The Blue Line Imperative What Managing for Value Really Means [Hardcover]

Do you wonder why your value initiatives aren't providing the payoff you'd hoped for? Could it be because you've been thinking about value all wrong? According to the authors of this groundbreaking guide, there's a very good chance that you have. Using examples from leading companies worldwide, they explain why every decision a company makes either creates value or detracts from it, and why, if they hope to survive and thrive in today's increasingly competitive global marketplace, company leaders must make value-creation the centrepiece of every business decision. Authors Kaiser and Young have dubbed this approach Blue-Line Management, (BLM), and in this entertaining, highly accessible book, they delineate BLM principles and practices and show you how to implement them in your company.

• Explains why the failure to properly define and assess value often makes it difficult for the people who manage businesses to effect long-term success
• Offers guidelines for making the satisfaction of customer needs and wants—i.e. value creation—the driver of all business activities
• The authors are respected academics at INSEAD, the world's largest and most respected graduate business school, with campuses in Europe, Asia and the Middle East

Preface vii

Acknowledgements ix

Chapter 1 What is Value? 1

Chapter 2 The Global Capital Markets 23

Chapter 3 The Opportunity Cost of Capital 45

Chapter 4 The Expected Future Free Cash Flows 71

Chapter 5 Blue-line Management 93

Chapter 6 Shifting to Blue 115

Chapter 7 The Hazard of Growth 135

Chapter 8 Creating a Blue-line Culture 159

Chapter 9 Trusl�u