Starting a new year is usually accompanied with resolutions. These resolutions often only last a couple of days / weeks; however sometimes people actually succeed. My resolution for 2010 is to help organizations to reduce costs using an IWMS.

Reducing costs is on every CEO / CFO’s agenda nowadays, and is the driving force behind a lot of implementations of Integrated Workplace Management Systems. I have already written quite a few posts about cost reductions however, reading Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” during the holiday season, inspired me to write new series of cost reduction posts.

For those of you, who are not familiar with Sun Tzu or “The Art of War”, please find a description below.

Sun Tzu was an ancient Chinese military general and strategist who is traditionally believed to have authored The Art of War, an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy considered to be a prime example of Taoist thinking. Sun Tzu has had a significant impact on Chinese and Asian history and culture, both as an author of The Art of War and through legend. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War grew in popularity and saw practical use in Western society, and his work has continued to influence both Asian and Western culture and politics. (Source: Wikipedia)

Reading “The Art of War” triggered me to change my point of view on cost reductions in organizations. In the coming series I will consider cost reductions as warfare, and I will use “The Art of War” as my manual.  In the next weeks I will write the following posts about cost reductions:

1. Laying Plans
2. Waging War
3. Attack by Stratagem
4. Tactical Dispositions
5. Energy
6. Weak Points and Strong
7. Maneuvering
8. Variation of Tactics
9. The Army on the March
10. Terrain
11. The Nine Situations
12. The Attack by Fire
13. The Use of Spies

I’m looking forward to writing it!

Yours Sincerely,

Steven Hanks