--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The experience curve says that your costs…" description: "\"The experience curve says that your costs should probably decline by 15% or 20% with every doubling in your experience making a product, approximately ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/walter-kiechel-38780_capability_the-experience-curve-says-that-your-cost_710311.png" --- # The experience curve says that your costs should probably… ![“The experience curve says that your costs should probably decline by 15% or 20% with every doubling in your experience making a product, approximately how many of them you turn out. It also says that if you have the biggest market share, meaning the most experience of anybody in your competitive…” quote by Walter Kiechel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/walter-kiechel-38780_capability_the-experience-curve-says-that-your-cost_710311.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/walter-kiechel-38780_capability_the-experience-curve-says-that-your-cost_710311.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/walter-kiechel-38780_capability_the-experience-curve-says-that-your-cost_710311.png) > “The experience curve says that your costs should probably decline by 15% or 20% with every doubling in your experience making a product, approximately how many of them you turn out. It also says that if you have the biggest market share, meaning the most experience of anybody in your competitive set, you should have the lowest costs, and the resultant capability to underprice your competitors, maybe forever. The abiding lesson of the experience curve is that companies need to discipline themselves to keep reducing their costs, year in, year out, if they are to remain competitive.” [Walter Kiechel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kiechel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Companies that continuously lower costs through learning gain competitive advantage, but must stay disciplined over time. **In simple terms:** Learning reduces costs, sustaining advantage. Key Takeaway Focus on ongoing cost reduction. Themes competition efficiency learning Mood analytical strategic Type business educational When to use this quote - manufacturing - software development - service delivery - market expansion Key Concepts experience curve scale economies strategic discipline Questions to Reflect On - How can firms maintain cost discipline? - What risks arise from over‑reliance on experience? A Different Perspective Disruptive innovation can reset cost dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capability/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Doubling Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubling-experience-5603529/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Experience Curve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-curve-5603528/) [Experience Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-making-742512/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Lowest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lowest/) [Market share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/market-share/) [Remain Competitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remain-competitive-1197621/) [Share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/share/) ## Related quotes > [To keep our region's economy strong, we need to make sure Central Virginia students and workers receive the training required to remain competitive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-spanberger/to-keep-our-region-s-economy-strong-we-need-to-make-sure-central/) [Abigail Spanberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-spanberger/) > [If our country is going to remain competitive on the world stage, then we must start with rebuilding our infrastructure, providing secure and well-paying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-lamont/if-our-country-is-going-to-remain-competitive-on-the-world-stage-then/) [Ned Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-lamont/) > [The reason we have so much talent in Silicon Valley building and investing in for-profit technology companies is that markets richly reward successful ideas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lonsdale/the-reason-we-have-so-much-talent-in-silicon-valley-building-and/) [Joe Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lonsdale/) > [“with helping the Blackhawks to remain competitive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-helping-the-blackhawks-to-remain-competitive/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be productive and focused, the rugged individuals in our economy need health security so that our country can remain competitive and agile in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sestak/to-be-productive-and-focused-the-rugged-individuals-in-our-economy/) [Joe Sestak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sestak/) > [Challenging unfairly subsidized products, fighting counterfeit goods and intellectual property theft and holding countries accountable for an unfair currency regime will help American companies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-foxx/challenging-unfairly-subsidized-products-fighting-counterfeit-goods/) [Virginia Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-foxx/) > [I always had to keep improving my skills in order to remain competitive and keep winning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-moses/i-always-had-to-keep-improving-my-skills-in-order-to-remain/) [Edwin Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-moses/) > [I planned to stop in 2002 after the Salt Lake City Olympics. I felt able to remain competitive another four years, and I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-maier/i-planned-to-stop-in-2002-after-the-salt-lake-city-olympics-i-felt/) [Hermann Maier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-maier/) > [A lot of times, when you're seeing something that you've done, you're thinking about the experience you had making it, not about the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schnetzer/a-lot-of-times-when-you-re-seeing-something-that-you-ve-done-you-re/) [Ben Schnetzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schnetzer/) > [Lord of the Rings was my first experience making movies and at the time, I had no ideas how movies were done. I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-bloom/lord-of-the-rings-was-my-first-experience-making-movies-and-at-the/) [Orlando Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-bloom/) > [In our quest to quickly make three-dimensional objects, we can miss out on the experience of making something that helps give us our first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ive/in-our-quest-to-quickly-make-three-dimensional-objects-we-can-miss/) [Jonathan Ive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ive/) > [I guess it's a pretty common experience while making a movie. You have to let go of the result and just hang on to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigourney-weaver/i-guess-it-s-a-pretty-common-experience-while-making-a-movie-you-have/) [Sigourney Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigourney-weaver/) > [The experience you have making the movie is all you have; when the movie's finished, that's for other people. But while you're doing it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-elwes/the-experience-you-have-making-the-movie-is-all-you-have-when-the/) [Cary Elwes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-elwes/) > [I'd have to say the whole experience in making The Neverending Story. I had an incredible time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-hathaway/i-d-have-to-say-the-whole-experience-in-making-the-neverending-story/) [Noah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-hathaway/) > [The meaning resides in one's own experience, making the everyday the exceptional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-mockbee/the-meaning-resides-in-one-s-own-experience-making-the-everyday-the/) [Samuel Mockbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-mockbee/) ## More by Walter Kiechel > [People believe that companies have always had strategies, dating back at least to likes of Henry Ford or Andrew Carnegie, maybe to the contractors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kiechel/people-believe-that-companies-have-always-had-strategies-dating-back/) [Walter Kiechel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kiechel/) > [People believe that management consultants are mostly useless parasites. 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I've seen other people overcome the psychological and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-stovall/i-ve-seen-people-recover-physical-abilities-yet-never-get-over/) [Jim Stovall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-stovall/) [Browse all 801 Capability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The experience curve says that your costs should probably decline by 15% or 20% with every doubling in your experience making a product, approximately how many of them you turn out. It also says that if you have the biggest market share, meaning the most experience of anybody in your competitive set, you should have the lowest costs, and the resultant capability to underprice your competitors, maybe forever. 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