“If I knew in 1986 how much it was going to cost to keep Pixar going, I doubt if I would have bought the company.” IfsCompanyDoubtCostBest JobPixar Author:Steve Jobs
“To the economically illiterate, if some company makes a million dollars in profit, this means that their products cost a million dollars more than they would have without profits. It never occurs to such people that these products might cost several million dollars more without the incentives to be efficient created by the prospect of profits.” PeopleIfsMeanMightCompanyMillionsProductsCostDollarsProfitEfficientIncentivesMillion DollarsIlliterate Author:Thomas Sowell
“A price decline is of no real importance to the bona fide investor unless it is either very substantial say, more than a third from cost or unless it reflects a known deterioration of consequence in the company's position. In a well-defined bear market many sound common stocks sell temporarily at extraordinary low prices. It is possible that the investor may then have a paper loss of fully 50 per cent on some of his holdings, without any convincing indication that the underlying values have been permanently affected.” WellsMayHas BeensRealValuesSoundLossCommonCompanyKnownPositionBearsCostPaperLowsConsequenceThirdsImportanceSellsExtraordinaryDefinedAffectedInvestorsDeclineCentsConvincingIndicationDeterioration Author:Benjamin Graham
“Someone in the society has to deal with the reality that there are finite resources and we're making trade-offs, and be explicit about that. When the car companies were found to have a memo that actually said, "This safety feature costs X and saved Y lives," the very existence of that memo was considered damning. Or when you made it reimbursable for a doctor to ask, "Do you want heroic care at the end-of-life," that was a death panel. No, it wasn't a death panel! It was asking somebody to make a decision.” WantMadeSaidEndsRealityCareAsksFoundDecisionDealsExistenceCompanyCarCostResourcesDoctorsAskingSafetyTradeSavedMade ItFeaturesHeroicFiniteEnd Of LifeExplicitTrade OffsMemos Author:Bill Gates
“In the long run, though, the greatest IT risk facing most companies is more prosaic than a catastrophe. It is, simply, overspending. IT may be a commodity, and its costs may fall rapidly enough to ensure that any new capabilities are quickly shared, but the very fact that it is entwined with so many business functions means that it will continue to consume a large portion of corporate spending.” MayMeanLongEnoughFactsRunningFallCompanyRiskCostFunctionSpendingCorporateCapabilityPortionsLong RunsCommodityCatastropheEntwinedOverspending Author:Nicholas G. Carr
“At our company, our Design and Construction Consulting Service Team not only helps eliminate the risks inherent in the construction process, they typically save our clients 5% - 10% on overall construction costs. They also help make sure projects come in on time.” HelpingSportsProcessCompanyRiskTeamDesignCostProjectsConstructionInherentClientsConsulting Author:Roger Staubach
“Thus a new way of finding fluidity will inevitably be imposed on management and labor alike. The profit-sharing, or "progress" sharing union contract is the only possible way of satisfying labor and the consumer without saddling industry with fixed costs that in depression periods can kill off marginal companies like flies.” WayWisdomPoliticsCompanyEconomyProgressIndustryPeriodsCostFindingsLaborManagementUnionsProfitConsumersFixedLiberalismContractsSatisfyingNew WaysFluidityProfit Sharing Author:John Chamberlain
“The principal villain in rising health care costs is the government. Not pharmaceutical companies, not doctors, but government.” GovernmentCareCompanyCostDoctorsHealth CareRisingVillainPrincipalPharmaceuticalPharmaceutical CompaniesHealth Care Costs Author:Neal Boortz
“I find it ironic that now water is more expensive than music. On the one hand, record companies can't go crying when they've gouged consumers for decades, charging exorbitant prices for CDs that cost 29 cents to make. On the other hand, when music is free, musicians starve.” HandsWaterCompanyRecordsCryCostMusicianMusic IsDecadesConsumersExpensiveIronicCentsCdsRecord CompaniesCharging Author:Tom Morello
“To make HP a great company once again, we need more than competitive costs and operational efficiency. We're in the process of assessing and refining our growth strategy, and the same concepts that were behind our operational changes will be at work here: simplicity, focus, alignment, and execution.” NeedsProcessGrowthBehindsCompanyFocusCostConceptsStrategySimplicityExecutionEfficiencyAlignmentRefiningGreat CompanyAssessing Author:Bill Vaughan
“One of the myths about the Internet of Things is that companies have all the data they need, but their real challenge is making sense of it. In reality, the cost of collecting some kinds of data remains too high, the quality of the data isn't always good enough, and it remains difficult to integrate multiple data sources.” NeedsKindRealEnoughRealityDifficultChallengesQualityCompanySourceInternetCostRemainsMythDataMake SenseGood EnoughMultipleCollectingIntegrating Author:Chris Murphy
“It doesn't matter much where your company sits in its industry ecosystem, nor how vertically or horizontally integrated it is - what matters is its relative 'share of customer value' in the final product or solution, and its cost of producing that value.” MatterValuesCompanyShareProductsIndustryCostSolutionsFinalsEducationalCustomersRelativeWhat MattersIntegratedEcosystems Author:Gary Hamel
