First, I think you mean far less elastic. In economics the more elastic two variables are with respect to one another, the less independent they are - implying

First, I think you mean far less elastic. In economics the more elastic two variables are with respect to one another, the less independent they are - implying the zero-sum-game the author suggests. Second, in any business if your margins are that slim chances are you're already being creative like that, making all kinds of tradeoffs wherever you can, or you're fixing to close your doors. Juggling and heroics make the variables of a business much more dependent on one another, not less.