Recommended Reading

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Post here any top reading you can recommend. Include a review if you can.

[admin]

From the CORTEX Intel500:

Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning

by Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1422103323
ISBN-13: 978-1422103326

Tom Davenport and Jeanne Harris' book, Competing on Analytics, discusses a number of what they call "analytic competitors," that is to say companies that use their analytic prowess not just to enhance their operations but as their lead competitive differentiator. The authors' formal definition of an analytic competitor is, "The extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive models, and fact-based management to drive decisions and actions.

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[admin]

From the CORTEX Intel500:

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

by Michael Lewis
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393324818
ISBN-13: 978-0393324815

Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball, had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every other team. Conventional wisdom long held that big name, highly athletic hitters and young pitchers with rocket arms were the ticket to success. But Beane and his staff, buoyed by massive amounts of carefully interpreted statistical data, believed that wins could be had by more affordable methods such as hitters with high on-base percentage and pitchers who get lots of ground outs. Given this information and a tight budget, Beane defied tradition and his own scouting department to build winning teams of young affordable players and inexpensive castoff veterans.

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[admin]

From the CORTEX Intel500:

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More

by Chris Anderson
Paperback: 238 pages
Publisher: Hyperion
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1401302378
ISBN-13: 978-1401302375

Wired editor Anderson declares the death of "common culture" and insists that it's for the best. Why don't we all watch the same TV shows, like we used to? Because not long ago, "we had fewer alternatives to compete for our screen attention," he writes. Smash hits have existed largely because of scarcity: with a finite number of bookstore shelves and theaters and Wal-Mart CD racks, "it's only sensible to fill them with the titles that will sell best." Today, Web sites and online retailers offer seemingly infinite inventory, and the result is the "shattering of the mainstream into a zillion different cultural shards." These "countless niches" are market opportunities for those who cast a wide net and de-emphasize the search for blockbusters. It's a provocative analysis and almost certainly on target though Anderson's assurances that these principles are equally applicable outside the media and entertainment industries are not entirely convincing. The book overuses its examples from Google, Rhapsody, iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and eBay, and it doesn't help that most of the charts of "Long Tail" curves look the same. But Anderson manages to explain a murky trend in clear language, giving entrepreneurs and the rest of us plenty to think about. Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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[Jane B]

Here's a short guide to building a business case for customer loyalty 'in hard times'. It's from Ernst & Young, the global accounting firm.

I found the examples useful.

[Steve Bennett]

It's not a book but a collection of (overseas) bloggers with a big focus on business intelligence. I'm not sure how well it is organised but I've found some interesting information. Give it a look here.