“Cloud computing offers individuals access to data and applications from nearly any point of access to the Internet, offers businesses a whole new way to cut costs for technical infrastructure, and offers big computer companies a potentially giant market for hardware and services.” WayWholeBigsIndividualCompanyCuttingInternetCostOffersComputerCloudsAccessDataGiantsApplicationNew WaysInfrastructureComputingHardwareCloud Computing Author:Jamais Cascio
“Even non-commercial media rely on transferring cost to users through licence fees, donations from listeners, viewers, or readers, or grants from companies and foundations that have wrestled their funds from the public in some form of earlier commercial activity.” FormCompanyMediaReaderCostActivityFoundationRelyFundGrantsUsersListenersViewersFeesDonation Author:Robert G. Picard
“Everybody needs to understand that policies are going to change to make it unprofitable if you wreck the planet, those companies that continue exploring and developing fossil fuel resources for which there is no safe use are going to pay a very heavy cost for that.” IfsNeedsUseChangePayCompanyPolicyPlanetsCostSafeResourcesHeavyDevelopingFuelExploringFossilsWrecksFossil Fuel Author:Jeffrey Sachs
“You can look at the cost structure of an incumbent company and discover: where are they not going to be able to drop their prices... because that business model is fundamental to the existence of the company.” LooksAbleExistenceCompanyBuildingCostModelsFundamentalsStructureIncumbentsBusiness Models Author:Aaron Levie
“By saying Make in India, we are not only inviting companies for cost-effective manufacturing, but also giving them an opportunity of a large market for their products.” GivingOpportunityCompanyProductsCostIndiaInnovationManufacturingInvitingMake In India Author:Narendra Modi
“During the last five years, those four advantages-costs, products, people, goodwill-have been the salvation of Interface during a recession that saw our primary marketplace shrink by 38% from peak to trough-38%! As a heavily leveraged company with over $400 million in debt, we might not have made it without the sustainability initiative and, especially, the support of our customers. This revised definition of success-this new paradigm-has a name: "Doing well by doing good". It is a better way to bigger profits.” PeopleWayYearsWellsHas BeensMadeMightLastsNamesBusinessCompanyMillionsSupportFiveSawsFourProductsCostAdvantageBiggerSalvationDefinitionsProfitDebtCustomersMade ItPrimariesFive YearsSustainabilityInitiativeShrinksMarketplaceParadigmDoing GoodBetter WaysGoodwillRecessionsInterfacesDefinition Of SuccessLast Five YearsTrough Author:Ray Anderson
“If you rent a U-Haul to move your company, it costs twice as much to go from San Francisco to Austin than the other way around, because you can't find enough trucks to leave the Golden State.” IfsWayStatesEnoughMovingCompanyCostGoldenTruckSan FranciscoHaulAustinU Haul Author:Rick Perry
“Oil companies earned a permanent enemy in me when they messed with the electric car the first time around, and I think they continue to do a disservice in making it seem like fossil fuels are cheaper than they really are in terms of total cost.” ThinkingFirstsSeemsTermCompanyEnemyCarCostFirst TimeOilPermanentFuelElectricFossilsCheaperFossil FuelDisserviceOil CompaniesElectric Car Author:Chris Paine
“Getting a traditional pharmaceutical to the market can cost a billion dollars or more. Newer, more tailored and targeted drugs called biologics are even more complex and expensive. Simple economics dictates that companies and venture funds will invest more in products that can generate a sufficient return.” SimpleCompanyProductsReturnCostDrugEconomicsDollarsComplexesBillionsTraditionalSufficientExpensiveFundVenturePharmaceuticalTailored Author:David Mixner
“Pharmaceutical companies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in new HIV/AIDS treatments not out of altruism but because they can make up those research costs in sales.” CompanyMillionsCostResearchDollarsAidsTreatmentAltruismHivPharmaceuticalHiv AidsPharmaceutical Companies Author:David Mixner
“In evaluating potential vendors, accurately estimating total cost of ownership is critical. Yet, this is often an area where companies don't put the right amount of effort. This tool can help those looking at Warehouse Management Systems get their arms around this key issue.” HelpingEffortCompanyIssuesArmsKeysAmountCostAreasToolsManagementCriticalOwnershipWarehouseVendorsEstimatingManagement Systems Author:Dan Gillmor
“There are so many opportunities to make a bad decision in building a robot company on top of all the normal ways that entrepreneurs screw up that it is incredibly difficult to truly create value because it is so cost-sensitive.” WayValuesOpportunityDifficultDecisionCompanyBuildingCostNormalEntrepreneurSensitiveScrewsRobotsScrew UpsBad Decision Author:Colin Angle
“Isn't it ironic that pay, perks, and benefits all cost your company at the bottom line, but authentic recognition, especially when it's most unexpected, costs very little and gives the most impressive return on investment.” GivingLittlesLinesPayCompanyReturnCostBenefitsInvestmentBottomRecognitionUnexpectedIronicImpressiveBottom LinePerksReturn On Investment Author:Chip Conley