Harvard Business Review

APRIL 5, 2017

However, firms can efficiently increase margin growth without much revenue growth by managing to squeeze out their fixed costs to service the same level of output. However, it’s important to look closely at a company’s R&D spending, its R&D projects, and returns on such R&D. Corporate culture.

EPS 8

EPS Metrics Short-term McKinsey 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

In this excerpt from their book, Agile Talent , Younger and Smallwood explain how to align your organization with the needs and expectations of a workforce that is increasingly external, project-based, and flexible. More recently, Deloitte estimated that 30 to 40 percent of corporate FTEs are supplied by external resources.

Agility 8

Agility Organization Resources Bureaucracy 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

The essence of the phenomenon is the fact that each stage in the supply chain plans its capital projects and operations, including inventory levels, based on its future expectations. Here’s a hypothetical illustration of the bullwhip effect: A retailer might experience an X% drop in sales owing to some external event.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Retail Crisis Operations 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 27, 2016

A full-time job provided the steady income needed to support our traditional version of the American Dream: the highly leveraged, high-fixed-cost house; the cars; the latest consumer goods. If you had a full-time job, you won. All of that is changing.

Disaggregation 8

Disaggregation Insurance Retail Fixed Costs 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 8, 2014

My driver said he’d been with Uber ever since he’d graduated from his master’s program in IT project management last year. So to cover his monthly fixed costs of student loan payments (on more than $100k in debt), rent, and health care he was driving for Uber. And I heard a very interesting story.

Long-term 10

Long-term Fixed Costs Short-term Technology 10

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 18, 2013

We didn't want to burden the organization with fixed costs. Almost everything had to be free, and the few things we paid for had to be scalable so that the unit costs would eventually approach zero. Second, we standardized all management coordination on a low-cost but elegantly simple project management software called Basecamp.

Budgeting 9

Budgeting Software Entrepreneur Fixed Costs 9

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 13, 2015

Since provider margins are razor thin and fixed costs are very high, small changes in incentives or market share should have a significant impact. If achieved over five years, this would halve the projected growth in health care spending, reducing the average annual growth rate from 5.5%

Health Care 8

Health Care Insurance Price Cost 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 29, 2013

A fascinating business dynamic will unfold as health care providers in the United States shift from a reimbursement system that has historically paid for procedures performed to one that rewards population health — providing the total care of a community at a fixed cost and improving its members overall health.

Health Care 8

Health Care Committee Cost Operations 8

Ask Atma

MAY 5, 2012

From this, a detailed plan for execution filled with scope and projections would rise up out of the business ether like Mount Olympus. Programmers, UX/AI, MBA, agile product/project manager, other specialists…. 4) Costs – what is your cost per sale/customer? Pro-rated fixed costs. Variable costs.

Business Model 93

Business Model Ries Agility Entrepreneur 93

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 11, 2011

Re-visit big, inflexible projects — The 80/20 rule often applies to corporate innovation portfolios; a few projects consume the lion's share of cash. If those projects can adjust to the potential consequences of another economic dip, then there is no reason to change this allocation.

Innovation 15

Innovation Fixed Costs Airlines Business Model 15

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 10, 2012

Orion and other film studios needed level-headed projections about projects before jumping in with both feet. Regardless, a financing component adds another fixed cost. What could have saved these companies? Debt comes with payments that don't stop even if a film tanks. Otherwise, debt will be your worst enemy.

Financial Leverage 14

Financial Leverage Film Finance Class 14

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

business schools and select international schools to bid on consulting projects that have been posted by prospective clients, mostly small business owners. HourlyNerd, by encouraging students to bid against each other, likely drives down the hourly cost of projects even more.

McCallum 9

McCallum Consultative Disruptive Innovation Real Estate 9