Nobody Saved Their Way to Success: Why Revenue Growth Is the Real Turnaround Strategy

In his Wisdom From The Patio video series, Kongusto President and founder Joel Ciniero explains why leaders who focus on trimming expenses may be overlooking the one lever that actually moves a business forward. When a company is struggling, the first instinct is often to open the P&L and start cutting. But according to Joel Ciniero, that instinct has a limit, and he saw it firsthand while working in mergers and acquisitions. When you take over a troubled company, Ciniero explains, some costs simply can’t be cut. “You can save money by getting rid of your telephone system, but you can’t run a business,” he says. “You can save money by not buying desks, but you’d have nowhere for people to sit.” Eventually, the savings run out, and leaders are left with a harder question: How do you save the company? Ciniero’s answer is revenue growth. “Just simply sell more of your product, where you hopefully have some profit margin built in.” He sees the opposite pattern in many CEOs and business operators, who comb through the P&L looking for a few dollars to save here and a few more there. When that becomes the goal, Ciniero warns, the business suffers. “Nobody saved their way to success. They earned it.” For telecom providers, managed service providers, contact centers, and outsourcing organizations, the idea is worth considering. Cost control still deserves attention, but it has a ceiling, while the ability to grow revenue does not. Winning new customers and selling more of what the business already does well is where leadership time creates the most value. It’s a grounded perspective from an executive whose M&A experience gave him a close look at companies in trouble and what it takes to turn them around. The takeaway: Cutting costs can buy a business time, but growing revenue is what gives it a future. Watch Joel Ciniero’s “You can't save your way to success” video, part of his Wisdom From The Patio series. Connect with Joel Ciniero Joel Ciniero is President and Founder of Kongusto, a nearshore outsourcing company. To learn more about his perspectives on business leadership, workforce strategy, and outsourcing excellence, visit www.kongusto.co or contact him at [email protected].