Putting More Science into Management
Posted by John in Articles, Books, Business Intelligence, Competing on Analytics, InnovationThis month, McKinsey Quarterly published eight technology-enabled trends they feel will help shape businesses and the economy. Trend seven is near and dear to my heart – or should I say head? Putting more science into management falls under the heading of leveraging information in new ways. The authors explore some of analytical topics that are all the buzz in recent best sellers: “ideagoras”, customer segmentation, experimentation, prediction markets and recommendation engines.
Leaders should get out ahead of this trend to ensure that information makes organizations more rather than less effective. Information is often power; broadening access and increasing transparency will inevitably influence organizational politics and power structures. Environments that celebrate making choices on a factual basis must beware of analysis paralysis.
The close by suggesting the following books:
- Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris, Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2007. (see my entry on wikiBookNotes.org)
- John Riedl and Joseph Konstan with Eric Vrooman, Word of Mouse: The Marketing Power of Collaborative Filtering, New York: Warner Books, 2002.
- Stefan H. Thomke, Experimentation Matters: Unlocking the Potential of New Technologies for Innovation, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2003.
- David Weinberger, Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder, New York: Times Books, 2007.
I’ve only read the first. I’m interested in any reviews of the others.
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Have read the first and last one. Enjoyed both of them. I also have the CD’s of the Harvard Business School’s conference featuring Mr. Davenport, “Competing on Analytics: Unlocking New Sources of Growth.”
The “critical number” idea has always held a fascination for me. Jack Stack used it at the Springfield Manufacturing Company years ago as he tried to learn and teach the workers how businesses make money. That led to my interest in analytics/business intelligence. I’m not the spreadsheet geek you are, although I could be if I were more accomplished at Excel. I’m just a business guy who has spent most of my career running retail companies so measurements and numbers have always been crucial to success.
I continue to ferret out data that is meaningful to employees so we can measure what matters most – and make great use of the avalanche of incoming data (something I’m not currently able to do with much efficiency). It’s a work in progress and I find I’m always behind the technical curve when it comes to tools.
I enjoyed stumbling across your site.