Act on the Root Cause of Cost

摘要

I had a lot of arguments when I earned my living as a hard-riding, fast-shooting construction engineer. The one I remember most was about cost and the need to reduce cost. Of course it is important to reduce and manage cost. No argument there. But you do not improve cost by agonizing over the past; you must look to the future. You improve cost by finding the root cause of the problem and by acting. General Patton told us, "A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week."