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

By C.J. Prince

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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.