schedule meetings that require more complex topics or deeper engagements prior to 2 p.m. as it allows me to address the harder things first.
Mid-morning snack of choice: None; I generally fast in the morning so aside from my morning two cups of coffee, it’s no meal until noon.
What was a recent morning that didn’t go as planned, and how did you adjust? I don’t mind when things don’t go according to plan…that’s life and it’s fun to embrace change. On a recent day when I had to drive my son to school, I shifted doing pre-reads for my afternoon meetings to later that day when I had a break in my calendar.
INSPIRATION AND LEADERSHIP
Favorite quote or mantra: “Take your responsibility seriously but don’t take yourself too seriously.” I take my role and responsibilities — professional and personal — very seriously and aim to perform them exceptionally well. Yet, I also believe in being easy-going, appreciate humor and not overly worrying about things that I cannot control. Being ‘single gear’ in life or letting my profession define who I am as a human is very unappealing to me.
Favorite leadership lesson: The importance of investing in your team and your employees. A large part of my job is to create world-class leaders and hold a consistently high bar for excellence. This starts by helping set expectations for what excellence looks like, investing in teams to help them deliver their best, and helping them achieve their growth ambitions.
I make a point to understand my team’s ambitions on what they want to achieve in three to five years and find opportunities for them to grow and expand their capabilities to achieve those goals. Even now, I try to move my leaders around every couple of years. They build a new skill set that’s helping them move towards their ambition, and the company benefits from having someone look at a problem from a fresh perspective. Investing in your team’s growth and fostering a culture of mobility creates a very symbiotic relationship.
Something important to know about me that you wouldn’t know from my business bio: With a role that requires me to be highly focused and engaged nearly all the time, I look for ways to relax that force me to not think about work. The hobby that I find does this best, and has been a favorite pastime, is spending time on the racetrack. It forces me to solely focus on the task at hand which leaves me feeling mentally detoxed.
Favorite number/why: The number 13 is considered good in Sikhism yet I find most in Western society avoid that number, so that is one number that sticks out where I have a unique fondness compared to others.
Most noteworthy items in my workspace: A picture of my family, my HP 12C calculator that I still use a lot and my whiteboard where I jot down and refine ideas as I think through writing/scribbling.
Do you have a pet, and are they with you right now? We got a pet labradoodle last year and it was my first dog. While she is not here with me right now, she has helped me understand why the bond between humans and their dogs is so strong.
Favorite app on my phone that is not related to business: Spotify. I listen to lots of podcasts and music while commuting or when I’m at the gym.
The year, make, and model of your first car: 1987 Buick Skylark
Most inspirational person/people in your life: My family. I am inspired by my parents and the sacrifices they made to bring me and my sister to the U.S. so we could have the abundance of opportunities that exist. And by my kids who work exceptionally hard and are growing into amazing human beings who are both caring and driven.
Most influential/famous person you’ve ever met: Bill Clinton. I had the opportunity to meet with him at a Goldman Sachs event while I was working there.
