As a current Saltire Fellow or for anyone considering the Fellowship, there some things that one has to get one's head around. 

• Accounts payable
• Return on Capital employed [ROCE]
• Contribution margin
• Cash conversion cycles
• Net present values

I am not a great numbers person.  Never have been.  So working on entrepreneurial finance was a challenge and an education.  Sure, it is handy if one can populate a balance sheet and rustle up a spreadsheet.

But the important thing the Fellowship highlights and what every Fellow on this charter class understands is how to think in the cracks... the interstices.  What do the numbers mean.. What does it mean for the business.. What's happening to the cash.. 

So when I look at the maple tree, I see the tree, the branches, the leaves...but I also see the light and air that flows through the tree - the gaps.

That's what the Fellowship develops... an ability to gaze from a different perspective - whether it's numbers or otherwise... Now, that's a positive ROCE!!