Cut Costs, Grow Stronger : A Strategic Approach to What to Cut and What to Keep
Описание книги
For most companies, cost cutting in a down economy means across-the-board slashing that «spreads the pain» of budget reductions across many departments. While that may sound like the best approach for getting critical results fast and for limiting political infighting, it is a mistake-one that will leave your company weaker, not just smaller. Instead, companies that need to reduce costs should treat the challenge as an opportunity to identify and reinforce their key capabilities, while divesting from those activities that do not truly reflect the business's strengths or long-term goals. This more strategic approach will make your company more resilient as tough times continue and more robust as recovery begins.In Cut Costs, Grow Stronger, an e-book published as part of the Harvard Business Press Memo to the CEO series, Booz & Company's Shumeet Banerji, Paul Leinwand and Cesare Mainardi provide executives with the tools they need to rapidly implement capabilities-driven cost reduction. First they demonstrate how to identify and clearly articulate your company's key capabilities-not just core competencies or skill sets, but those very few strengths that, in combination, define how your organization competes. You can then use this information to create your company's unique blueprint for effective and efficient cost reduction. The authors' detailed, step-by-step framework walks you through the process, which can be completed in as little as two or three months-it's something that you can do now. This practical guide to capabilities-driven cost-cutting is the tool executives need to confront the challenge of today's economy while strengthening the foundation for what will set their company apart in the future.
Оглавление
Paul Leinwand. Cut Costs, Grow Stronger : A Strategic Approach to What to Cut and What to Keep
Praise for Cut Costs, Grow Stronger
Cut Costs, Grow Stronger. A Strategic Approach to What to Cutand What to Keep. Shumeet Banerji. Paul Leinwand. Cesare R. Mainardi. Booz & Company
Contents
1
Changing the Conversation About Costs
Being Strategic When the Clock Is Ticking
About This Book
2
The Meaning of Capabilities
Capabilities as a Reflection of Strategy and the Right to Win
Creating Portfolio Coherence
3
Capabilities-Driven Cost Cutting in Practice
Step 1: Issue a “Cut Costs, Grow Stronger” Mandate
Step 2: Set Your Capabilities Agenda
Step 3: Recommend Capability Investments
Step 4: Assure Coherence and Make Choices
Step 5: Capture the Benefits
4
Making Cuts Stick
The Need for Vigilance
5
Four Impediments to Strategic Cost Cutting and How to Overcome Them
Impediment 1: Not Knowing What Your Key Capabilities Are
Impediment 2: Basing Portfolio Decisions on Near-term Financial Results
Impediment 3: Believing That Strategic Cost Cuts Made Quickly Are Impossible
Impediment 4: Believing Your Company Must Be World Class in Everything
Afterword
Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Отрывок из книги
“Most companies cut costs randomly and without regard to strategy. In this short book you will find not only clear thinking about strategic capabilities, but also much-needed advice about how to cut costs without losing the capabilities that make your firm distinctive in its industry.”
—Tom Davenport, President’s Distinguished Professor in
.....
In our experience, the most dramatic, significant, and successful cost reductions, either in the short term or the long run, aren’t those that are simply prompted by financial analyses. They have all occurred in situations when management realized that it had to truly transform. The process wasn’t expense reduction as usual; it involved real fear—a sense that, “If we don’t change, we may not survive.” These urgent situations provide exactly the right impetus to make critical strategic changes.
Case in point: years ago, there was an emergency cost-cutting program at the automobile and electronic components manufacturer Johnson Controls, Inc. The crisis began when retailer Sears, Roebuck and Co., which represented 20 percent of Johnson Control’s business in motor vehicle batteries, pulled its contract. Overnight, Johnson Controls faced huge overcapacity and steep losses.
.....