Driving Down Cost: How to Manage and Cut Costs--Intelligently [Hardcover]

Andrew Wileman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2008

With chaos in the markets and a worldwide recession on the horizon, Driving Down Cost: How to Manage and Cut Costs- Intelligently could not be timelier. Cost management is not just for downturns; it should be practiced at all times. Further, it's not an issue that concerns only CEOs and those involved in the behind-the-scenes functions of finance, production control and customer call centers-cost management is an important issue for every manager and executive, at every level in every company, large or small, public or private. Driving Down Cost is the first accessible and practical book to address cost management for managers across the board. Drawing on over twenty-five years of consultancy experience from over fifty international, large scale one-time cost reduction projects, Andrew Wileman provides a toolkit filled with key ideas and strategies for analyzing cost management, including procuring and managing accounts, which is something that is relevant to both private and public sector organizations. He includes practical techniques for implementing cost reduction programs and real-life, international case studies, not only discussing the clevel ways to avoid costs but also the smart, innovative ways to cut them. This is essential reading for those looking to manage cost effectively and see their businesses safely through the rough waters of our current economy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mr. Wileman's text is irrepressible: jaunty, energetic and all-knowing ... The author knows his subject. He has been cutting swaths through flabby balance sheets and cost structures for three decades ... Mr. Wileman is tough on headcount, suppliers, outsourcing and timeframes for action, but he is neither vandal or sadist. He just hates unnecessary cost ... There will be clients grateful for his distinctive blend of candor and can-do." -- Financial Times, June 12, 2008

"Cost-cutting may be an unglamorous subject for a business author. But it is an undeniably timely one. In Driving Down Cost: How to Manage and Cut Costs--Intelligently Andrew Wileman, who has served as a consultant (for Booz Allen Hamilton and Boston Consulting Group) and journalist (for Management Today) has produced a practical and readable book, shot through with appealing empathy for struggling firms....Mr Wileman's prose brims with useful tips; dry business theory is handled lightly; personal anecdotes are actually amusing; and each chapter closes with a summary presented in bullet points--to comfort the flipchart addict." -- TheEconomist.com, Aug. 27, 2008

"Driving down cost has long been the neglected Cinderella of management, but Wileman's book makes it the Belle of the Ball. Brilliant!" -- Richard Koch, entrepreneur-investor and author of the bestselling The 80/20 Principle

"Fills an amazingly large gap in the business book universe, with substance and insight. Read it to stay ahead, in tough times and good times." -- Chris Outram, Founder and Partner, OC&C Strategy Consultants

"It's good to find a management book that doesn't read as if it was written in PowerPoint, and even better, from the CA's point of view, to find one that celebrates the "unsung heroes" of business: the cost managers." -- Chartered Accountant Magazine, July 1, 2008

"Topical, practical and very entertaining. Well worth its own cost." -- Charles Wilson, CEO of Booker Group

From the Inside Flap

Driving Down Cost sets out a structured, practical approach to intelligent cost management, offering a toolkit of key ideas and cost management strategies, frameworks for analyzing cost, and practical techniques for implementing cost-reduction programs.

Cost management is not an issue only for the CEO, or for senior management or for technical specialists. Junior managers who are proactively tight on cost are learning good habits for the future, ones that will bring them recognition and advance their climb up the organizational chart. And cost management is relevant to private-sector businesses and public-sector organizations, and to managers in every function.

You only need to engage in high-profile cost cutting if you haven't been effective at long-haul cost management. While this book does cover one-off cost reduction programs, its main theme is what interests most managers- a sustained cost management program. Most managers are more interested in long-term cost management than in one-off cost cutting.

In this timely book, Andrew Wileman gives you the inside scoop on what has worked for him over years of consulting on costs. He looks at the smart ways cost can be created and the even more innovative ways they can be cut- like getting your customers to do your work for you, or turning cost into revenue.

Sometimes cost management is in fashion, sometimes it is out of vogue. As it happens, the US, the UK and other big Western economies are currently appearing shaky. A cost-cutting wave looks imminent and this book's theme seems prescient. But actually, timing does not and should not matter. In three or five years' time growth will be back, but cost will still be critical. Cost management is not just for downturns, but for always.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing (July 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857885120
• ISBN-13: 978-1857885125
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,031,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A healthy and clear headed approach to preventing cost as well as reducing it., July 25, 2008

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Driving Down Cost: How to Manage and Cut Costs--Intelligently (Hardcover)

I like this positive approach to managing costs. Andrew Wileman understands the importance of staff, of supplier relationships, and the vital need to delight the customer. His focus is not on pushing salaries down to the minimum wage and pressing suppliers to the edge of bankruptcy. He is after good management to control spending before the purchase is made, of hiring in terms of a capital investment, and removing waste from every nook and cranny of the supply chain.

The author views cost leadership as a competitive advantage. He advocates short time frames for the project and acting now rather than announcing that you will start an initiative down the road. Too often, managers begin these projects well into a crisis as a means of turning things around. They should become smart about costs in the good times and avoid the need for emergency liposuction or amputation.

This book examines every aspect of your company and how you can prevent cost, reduce cost, and even turn some costs into revenue streams. Wileman also has a chapter on the problems facing anyone trying to control costs in the public sector.

I like Wileman's attitude, thinking, and approach and think this is a very useful book.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI 48103

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting, October 3, 2008

By 

Pankaj Jindal (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Driving Down Cost: How to Manage and Cut Costs--Intelligently (Hardcover)

Andrew's book is incredibly relevant, given the current economic situation. His pertinent examples provide for a clear and concise learning experience. I liked that when discussing Individual Accountability he really drives home his point giving excellent comprehensible examples, cutting out all the babble. His eloquent style throughout keeps the reader intrigued, especially when discussing persistence to get what you want. Excellent read, worldly relevant and a great addition to any collection.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligently Done -- Wonderful Read, September 18, 2008

By 

Roberto Fisher (Houston, Tx, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Driving Down Cost: How to Manage and Cut Costs--Intelligently (Hardcover)

Bought it after reading the very complimentary Economist Review.

Refreshing new perspective for an age old management challenge. Very useful and surprisingly entertaining. Witty, great anecdotes. A must read for managers -- intelligent cost cutting for all environments. Brilliant.

Highly Recommended!