Reading a Profit & Loss statement.

Some years ago, I was explaining to my manager that I was feeling a bit bored, and theytold me to learn how to read aProfit & Loss (P&L) statement.At the time, that sounded suspiciously like, “Stop wasting my time,” but operating in an executive role has shifted my perspectivea bit: this is actually a surprisingly useful thing to learn.The P&L statement is a map of a company’s operation and is an effective tool for pointing you towardsthe most pressing areas to dig in.

While there is a lot...