The reality is, humans have a hard time figuring out what is possible. The interesting thing is, the art of the possible is about envisioning the future, but humans really only move into the future by peeking into the past. It’s just the way we work.
Profit Enhancement & Cost Reduction
Setting Priorities, Where to Look First
You want to reduce cost and improve profitability, but doing so takes time. And it’s not like you don’t have anything else to do. So where is the low-hanging fruit? Where can your efforts produce the highest yield?
The answer is pretty simple. As cost-cutting legend Harry E. Figgie, Jr. explains in The Cost Reduction and Profit Improvement Handbook, just lay out your income statement as follows*:
Optimize Your Organizational Structure to Eliminate Waste, Increase Profit
Let’s face it. People make your business “go.” No matter how automated or established it may be, it’s your people – or call it your talent, human capital or human resources – who pull the strings. They give it life, adaptability, innovation, customer service and personality.
Want to Improve Profit? Everything’s Negotiable
When I was a younger business person I wanted to be well-liked and do things right. Well-liked by vendors, customers, employees and investors. I wanted to solve not just my own problems but their problems, too. I’d pay bills in full even when a vendor failed to meet basic standards of performance. I’d coddle employees who did not give me reason to retain them. And I tried to “do things right,” such as volunteer work for philanthropic causes.
Profit Enhancement Through Cost Reduction: The Time Is Now
Our federal government must reduce its expenditures. It cannot continue to spend more than it brings in. Sure, it could increase taxes to balance the budget, but this would make our companies less competitive internationally. It would also lower the standard of living for each of us. The only sane answer is a smaller government spending less and wasting less.
How to Create and Sustain Superior Profits
A goal of every business should be to achieve superior profit. The Business Owner defines superior profit as:
1. Profit margins that exceed those earned by competitors
1. Real-dollar profits that rise at rates that exceed the growth of the industries served
First Step Toward Profit Enhancement? Break Down Employee Resistance
Harry Lay is an expert on profit maximization in small and midsize companies. He has received extensive training on the subject; designed, implemented and managed profit maximization programs in private companies; and speaks and consults regularly on the topic. He says the first step must be to break down employee resistance to higher profits.
Cost Drivers and Where to Look to Lower Cost
Every customer is price sensitive. Price is a key characteristic of your offering, whether your business strategy is to offer value through low prices or superior quality at a premium price. If you price your goods too high, the customer may purchase elsewhere.
Your Guide to Holiday Gift Giving
Holiday gift giving has become almost obligatory in our society, but it really is a wonderful custom. We give to express our appreciation and build goodwill among our friends, relatives, customers and associates. If you don’t see it this way, maybe you could learn to see it in a more positive light.
Generate Higher Profit, Fast
Is there any endeavor more exciting than a business turnaround? Who are these all-powerful business types who can walk into a joint and whip it into shape in a few months? And why don’t these people stick around and keep the darn thing profitable? Where do they go when the job is done? Across the street to clean up a mess made by another mere mortal?
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