WC CFO TheStrategicCFO#44 Online NZ Final - Flipbook - Page 1
Open to CHANGE & TRANSFORMATION
Anthony notes that a conscious decision
to be something is not enough to make
it happen and that it is critical to ask
“what are we shutting down? What are
we not going to do?” and then make
sure you exit that well.
The power of admitting
you don’t know
Anthony is passionate about the power
of admitting you don’t have the answer
and the danger of basing decisions on
opinions and guesses. His mantra is to
make the best decisions you can with
the information you have available,
learn from every decision and evolve
your thinking from there.
“Having the discipline to keep asking
whether we keep going or stop and take
a new direction is critical and how we
should run the business from top to
bottom.”
Anthony also explains a concept he
borrowed from a peer of FOG (this is
the only acronym he uses) or Facts,
Opinions and Guesses. “Everything
people say falls into one of these
categories” and Anthony says that it is
essential to base decisions on facts and
be very honest when sharing opinions
and guesses.
“If we start out thinking we already
know the answers, we will be closed
to possibilities. It is OK not to know.
When we admit we don’t know, we see
situations as having interesting aspects to
explore and we can focus on what is most
important to understand.”
Data, Analytics and driving
business performance
When I ask about the role of data and
analytics, it is clear from Anthony’s
reaction that he sees this as a critical
area in building a culture of curiosity
and driving business performance.
Anthony explains that the Data and
Analytics team play a key role in
providing facts and highlighting where
the business might be basing decisions
on opinions and guesses. He uses the
CFOMagazine.com.au
analogy of an onion to explain how
he sees the role of the Data and
Analytics team.
Moving from management
to an executive role
“At the core, the team holds the mental
model of the business - how the business
works, what flows where, how things
connect and what we are trying to do –
it is a whole of business perspective.
The middle layer is designing the data
model that that supports the mental
model of the business and working
out what do you process in individual
systems vs. in the central data store.
The outer layer is how you take that
information to the business.”
Anthony explains that moving into an
executive role required a major shift in
the way he worked.
How information is presented to the
business is critical and language is
really important.
Achieving a healthy work life balance
is important for Anthony and not
surprisingly, he applies the same
discipline to self-organisation and
his own time as he instils across the
organisation.
“The team were initially called ‘data
and insights’ but the word insights was
quickly dropped. I don’t want people to
think that insights only come from this
team - I don’t want people to think this
team have all the answers as this could
undermine a culture curiosity.”
Finance as a partner
in value
Anthony explains that the finance
operations at OUA are not complicated
and that tracking spending and cost
management is a big part of the team’s
focus. The finance team has invested
in getting processes and systems
optimised to free up time for
value-add activity.
“When the finance team have cost
management as a focus it is easy to
be seen as a gatekeeper, but this misses
the opportunity to really add value.
Thinking about the organisation from
a resource allocation perspective and
ensuring this is consistent with the
strategy is where the opportunities to add
value are.”
Anthony regularly challenges his team
to think about different ways to look
at the cost structure to better align
with strategy and to be curious about
the business.
“I have never doubted my ability to
get things done and there were no
barriers that I could not remove through
connecting, listening and influencing.
The key to an executive role is creating
the environment for others to get things
done the right way.”
Fitting it all in
“The demands on mental energy are
greater than physical energy. I set clear
personal boundaries for my time and
mental preparation and organisation
of the day are key.”
Anthony describes a practice that
involves, planning the day, reading,
journaling and mapping sources of
stress vs. levels of activity.
Keeping knowledge
current
Anthony’s mantra for his personal
development is “I learn every day” and
this has informed the choices he has
made through his career.
“After completing a PhD, I was reluctant
to take on further study and do an MBA
so I actively sought out projects that
would give me similar exposure and
learning. I set up a business for IPO,
worked on post-acquisition integration,
market analytics, strategy and pricing/
commercials.”
Anthony has recently enrolled in a grad
cert finance which he says is a great
way to fill out any gaps in his finance
knowledge and experience life as an
online student.
