I was with my uncle Charlie at EDS yesterday catching up on a variety of things. I always pick up a handful of pithy thoughts from him – it’s one of his “special magic leadership” traits – boil the thought down to a simple, clear idea.
We spent a lot of time talking about cost leverage, as it’s one of the ways that EDS gets healthy over the long term. Charlie’s pithy thought of the day is that there are healty cost reductions and unhealthy cost reductions. You can always cut of an arm and a leg and lose 50 pounds. Or – you can start jogging and doing pushups.
Too many companies and executives – big and small – only know how to cut off body parts.