FOREWORD: What This Monograph Is About

These are difficult economic times. So many companies in so many sectors are facing rising costs, diminishing markets, weak demand, cutthroat competition, and shrinking revenues.

Executives have no choice but to trim spending to affordable levels.

The question is not whether, but how, leaders cut costs.

Executives can either trim wisely, or they can use more traditional means: high-level edicts that slash spending. The latter may be easier for executives, but it can also cripple organizations in ways they may never recover from.

This monograph illustrates the difference, and explains how to trim what your organization does without destroying its ability to do anything at all.