ow it can save money-especially recurring expenses, such as telecom costs, maintenance contract costs, and consulting fees. While my example was one of a forced change rather than a desired change, the point is that cost is a high priority for a business. If you have an idea that will save the company money, chances are, management will listen. From the point of view of most managers, all engineers want to do is spend money. Producing an idea that will actually save money will make you stand out from the crowd. Remember that there are different types of costs that a business must deal with. Examples of these costs are: Equipment costs Hardware, cabling, and the like are examples of equipment costs. If you can replace three routers in a planned design with two, you've reduced equipment costs. Recurring costs Maintenance contract costs and telecom costs such as T1 bills, telephone bills, and the like are all recurring costs. Cutting recurring costs can have a dramatic impact on a company's bottom line. Chapter 37: GAD's Maxims Human resource costs Your salary is a cost for the company. If there are 10 people in your depart- ment making $100,000 each, and you design a change that costs $200,000, but lowers your staffing needs by 2 people, after less than a year, the company will have made a return on its investment. Engineers are not often aware of what it costs to keep them. For exam- ple, did you know that the taxes taken out of your salary are only a portion of those required by the government? If you have a salary of $100,000/year, the company might pay as much as $25,000 a year in taxes above and beyond what you pay. Suddenly, you're costing the company $125,000 a year. And let's not forget other things we all take for granted, such as 401k contributions and healthcare. Those two alone could total another $25,000 a year. Now you're costing the com- pany $150,000 a year. Do you get a bonus? Add that to the total. And let's not forget that it costs money for you to have a cube or office (rent). The company also h