Issue 3|Published May 2026

Welcome!

In this issue, our focus is on finding profit opportunities within the business. 

It’s like finding a £20 note left in a pair of jeans that you haven’t worn for a while.

“Found” money is always a nice surprise, but unlike the jeans scenario, we want to  “find” extra cash deliberately. 

When we do, we increase the profit retained from every pound of revenue your part of the business earns. That’s good for you and the business. 

Most managers are tasked with one or more of these three objectives. 

1. Increasing sales

2..Boosting leads and enquiries

3. Increasing production capacity 

There are sub-tasks that flow from the above, and overall success is evident when the metrics rise.  

When that happens, we usually see greater revenue, and (we hope), profit. 

However, what a company retains from sales depends not only on income but also on effective management of production, marketing, and overhead costs.

Sometimes you don’t have to work harder to earn more money. You need to work smarter. 

With that in mind, let me introduce you to a very unexpected expert in this field. 

Sister Irene Kraus of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul.

Yes, Sister Irene was a nun. She was also the founding chief executive of the $3 billion Daughters of Charity National Health System in the US. 

Under her hard-nosed business direction, thirty-six hospitals provided medical care to impoverished people in seventeen states.

Her success in leading those hospitals made her known worldwide among business schools. 

Her mantra,“No margin, no mission”, has been held up as a shining example of business acumen.  

Without margins and profits, the mission of Sister Irene’s order would fail, leaving thousands of people with no medical care. 

Vast sums of money were needed to run those hospitals, and vast sums were raised. 

What made Sister Irene famous was the margins that she and her team squeezed from the income received.  

She was no soft touch when it came to negotiating contracts or making difficult business decisions. 

Let’s follow her lead on making the most of the resources we have at our disposal. 

PS. Sister Irene also headed nineteen other related institutions and, during her career, served on seventy national boards and committees.

Now, let’s move to Part 1 in which we “Reduce Leakage.”