Here's one global brand's efforts to cut costs...$1 at a time.
* requesting its partners no longer use color documents,
* insisting their employees print on both sides of a page,
* requiring (gasp) pre-approval for blackberries and their use,
* setting limits on meals and the use of outside consultants (oh...the horrors...and with so many employees why DOES Citibank need outside consultants?)
* oh wait, it gets worse...to the non-reimbursement for non-client outings (you mean box seats to the yankees and limo for my friends isn't going to be comp'd...? How dare they? I won't stand for it...Well, that's good; neither will they, it seems. )
Ok. Fun's over. Internal cost cutting is where so much cash can be generated for your company's cash-flows. Once you start looking you should easily find an extra 2-3-4% for your cash-flows and not even see a change in your daily routines.
Tip #1: If you're not sure where to cut, ask your employees. They know what's working, what's not.
Tip #2: Incentivize them. Clarity and passion for cost-cutting will rise as you illustrate:
What's in it for them?
Why should they care?
Why should they believe?
Oh. Who's the global brand? Citibank. Here's the story with the text of their executive's cost-cutting memo.
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