Cost Cutting No Longer Cuts It

CIO.com on April 01, 2006

The message contained in two reports — one from Cutter Consortium and the other from Mercer Delta Executive Learning Center — is that CIOs and other execs need to start focusing on money making rather than cost cutting. The terse message from a Cutter Consortium fellow for those execs whose work is based primarily on cost reduction: "I'd be worried." The Mercer Delta report cites four key challenges to growing revenue: increased competition; the need for fast response to changing market conditions; the need to innovate; and the need to satisfy customer expectations. Almost one-third of respondents said their companies do not understand the leadership capabilities required to overcome these challenges. While 72 percent said their companies plan to improve leadership, only half of those surveyed have made sufficient investments to do so.