The Complexity Crisis

Why too many products, markets, and customers are crippling your company--and what to do about it

John L Mariotti

• Publisher: Adams Media
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN:
  9781598692143
• eBook ISBN:
  9781605508535
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Management consultant John L. Mariotti shows you how to evaluate your cost and management systems so you can clear away complexity—and conquer your competition.

Many companies today are in crisis. In the quest to grow their business in flat or declining markets, they have created dozens of new products and services while increasing their customer, vendor, and marketplace relationships. But even as top-line revenues go up, this rising tide of complexity is drowning bottom-line profits.

The Complexity Crisis shows you how to streamline your business for greatest efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability. You'll learn how to:

-Target complexity in your organization and reduce or eliminate it
-Build a simple, effective corporate structure
-Add value to your business by avoiding complexity traps

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Praise for The Complexity Crisis
• Contents
• INTRODUCTION
• The Problem
• what is the complexity crisis?
• WHY IS IT A CRISIS NOW?
• THE BOTTOM LINE — WHERE COMPLEXITY HURTS
• UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
• WHAT MAKES IT WORSE?
• TWO ESSENTIAL STEPS
• HOW TO RECOGNIZE IT, MEASURE IT, AND BEGIN TO FIX IT
• A NEW METRIC FOR TRACKING COMPLEXITY
• The Examples
• SUBS AND SUNDAES
• CARS
• planes and computers
• FAST FOOD
• TOO MANY OF EVERYTHING?
• SAME, BUT DIFFERENT
• SCIENCE VERSUS BUSINESS
• The Solutions
• STRATEGIES AND SOLUTIONS
• A FIVE-STEP FRAMEWORK FOR THOUGHT
• COMPLEXITY'S IMPACT ON ORGANIZATIONS
• NEW METHODS OF COSTING
• THE BIG PICTURE
• CONCLUSION
• WORKS QUOTED AND CITED