Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Part 1 A dream of future wealth
- Part 2 The hidden art of management
- 13 The sweet spot
- 14 Elastic bands
- 15 An offer you can't refuse
- 16 The best of both worlds
- 17 Financial Perestroika on Interstate 95
- 18 Loads of money
- 19 Checkmate
- 20 Acts of God
- 21 Acts of men
- 22 Hubble, bubble, double-entry trouble
- 23 Credit crunch conclusion
- 24 Twenty-first-century accounting
- Appendix 1 Mathematical anchor
- Appendix 2 Getting to grips with cash
- Postscript
- Bibliography
- Index
20 - Acts of God
from Part 2 - The hidden art of management
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Part 1 A dream of future wealth
- Part 2 The hidden art of management
- 13 The sweet spot
- 14 Elastic bands
- 15 An offer you can't refuse
- 16 The best of both worlds
- 17 Financial Perestroika on Interstate 95
- 18 Loads of money
- 19 Checkmate
- 20 Acts of God
- 21 Acts of men
- 22 Hubble, bubble, double-entry trouble
- 23 Credit crunch conclusion
- 24 Twenty-first-century accounting
- Appendix 1 Mathematical anchor
- Appendix 2 Getting to grips with cash
- Postscript
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.
Monty Python's Flying Circus, Series 2, Episode 2If you have been working with Model 206, then I think you will agree that it is not straightforward to build a large and profitable business with limited cash resources. However, it can nevertheless be done, and furthermore once you have worked out how to do it, the exercise is precisely repeatable. You could, for example, write down a detailed list of the decisions that give rise to success and give them to a colleague, who would emulate your success by following them slavishly. A computerised manager could achieve the same result.
In the real world, however, life is not like that. Just as you are starting to feel confident that things are going well, something unexpected happens. Your supplier telephones you to say that unfortunately there has been a production problem and so your latest order will take a long time to be fulfilled. Or one of your key customers cancels an order that has recently been placed and that you are counting on to meet this month's sales targets. Perhaps one of your people falls ill and his or her market knowledge cannot be replaced by temporary labour. Or maybe there is a strike at the television station that carries your advertisements.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Financial Management for BusinessCracking the Hidden Code, pp. 140 - 146Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010