“Professors Kaiser and Young bring a unique, entertaining and irreverent approach to teaching executives what it really means to create value – including the dangers of relying on conventional wisdom about performance measurement.”
Tim Koller, author of Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies
“Kaiser and Young introduce a fresh perspective on what value really means and how to manage toward it. This is an indispensable new look at the most important business issue all companies face.”
Merlin Swire, Director, John Swire & Sons, Ltd
“In our firm, we implemented a new culture emphasizing that Each of Us Counts to get everyone motivated to contribute. When we added the focus on value creation as outlined by Kaiser and Young in The Blue Line Imperative, it ensured those contributions were oriented in the right direction for long-term success!”
Alberto Grua, Senior Vice President, Grünenthal Europe, US & Australia and Management Board member
“The Blue Line Imperative provides valuable lessons about what value is, how to measure it, and how to create it. Many companies follow the red line, thinking it is the right thing to do. This book explains why the red line ultimately does not work and why the blue line does.”
Steve Kaplan, Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
“The Blue Line Imperative is insightful, impactful, humorous and unique and the first guide that I have ever come across that gets to the core of why leaders, managers and companies fail. Embrace and apply these concepts.”
Douglas Rosefsky, Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal and two time winner of the Turnaround of the Year Award (Turnaround Management Association, 2003 and 2010)
“Kaiser and Young’s The Blue Line Imperative connects the dots in the customershareholder value puzzle and delivers a resonating message on the necessity of building a data-driven company. In other words, stop chasing KPIs and start focusing on value creation that lasts.”
Martin Heijnsbroek, Managing Partner, MICompany
From the Back Cover
“Professors Kaiser and Young bring a unique, entertaining and irreverent approach to teaching executives what it really means to create value – including the dangers of relying on conventional wisdom about performance measurement.”
Tim Koller, author of Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies
“Kaiser and Young introduce a fresh perspective on what value really means and how to manage toward it. This is an indispensable new look at the most important business issue all companies face.”
Merlin Swire, Director, John Swire & Sons, Ltd
“In our firm, we implemented a new culture emphasizing that Each of Us Counts to get everyone motivated to contribute. When we added the focus on value creation as outlined by Kaiser and Young in The Blue Line Imperative, it ensured those contributions were oriented in the right direction for long-term success!”
Alberto Grua, Senior Vice President, Grünenthal Europe, US & Australia and Management Board member
“The Blue Line Imperative provides valuable lessons about what value is, how to measure it, and how to create it. Many companies follow the red line, thinking it is the right thing to do. This book explains why the red line ultimately does not work and why the blue line does.”
Steve Kaplan, Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
“The Blue Line Imperative is insightful, impactful, humorous and unique and the first guide that I have ever come across that gets to the core of why leaders, managers and companies fail. Embrace and apply these concepts.”
Douglas Rosefsky, Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal and two time winner of the Turnaround of the Year Award (Turnaround Management Association, 2003 and 2010)
“Kaiser and Young’s The Blue Line Imperative connects the dots in the customer shareholder value puzzle and delivers a resonating message on the necessity of building a data-driven company. In other words, stop chasing KPIs and start focusing on value creation that lasts.”
Martin Heijnsbroek, Managing Partner, MICompany
About the Author
KEVIN KAISER is Professor of Management Practice at INSEAD and Director of INSEAD’s Transition to General Management program as well as Director of the ABN Amro Managing for Value Research Fund at INSEAD. In addition to directing and teaching in many corporate client programs for INSEAD, he also teaches in numerous institutes and programs for private clients throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. He was formerly Visiting Adjunct Professor of Finance at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, where he had previously earned his PhD in Finance. He was a member of the Corporate Finance and Strategy Practice of McKinsey & Company, where he led a variety of studies addressing value creation and corporate strategy.
S. DAVID YOUNG is Professor of Accounting & Control at INSEAD, where he teaches in the MBA program and in a broad range of executive courses. He has served as an advisor to companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia on various aspects of value-based management and is also a frequent advisor on analyzing financial accounts. David holds a PhD from the University of Virginia and is also a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst. He is the author of a wide variety of articles in academic and professional journals, and is the co-author of many books, including EVA and Value-based Management: A Practical Guide to Implementation (2001), Profits You Can Trust: Spotting Surviving Accounting Landmines (2003), Attracting Investors: A Marketing Approach to Finding Funds for Your Business (Wiley, 2004), and Corporate Financial Reporting and Analysis (Wiley, 2013).