Yesterday’s post talked about the principles of cost leadership and how cost leaders do not compromise quality and customer focus. It’s only low cost if quality, service, and other factors stay equal. Otherwise, it’s low cost up-front, higher cost (and loss) later on. If an organization is not on the cost leadership track, it should be. However, like any other initiative, there are a number of show stoppers and initiative killers that can prevent the organization from becoming a cost leader if they are not identified and addressed as soon as they materialize. As per the recent article on why businesses should shift from cost management to cost leadership in Chief Executive, these include:

• Complexity
  If the initiative is not easy to explain and not easily understood by the stakeholders, it may stall before it starts.
• Lack of Cross-Functional Support
  If there is no buy-in by key stakeholders across the board, failure is likely eminent.
• Impatience
  Stakeholders will want to see actionable recommendations from any initiative quickly, and these actionable recommendations will need to be capable of being implemented in the near term.
• Under-Resourcing
  Don’t attempt to build equity or buy-in by under-resourcing the initiative (to keep costs low); as the authors of the article note, this is equivalent to crippling the racehorse at the starting gate
• Education
  Training will be critical for the success of a cost leadership initiative. A training component will need to be included. Moreover, training is often the best tool to reduce the fear and apprehension that goes with any new initiative.
• Under-Communication
  Communication is critical for any initiative, and early wins must be publicized and recognized to maintain the support necessary for success.
• Over-Hyping
  No initiative is perfect and all-encompassing. Don’t overestimate the potential impact of the initiative, and never, ever, say that the new system will fix everything.