Download or read book Conquering Complexity in Your Business How Wal Mart Toyota and Other Top Companies Are Breaking Through the Ceiling on Profits and Growth written by Michael L. George and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2004-07-12 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conquering the complexity in products and services can generate larger contributions to profits and growth than nearly any other business strategy Here's a guarantee: Somewhere in your business, there is too much complexity. You may also be losing out by having too little complexity where it counts - in the products, services and options you offer to customers. Either way, the impact of complexity is enormous in terms of lost profit and missed growth opportunities. Conquering Complexity in Your Business shows how to break through the ceiling on profits and growth by implementing the three rules for conquering complexity: Eliminating complexity that customers will not pay for Exploiting the complexity that customers will pay for Minimizing the costs of the complexity you offer You'll find methods and tools you need to: Identify the offering and process complexity in your business Quantify the impact of that complexity Decide which complexity you want to keep and which to eliminate Select specific approaches to eliminate different kinds of complexity This knowledge will significantly improve your ability to grow profit, revenue, and shareholder value.
Download or read book Conquering Complexity In Your Business written by Michael L. George and published by . This book was released on 2004-10-01 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Simple written by Alan Siegel and published by Twelve. This book was released on 2013-04-02 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades, Alan Siegel and Irene Etzkorn have championed simplicity as a competitive advantage and a consumer right. Consulting with businesses and organizations around the world to streamline products, services, processes and communications, they have achieved dramatic results. In SIMPLE, the culmination of their work together, Siegel and Etzkorn show us how having empathy, striving for clarity, and distilling your message can reduce the distance between company and customer, hospital and patient, government and citizen-and increase your bottom line. Examining the best and worst practices of an array of organizations big and small-including the IRS, Google, Philips, Trader Joe's, Chubb Insurance, and ING Direct, and many more-Siegel and Etzkorn recast simplicity as a mindset, a design aesthetic, and a writing technique. In these illuminating pages you will discover, among other things: Why the Flip camera became roadkill in the wake of the iPhone What SIMPLE idea allowed the Cleveland Clinic to improve care and increase revenue How OXO designed a measuring cup that sold a million units in its first 18 months on the market Where Target got the idea for their "ClearRX" prescription system How New York City simplified its unwieldy bureaucracy with three simple numbers By exposing the overly complex things we encounter every day, SIMPLE reveals the reasons we allow confusion to persist, inspires us to seek clarity, and explores how social media is empowering consumers to demand simplicity. The next big idea in business is SIMPLE.
Download or read book Waging War on Complexity Costs PB written by Stephen A. Wilson and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2009-11-13 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shed Revenue-Draining Complexity Costs by Thirty Percent! “This is an ambitious book packed with insight and fresh thinking. Separating good from bad complexity costs is a critical task facing companies today, and the authors provide a compelling roadmap for solving the problem.” Michael B. McCallister, President and CEO, Humana Inc. “Waging War on Complexity Costs examines an incredibly important and often overlooked aspect of business and organizations in general—regulators and government officials should read this book and take notice. Complexity dramatically increases costs and risk of failure. It is like a cancer that eats away at efficiency and profitability.” Andy Beal, Chairman and CEO, Beal Bank “This is by far the best and most useful explanation of how to address complexity in a business. Waging War on Complexity Costs frames the issue in a way that companies can finally tackle the problem—this book delivers.” Ahmad R. Chatila, CEO, MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. “This is the first book that really targets organizational complexity in a compelling way, making this a must-read for any organization that is looking to distance itself from the competition. After years of cost-cutting, many companies are realizing that they still don’t have a discernable cost advantage. This book provides the platform to achieve just that, by attacking the complexity that bogs them down.” Tom DiDonato, EVP Human Resources, American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. About the Book: Complexity costs are the single biggest determinant of your company’s cost competitiveness. For the past two decades the pursuit of growth has created massive complexity in processes, product portfolios, and organizations, adding costs that companies can ill afford. The only good news is that your competitors may be carrying as much complexity as you are. Learn how to eliminate this complexity, and you can create a tremendous cost advantage over your competition. In Waging War on Complexity Costs, Stephen Wilson and Andrei Perumal deliver a powerful and practical approach for reclaiming your cost advantage. This executive-level resource presents a wealth of insight and new research to definitively answer key questions such as: How can I quantify the cost of complexity without getting lost in a sea of data? Where are the biggest opportunities for reducing product, process, and organizational complexity, and how can I cut through the interdependencies that trap these costs? How can I see results quickly by taking targeted actions against key levers? How do I keep complexity costs at bay? It is not enough to attack bloated product portfolios. Substantive cost improvements require addressing the complexity in the underlying processes and organizational structures. Waging War on Complexity Costs provides a wealth of relevant case studies with examples from Kraft, Tesco, Fiat, and the U.S. Navy and highlights specific strategies for reducing costs by 15-30% in significant portions of your business. Tomorrow’s consumers are emerging as wellinformed customers who know what they want and the price they’re willing to pay for it. Complexity not only drives costs; it creates a barrier between you and the customer. Declare a war on complexity costs and prepare for profitable growth.
