Leadership & Culture

A company's culture, driven by strong leadership, is the foundation for profitability.

  1. The primary goal is to be the best. Nothing motivates employees more than the clear and simple goal of being the best in the industry. [1]
  2. Profits are the ultimate measure of being the best. Profitability is the most accurate indicator of how much customers value your products and how efficiently you operate. [2]
  3. Never apologize for focusing on profits. A profitable company can better reward employees, invest in growth, and create exciting career paths. [3][4]
  4. A leader's commitment to profits must be absolute. Doubling profits requires a leader who is focused, consistent, tough, and fair. [2][5]
  5. Toughness combined with competence earns respect. Employees will respect a leader who is both firm in their decisions and competent in their role. [3]
  6. Create and maintain a sense of urgency. Important tasks should have tight deadlines to encourage efficiency and focus on value-producing activities. [3][4]
  7. Words must be translated into action. A strong corporate culture is built when leadership's words are followed by decisive actions, leading to results and rewards. [3]
  8. Many managers are not truly motivated by profits. They are often sidetracked by desires for business growth, harmonious employee relations, or personal perks. [2]
  9. Being the "best" means never being satisfied with the status quo. Always strive to improve and achieve more. [1]
  10. Communicate constantly that the company is a meritocracy. This should be clear from the hiring process through daily operations. [1]

Cost Management

Fifer advocates for a ruthless and strategic approach to cutting costs.

  1. Assume every cost can be eliminated unless proven otherwise. The burden of proof should be on justifying a cost, not on eliminating it. [3]
  2. Cut costs first, ask questions later. If a cost is cut and it proves to be essential, you will find out quickly. If you spend too much, that money is gone forever. [3]
  3. Distinguish between strategic and non-strategic costs. Strategic costs directly bring in business and improve the bottom line, while non-strategic costs are all other expenses. [2][6]
  4. Outspend your competition on strategic costs. Invest heavily in areas like effective advertising, productive salespeople, and commercializable R&D. [2][6]
  5. Ruthlessly cut non-strategic costs to the bone. Be unwavering in your suspicion of every non-strategic cost. [2][6]
  6. No cost is too small to worry about. Scrutinizing small expenses demonstrates a commitment to cost-consciousness that will influence larger spending decisions. [2]
  7. Set arbitrary, non-negotiable budgets. This forces managers to be creative and find ways to operate within new constraints. [3]
  8. Make spending money a difficult process. When employees have to justify expenses to a discerning boss, they become more critical of the costs themselves. [3]
  9. Declare across-the-board freezes and cuts to suppliers. Send a formal letter announcing that you will not accept price increases for a period of time. [6]
  10. Never let your purchasing person negotiate the final price. They often develop personal relationships with suppliers, making them less effective at hard negotiations. Use a "bad guy" for this role. [3]
  11. Never pay a bill until the supplier asks for it at least twice. This can significantly improve your cash flow. [6]
  12. Eliminate excess paperwork. Reduce reports, statistics, and copies to save on time and resources. [7]
  13. Stop all reports and see who complains. This is a quick way to determine which reports are actually necessary. [8]
  14. Examine even the small costs. All expenses, including office supplies and bonuses, must be justified. [7]
  15. If in doubt, cut more and spend less. The natural tendency in organizations is to spend, so a strong counter-force is required. [2]

Sales & Pricing

Sales and pricing strategies should be directly tied to maximizing profit, not just revenue.

  1. Price has nothing to do with cost. You should price what the market will bear. [9]
  2. The goal is to get each customer to pay the most he or she will pay. This is achieved through price discrimination and understanding customer value. [9]
  3. Maximizing customer satisfaction leads to bankruptcy. The goal is not to maximize differentiation, but to provide the differentiation that customers are willing to pay for. [2][10]
  4. Invest heavily in your sales force. No other investment is likely to yield a greater return. [3]
  5. Ensure salespeople spend their time with customers. Free them from administrative tasks by providing adequate support. [3]
  6. Compensate salespeople based on profits, not sales. This aligns their incentives with the company's primary goal. [3]
  7. Hire salespeople who know how to sell and make a profit. Product knowledge is secondary to sales and profit-making skills. [3]
  8. Radically differentiate your service levels to customers. Allocate resources based on the current and potential profitability of each customer segment. [9]
  9. The selling process is your best opportunity to showcase your company's capabilities. It's about attracting and connecting with emotional beings. [7]
  10. Always try to raise the price as high as you can without forcing a "yes" or "no" answer. Phrase questions to lead to "yes" or "yes, but at a lower price." [3]
  11. Let the customer know you don't want to negotiate on price. Be dignified and firm. [3]
  12. Focus on your most profitable customers and products. Consider price increases where they are justified. [8]
  13. Use target pricing. Set your price based on the value delivered to the customer, not your own costs. [8]

Employee & Personal Effectiveness

A focus on individual performance and merit is crucial for organizational success.

  1. Run a true meritocracy. Rewards (financial, career, and psychic) must be based on performance, not seniority or likeability. [1][2]
  2. In a meritocracy, the bottom half of performers complain; in a seniority system, the top half complains. You will always achieve better results by keeping the top performers happy. [11]
  3. There must be wide disparities in salary. Compensation should directly reflect the differences in performance and contribution to the bottom line. [6]
  4. If you never fire an employee, you can't have an excellent business. A true meritocracy requires making tough decisions. [1]
  5. Maintain a scarcity of resources. This is the only way to force people to distinguish between value-producing tasks and those that are not. [4][11]
  6. It's cheaper to give out fancier titles than raises. Use titles as a motivational tool when appropriate. [8]
  7. Do not give regular, non-merit-based bonuses. They lose their motivational effect and become an expectation. Give them on an ad-hoc basis when truly deserved. [8]
  8. Be stubborn. Know what you want to achieve and the way to get there, and don't let anyone or anything deter you. [2]
  9. Sort your daily tasks into three lists. 1) Tasks that directly impact profit, 2) Tasks to keep the business running, and 3) Tasks others expect but add no value. Never start the second list until the first is done, and throw away the third. [2]
  10. Avoid paralysis by analysis. Superb managers are instinctual and make the right decisions most of the time with limited data. [6]
  11. Only quantify what is essential. Don't waste time and money quantifying a problem when the solution is already clear. [2][11]
  12. Doubling profits doesn't require high technology; it's simply a matter of resolution. The commitment to the goal is the most critical factor. [7]
  13. Keep human resources scarce. This is the most effective way to promote efficiency and eliminate unnecessary work. [11]

Learn more:

  1. How We Saved $27,000 in Two Weeks: Cost-Cutting in a Creator-Led Business - Forte Labs
  2. Double Your Profits In 6 Months or Less: 78 ways to cut costs, increase sales, and dramatically improve your bottom line by Bob Fifer. - Daniel Scrivner
  3. Double Your Profits: In Six Months or Less Book Summary - Colin Keeley
  4. Double Your Profits PDF Summary - Bob Fifer - 12min Blog
  5. Double Your Profits: In Six Months or Less by Bob Fifer, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®
  6. 3G Capital and the Fringes of Cost Management // Summary of Bob Fifer's 'How to Double Your Profits in 6 Months or Less' - Right Attitudes
  7. Double Your Profits: In Six Months or Less - Amazon S3
  8. Double Your Profits Summary of Key Ideas and Review | Bob Fifer - Blinkist
  9. Double Your Profits : In Six Months or Less book by Bob Fifer ...
  10. Double Your Profits In Six Months Or Less Chapter Summary | Bob Fifer - Bookey
  11. Double Your Profits - Critical summary review - Bob Fifer - 12min