The Deciding Factor: The Power of Analytics to Make Every Decision a Winner
Larry E. Rosenberger and John Nash with Ann Graham





Format: Hardcover, 256pp.
ISBN: 9780470398197
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Pub. Date: March 16, 2009

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Description and Reviews
From The Publisher:

Any person using a personal computer connected to the Internet can search for just about any information they want to find. Any business can gain valuable market insights by analyzing those searches.

In The Deciding Factor: The Power of Analytics to Make Every Business Decision a Winner, Larry L. Rosenberger, vice president of research and development at the Fair Isaac Corporation, and John Nash, vice president of strategic planning, draw on over fifty years of experience in helping companies make better decisions by using analytics and information technology to bring operational data into business focus. With perspective on the past, present, and future, they show how analytics have evolved in tandem with every advance in information technologies.

From the boardroom to the front line, executives and managers are using analytical insights to be sure their decisions keep pace with information complexity and the pace of change — especially change in consumer behavior and attitudes, in regulations, in competitive actions and reactions. The Deciding Factor will show how computer-assisted applied mathematics is a resource for decision makers at all levels, and in all types of jobs, to create a customer-centric, cost-competitive, and creative company.

The Approach

There are many management books for the senior executive reader that focus on big-picture decisions that set the direction and objectives for the entire firm. The Deciding Factor, in contrast, looks at how companies can more effectively manage the quality of the millions of operational decisions made every day that determinewhether corporate objectives are achieved.

The Deciding Factor will demystify math and the information technology behind decision management for the numbers-conscious business reader who is not a mathematics or computer science wizard. The authors have chosen to focus their exploration of analytics on mass-market consumer businesses (financial services, pharmaceuticals, health and auto insurance, consumer packaged goods, telecommunications, and retailing) that manage a high volume of interactions with customers day-to-day and moment-to-moment.

Although there are many interesting business-to-business stories to tell, the authors have chosen to examine the implications of the latest technological developments that help companies grow revenues and profits by being more responsive to consumer needs and behaviors. How does a multinational mass consumer packaged goods company build brand loyalty one person at a time? How does a consumer credit card company process billions of transactions every second and keep fraud under control? How can a big-box retailer increase per customer profitability? These are questions The Deciding Factor will answer.


About the Authors

Larry E. Rosenberger (San Rafael, CA) is the former CEO of Fair Isaac and Fair Isaac's first Research Fellow. John Nash (Minneapolis, MN) is Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Fair Isaac. He previously worked for Seisint, Inc. (now a subsidiary of LexisNexis) and Accenture. Fair Isaac, creator of the FICO score, is the leading provider of decision management solutions, combining trusted advice, world-class analytics, and innovative applications to help businesses around the world make smarter decisions.


Table of Contents

	Introduction
1	From Intuition to Algorithms: A Brief History of Using Analytics to Make Better Decisions
2	How Analytics Makes Customer Relationships More Valuable: The Netflix, Best Buy, Tesco, and Harrah’s Experience
3	Co-Creation and Decision Management: How Consumers and Companies Share Data to Create Value
4	The Disciplines of Decision Leaders: The Math, Mind-Set, and Technology for Managing Decisions
5	The New Knowledge Workers: Defining the Talent Mix for Success with Analytics
6	Demystifying Decision Management: A Primer on Various Analytic Tools and Techniques
7	The Future of Decision Management: Using Differentiated Decisions to Gain Competitive Advantage
	Notes
	Appendix A: Fair Isaac’s Decision Management Project Methodology
	Appendix B: Glossary
	Acknowledgments
	The Authors
	Index

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