Download or read book Conquering Complexity written by Mike Hinchey and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-01-03 with total page 477 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Software has long been perceived as complex, at least within Software Engineering circles. We have been living in a recognised state of crisis since the first NATO Software Engineering conference in 1968. Time and again we have been proven unable to engineer reliable software as easily/cheaply as we imagined. Cost overruns and expensive failures are the norm. The problem is fundamentally one of complexity: software is fundamentally complex because it must be precise. Problems that appear to be specified quite easily in plain language become far more complex when written in a more formal notation, such as computer code. Comparisons with other engineering disciplines are deceptive. One cannot easily increase the factor of safety of software in the same way that one could in building a steel structure, for example. Software is typically built assuming perfection, often without adequate safety nets in case the unthinkable happens. In such circumstances it should not be surprising to find out that (seemingly) minor errors have the potential to cause entire software systems to collapse. The goal of this book is to uncover techniques that will aid in overcoming complexity and enable us to produce reliable, dependable computer systems that will operate as intended, and yet are produced on-time, in budget, and are evolvable, both over time and at run time. We hope that the contributions in this book will aid in understanding the nature of software complexity and provide guidance for the control or avoidance of complexity in the engineering of complex software systems.
Download or read book Conquering Complexity written by Ken Hambleton and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2005-04-29 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The complex task of defence equipment acquisition has probably never been more challenging, given developments in defence technologies and the increasing pressures to minimise expenditure and improve best value for money. This publication considers how to address these challenges by applying the philosophy and techniques of defence systems engineering. Topics covered include: an overview of the UK defence environment; aspects of acquisition including Smart Acquisition, research and technology, public-private partnerships and the private finance initiative; operational and financial analysis; supplier issues; test processes and evaluation; effective management procedures; and future developments in defence systems acquisition and engineering in the 21st century.
Download or read book It s Not Complicated written by Rick Nason and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2017-05-08 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the new knowledge economy, traditional modes of thinking are no longer effective. Compartmentalizing problems and solutions and assuming everything can be solved with the right formula can no longer keep pace with the radical changes occurring daily in the modern business world. It’s Not Complicated offers a paradigm shift for business professionals looking for simplified solutions to complex problems. In his straightforward and highly engaging style, Rick Nason introduces the principles of “complexity thinking” which empower managers to understand, correlate, and explain a diverse range of business phenomena. For example, why some new products go viral while others remain unnoticed, how office cliques develop despite collaborative work policies and spaces, how economic bubbles form, and how an unknown retiree foiled one of the most carefully planned product launches ever with a single letter to the editor of his local newspaper. Rather than consider complicated and complex as interchangeable terms, Rick Nason explains what complexity is, how it arises, and the errors in solving complex situations with complicated thinking. It’s Not Complicated provides managers with fresh, counterintuitive, and actionable models for dealing with challenging business problems.
Download or read book Creativity Inc The Expanded Edition written by Ed Catmull and published by Random House. This book was released on 2023-09-28 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The co-founder and longtime president of Pixar updates and expands his 2014 New York Times bestseller on creative leadership, reflecting on the management principles that built Pixar’s singularly successful culture, and on all he learned during the past nine years that allowed Pixar to retain its creative culture while continuing to evolve. “Might be the most thoughtful management book ever.”—Fast Company For nearly thirty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner eighteen Academy Awards. The joyous storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the twenty-five movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as: • Give a good idea to a mediocre team and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team and they will either fix it or come up with something better. • It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them. • The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. • A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. Creativity, Inc. has been significantly expanded to illuminate the continuing development of the unique culture at Pixar. It features a new introduction, two entirely new chapters, four new chapter postscripts, and changes and updates throughout. Pursuing excellence isn’t a one-off assignment but an ongoing, day-in, day-out, full-time job. And Creativity, Inc. explores how it is done.
Download or read book Lean Six Sigma for Service Chapter 5 The Value in Conquering Complexity written by Michael George and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2003-06-24 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This chapter comes from Lean Six Sigma for Service, which provides a service-based approach to Six Sigma, explaining how companies of all types can cost-effectively translate manufacturing-oriented Lean Six Sigma tools into the service delivery process. Six Sigma expert Michael George reveals how easy it is to apply relatively simple statistical and Lean tools that will reduce costs and achieve greater speed in service processes. Here, for the first time, you'll read about how classic Lean tools such as "Pull systems" and "setup reduction" are being used in procurement, call centers, surgical suites, government offices, R&D, and much more.
