by James Manyika, McKinsey Quarterly, the business journal of McKinsey & Company.
Patrick Pichette, Google Senior vice president and CFO, describes the attitudes and behavior that Google hopes will keep it growing like a start-up.
When it comes to playing the classic role of the no-nonsense chief financial officer, Patrick Pichette has his own personal interpretation. Google’s CFO may oversee $36 billion in cash reserves at one of the world’s most recognized companies, but he still flies coach class, rides a beat-up bicycle to work, and responds directly to e-mails from fellow “Googlers” every day. “It takes a little more time,” he says. “But it crushes the idea of bureaucracy—and that’s the way it should be.”