Harvard Business Review

MARCH 28, 2011

Companies are always shocked when low-probability events such as an earthquake or a tsunami disrupt their supply chains — as has happened after the tragic events in Japan two weeks ago — because of two fallacies. One is the mistaken belief that no corporation can prepare for such events; they can't even be predicted.

Fixed Costs 15

Fixed Costs Scaling Marketing Manager 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 25, 2013

They have systematically and significantly eroded barriers to entry and movement on a global scale. Thanks to the forces described above, we are more connected on a global scale than ever before. The cost and difficulty of coordinating activities across entities, on a global scale, is far lower now.

Fixed Costs 13

Fixed Costs Assets Scaling Education 13

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Here’s a hypothetical illustration of the bullwhip effect: A retailer might experience an X% drop in sales owing to some external event. During an economic crisis, the exaggerated decline in orders can be especially damaging to upstream suppliers that have high fixed costs tied to production assets. For example , U.S.

Sales 15

Sales Sales Operations Fixed Costs 15

Harvard Business Review

JULY 27, 2017

And the fixed cost from “touchpoint-to-pilot” are immense. For example, in the case of a $100 million CVC fund, which can close five to 10 investments a year, these costs typically range from $1 to $2 million per startup — not including the administrative and variable costs of the pilot itself.

Fixed Costs 8

Fixed Costs Variable Costs Administration Media 8

Chief Executive

JULY 25, 2022

The second thing that we also saw in our companies is that in an uncertain world, there’s this very weird paradox of, on the one hand, placing really big bets, and, on the other, protecting your flanks against downside events, and putting both of those together. And if we do that, we can’t help but grow revenues per fixed cost.

Balance Sheet 98

Balance Sheet Assets Engineering Operations 98

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 24, 2013

Big events are endlessly discussed and analyzed. Airplane crashes tend to be major news events; automobile accidents aren''t. How will you generate enough transactions to cover the fixed costs involved in running your business? As wonderful as these events are, they are exceptions.

Fixed Costs 11

Fixed Costs Revenue Marketing Scaling 11

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 7, 2015

Based on my work studying activist strategies, I’ve outlined four hypothetical scenarios below (based on actual events) that demonstrate the different strategies an activist could pursue. However, free cash flow per share remained impressive at both companies, and fixed cost ratios remained somewhat intact.

Balance Sheet 12

Balance Sheet Cash Flow Revenue Reorganization 12