Money Buzz 04/02 How number-crunching could predict business success, a solution to low-worth stock options, and the value of "Patriot Bonds"

Data Delirium

Could you be growing faster if you spent more time crunchingnumbers? The answer: maybe. According to a November 2001PricewaterhouseCoopers survey, one-third of CEOs of fast-growthcompanies say they don't spend enough time reviewing indicatorssuch as cash flow and total company sales. The 9 percent who dospend too much time on the numbers also spend 16 percent more timeon the job-and their businesses have grown twice as fast over thepast five years.

But some experts say poring over numbers is a waste of time."Why should they be involved in day-to-day minutiae?"asks Dennis Hoppe, president of Hoppe Management Concepts, asmall-business consulting firm in Rochester, New York.