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So, earlier in our conversation you said some-
thing about contingency planning. Do you mean
in case there is a re, how do we put out the re?
DRILLOCK:
I think contingency planning
goes both ways. You want to plan for the worst
and sort of hope for the best, but you also want
to plan if there is an upturn. What if there’s not
a downturn and things start to pick up? You
don’t want to cut back so hard that when the
economy does pick up, your company is not
prepared to meet that demand.
So contingency planning in both directions?
DRILLOCK:
It goes both ways.
Something I heard you talk about is that at
a time when most CFOs and business executives
in general are concerned about ba ening down
the hatches and protecting what they have,
you’re using innovation as a means of protecting
growth. Elaborate on that.
DRILLOCK:
I think one of the mistakes
companies make during downturns is that they
start cu ing out any innovation and market-
ing that goes on. And then when things turn
around, those who kept doing those things had
the edge. So, what you want to do is cut down
in such a way that doesn’t stop the innovation
or the enthusiasm of employees that want to be
part of a growth company.
At the end of the day, every company has to
grow and generate good cash ow to go for-
ward. e CFO has to make sure that you don’t
overreact to one extreme and miss the other
when the growth comes back.
Tell me, Dave, your thoughts about the CFO’s
role in that realm, in leading a company through
this very, very confusing period.
DRILLOCK:
I think what a CFO can do
through this type of period is, rst of all, they
look at the big-picture view of what’s going
on in the economy “Here’s what I see, here’s
what the data is showing, here’s the metrics,
and here’s the leading indicators” but they can
also look at what is going on in the company to
make sure they have the right metrics.
ere are a lot of techniques today that are
out there, such as Six Sigma and lean manufac-
turing, that you can even use on your adminis-
trative processes and global processes that make
a company more e cient. A CFO, because of
the world he is in, can bring a lot of things to
the table in making sure these things are being
utilized throughout the company.
I am hearing a combination of both back-
ward- and forward-looking. e traditional
CFO role was historic and was reporting. It kind
of stopped at today, but I am hearing innovation,
I’m hearing forward-looking.
DRILLOCK:
e CFO’s role is really chang-
ing today. You are going from really just being a
compliance master to one where you’ve got to go
out there and really understand what’s going on
in the market. You’ve got to be a strategic thinker
and you’ve got to be a partner with the CEO.
It’s not just si ing in the o ce, but ge ing
out there and understanding what’s going on,
being that partner to the rest of the executive
team at the company, and giving them those
insights a er that. You really have to understand
what’s going on in the business, and I think
those are the ones that are more successful.
So, partnership in a lot of di erent directions,
not just with the CEO, but with the rest of the
executive team as well?
DRILLOCK:
at’s correct. You have to get
out there and relate to the hourly employee as
well as you do to the C-suite executives.
at makes perfect sense. Dave, we are very
interested in understanding howCFOs can become
in uential. What steps can a CFO take to have
the greatest positive in uence over the company,
their industry, or the nance community?
DRILLOCK:
One thing is they can’t
be too insular. They can’t just be around a
company. They have to get out there and
network, whether it’s through trade associa-
tions,
CFO Studio
like this, getting online, or
chatting with other CFOs in this industry.
But I think what CFOs can do to really be
influential, not just in their company, but
in their industry, is to just get out and see
what else is out there. I do not have the best
ideas out there, but I want to know I’m smart
enough or hope I’m smart enough to know
who to go to in order to get those ideas.
I have time for one last question before we
sign o , and it is not a business question. When
you’re not CFO, when you take your CFO hat
o , what do you do with your time?
DRILLOCK:
Well, I am lucky enough to
have a small farm in Long Valley, NJ. I have a
couple of horses, some donkeys, some chickens,
grow hay. When I want to get myself completely
away from what I do, I go out to that farm and
just enjoy the great land and just enjoy nature.
A far cry om being a nance executive.
DRILLOCK:
at’s correct.
Dave, this has been fantastic. I truly
appreciate you joining us here on CFO Studio.
I hope you’ll come back and see us again.
DRILLOCK:
I will. I enjoyed it myself.
ank you very much.
✣
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