Download or read book Robustness Development and Reliability Growth written by John P. King and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2010-03-25 with total page 934 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book integrates key tools and processes into a comprehensive program for developing more robust and reliable technology-based products. Drawing on their extensive product development experience, the authors present a complete process for ensuring product performance throughout the entire lifecycle, from understanding customers’ needs through manufacturing and post-launch support. The authors begin by presenting broad insights and high-level strategies for improving product quality. Next, they demonstrate how to implement robustness and reliability strategies that complement existing governance and decision processes. A section on tools and methods shows how to institutionalize best practices and apply them consistently. Finally, they tie strategies, decisions, and methods together through a case study project. Product developers will learn how to Understand critical drivers of value in technology products, including reliability and durability Implement a process model and roadmap for improving reliability and robustness Increase robustness early in development, leading to shorter cycle times in later phases Improve the stability of production performance under stress conditions Assess both organizational and process capabilities for delivering robust and reliable products Understand and manage customer-driven requirements Use tools including descriptive and inferential statistics and DOE-based empirical models Managers will understand expectations for Design concepts supported by rigorous analyses of alternatives Products and processes delivering higher value to customers Products with higher reliability and longer useful lives Product processes with lower costs and higher capabilities Development projects having shorter, more predictable cycle times Readers are introduced to many thought leaders whose writings can be sources of further learning. This book is a valuable resource for anyone responsible for delivering reliable, profitable technology products, including general managers, program managers, engineers, scientists, and reliability and quality professionals.
Download or read book Strategic Operations Management written by Steve Brown and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-06-01 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a substantial new edition of a successful textbook which continues to have a sensible and 'easy to read' style. Each Chapter has a past/present/future theme with a real strategic approach. Strategic Operations Managment shows operations as combining products and services into a complete offer for the customer. Services are therefore seen as key and are integrated throughout the material in each chapter. Manufacturing, service supply and other key factors are all shown to be in place. In an era where companies are fond of talking about core competences but still struggle to understand their operations, this is an important for academics and practitioners alike. Only when managers understand their operations will they be able to leverage them into any sort of capabilities that will lead to competitive advantage. Online tutor resource materials accompany the book.
Download or read book From Complexity to Simplicity written by S. Collinson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-09-07 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Complexity is slowing companies down, costing them on average 10% of their profits. Based on cutting-edge research, this practical 'how to' guide will show businesses how to remove complexity to boost profits and morale.
Download or read book Flying Ahead of the Airplane written by Nawal K. Taneja and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Airlines willing to develop insight from foresight relating to the expected ’step phase changes’ will eventually improve their margins. However, the backward-looking airline, managed using old strategic levers and short-term metrics, will cease to exist, merge, shrink, become more dependent on government support, or become irrelevant. ’Management innovations’ are not going to deliver the required improvements; innovation within management is essential for airlines' survival. In Flying Ahead of the Airplane, Nawal Taneja analyzes global changes and thought-provoking scenarios to help airline executives adjust and adapt to the chaotic world. Drawing on his experience of real airline situations worldwide, the author concludes that there is a gulf between what executives are doing now and what they need to do to stay ahead of the curve. To close this gap, the author suggests that airline executives focus on just three relevant initiatives: a) aligning business and technology strategies, b) redesigning organization structures to centralize the role of the scheduling function, and c) developing relevant brands that integrate social networking technology. To support this third initiative, the book provides insights on branding from 20 fascinating non-aviation case studies from around the world. Flying Ahead of the Airplane will assist practitioners in airlines of every size to integrate future trends into their mainstream thinking and launch flexible business models to manage risk and compete effectively in the ’flattening world’.
Download or read book QFINANCE written by Bloomsbury Publishing and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-11-20 with total page 7101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: QFINANCE: The Ultimate Resource (5th edition) is the first-step reference for the finance professional or student of finance. Its coverage and author quality reflect a fine blend of practitioner and academic expertise, whilst providing the reader with a thorough education in the may facets of finance.
Download or read book Variety Induced Complexity in Mass Customization written by Nizar Abdelkafi and published by Erich Schmidt Verlag GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2008 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Psychology of Executive Retirement from Fear to Passion written by Doug Treen and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2009-03 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Retiring professionals and executives need to prepare psychologically for retirement, not just financially. This book helps you understand and overcome the stress of losing your role, power, status and self-identity. Also, how to: * find yourself and reach your full potential outside of your job * prevent the retirement shock and its health risks of shortening your life * avoid a traditional retirement of passivity * take control and meet your highest needs * transform your talent into a new self-leadership * have a creative retirement through purpose and passion To order: www.executiveretirement4u.com [email protected]
Download or read book The Complexity Crisis written by John L Mariotti and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-12-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.
