Benjamin C. Alamar founded the first journal dedicated to sports statistics, the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports. He developed and teaches a class on sports analytics for managers at the University of San Francisco and has published numerous cutting-edge studies on strategy and player evaluation. Today, he cochairs the sports statistics section of the International Statistics Institute and consults with several professional teams and businesses in sports analytics....

Data and analytics have the potential to provide sports organizations with a competitive advantage both on and off the field. Yet even as the use of analytics in sports has become commonplace, teams regularly find themselves making big investments without significant payoff.This book is a practical, nontechnical guide to incorporating sports data into decision making, giving leaders the knowledge they need to maximize their organization’s investment in analytics. Benjamin C. Alamar...

Ben Horowitz, cofounder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential leadership advice on building and running a startup—practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn’t cover, based on his popular ben’s blog.While many people talk about how great it is to start a business, very few are honest about how difficult entrepreneurship is when it comes to running one. ...

In the first edition of this landmark book, business loyalty guru Fred Reichheld revealed the question most critical to your company’s future: Would you recommend us to a friend?” By asking customers this question, you identify detractors, who sully your firm’s reputation and readily switch to competitors, and promoters, who generate good profits and true, sustainable growth.You also generate a vital metric: your Net Promoter Score. Since the book was first publi...

NAMED BEST MARKETING BOOK OF 2011 BY THE AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATIONHow organizations can deliver significant performance gains through strategic investment in marketingIn the new era of tight marketing budgets, no organization can continue to spend on marketing without knowing what's working and what's wasted. Data-driven marketing improves efficiency and effectiveness of marketing expenditures across the spectrum of marketing activitie...

“BRAD HELPED US DEVELOP THE TOOLS TO PICK A-PLAYER LEADERS AT GE.” —JACK WELCHGreat companies, large and small, rise or fall because of their talent; the more high performers on your team, the more successful your organization will be. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Research shows that only about 25% of all new hires turn out to be high performers.But companies that have used Brad Smart’s Topgrading system over the past two decades have boosted th...

Most companies have massive amounts of data at their disposal, yet fail to utilize it in any meaningful way. But a powerful new business tool - analytics - is enabling many firms to aggressively leverage their data in key business decisions and processes, with impressive results.In their previous book, Competing on Analytics, Thomas Davenport and Jeanne Harris showed how pioneering firms were building their entire strategies around their analytical capabilities. Rather tha...

A how to guide to avoiding the mistakes ineffective financial advisors most often makeBased on a 15-year consulting program that author Steve Moore has led for financial advisors, Ineffective Habits of Financial Advisors (and the Disciplines to Break Them): A Framework for Avoiding the Mistakes Everyone Else Makes details proven techniques which allow advisors to transform their business into an elite practice: business analysis, strategic vision, exceptio...

Re-focus your business plan and achieve the success your business deservesBusiness owners, and their teams, often lose their way in the midst of the day-to-day stress of generating sales and profits. Whether your goal is selling millions of your product, expanding operations to a new location, or generating more profits, Start at the End offers a unique approach and action steps for business owners and entrepreneurs to redevelop your business plan and achi...

From two pioneers in business analytics, an update of the classic book on how analytics and business intelligence are transforming competition and how leading organizations build and compete on an analytical capability.The first book to describe how analytics are changing the business landscape, updated with new information on predictive analytics, AI, and automation.Describes the specific attributes of firms that are analytical competitors and how they use business...

From the bestselling author of What the CEO Wants You to Know? How to rethink sales from the outside inWe have to face the truth: the process of selling is broken. Customers have more choices and are under intense pressure. Yet few companies are facing this reality. When they don't, a lingering malaise sets in.More than ever these days, the sales process tends to be a war about price-a frustrating, unpleasant war that takes all the fun out...

An innovative approach to winning more profitable sales in the growing professional services industryIn recent years, professional services providers have had to rethink their sales methods and adapt to profound changes in the way clients buy services. In response, Winning the Professional Services Sale argues for fundamental changes in the seller's mindset and sales strategies. Rather than pressing the sale, salespeople must help clients buy--the way that...