ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Since writing the first edition of this book a decade ago, we’ve talked with hundreds of smart people about analytics. We view ourselves as synthesizers and organizers of all those great ideas, so our primary debt is to anyone who has shared their experiences with us since 2007.

Some people and organizations stand out, however. Here are those who made a big difference to this book, from Tom’s perspective. At SAS, a great supporter of our research over the decade, they include Adele Sweetwood, Mike Bright, Scott van Valkenburgh (who kicked off the first edition by contacting Tom; he’s now at Genpact), Randy Guard, Oliver Schabenberger, and many more. At Salesforce.com, Ben Pruden and Keri Brooke supported our research and discussed their approach to analytics with us. At FICO (and previously at Schneider National), Zahir Balaporia has been very helpful and insightful. Jack Levis at UPS was always genial and open about the company’s analytics efforts. Gary Loveman provided tons of insight over the years about analytics at Harrah’s/Caesars. Guy Peri and his then-colleagues at Procter & Gamble, Andy Walter and Filippo Passerini, gave Tom a lot of access to their pioneering work. Various folks at Deloitte, including Jane Griffin, Paul Roma, Alyssa Pharr, and Kelly Nelson, helped to expose Tom to the firm’s extensive analytics work. At First Analytics, Mike Thompson and Rob Stevens faithfully reported to Tom every month on what they were up to. Tom also thanks Jack Phillips and John Ott (who first proposed this new edition) at the International Institute for Analytics, Colin Gounden at Via Science, Andy Palmer at Tamr, Christopher Ahlberg at Recorded Future, and Vikram Mahidhar at RAGE Frameworks for their frequent updates from the worlds of analytics and automation.

Both of us benefited from the fact that Harvard Business Review Press was wonderful the first time around, and even easier to work with the second time. We got considerable help from Hollis Heimbouch (now at Harper Business; she acquired and edited the first version), Melinda Merino (who acquired and edited this version), Julia Kirby (now at Harvard University Press), Walt Frick, Gardiner Morse, and Julie Devoll. Stephani Finks did her usual great job on the cover.

From Jeanne’s perspective: I want to begin by thanking Tom Davenport, my longtime friend and coauthor, for first suggesting we write a book together on this topic. I especially want to thank the many executives, from every industry and around the world, who generously shared their experiences and insights. Thanks also to Professor Vijay Mehrotra at the University of San Francisco, who introduced me to many data scientists in Silicon Valley and coauthored our research on the distinctions between data scientists and analysts. Thanks to Jeremy Shapiro, Executive Director, Global Head of Talent Analytics, at Morgan Stanley, who coauthored “Competing on Talent Analytics” with us. A big thank you goes to Joan Powell of Leading Thoughts, for helping us share our message with a broader audience.

I also want to thank my former colleagues at Accenture who shared their enthusiastic support and encouragement along the way. Former CEO Bill Green said he thought the book was a great idea. Many smart, prominent senior executives willingly shared their firsthand experience and expertise working with clients to compete (and win) with analytics. Thanks especially go to our research sponsors for their support and honest feedback: Mike Sutcliff, Group CEO, Accenture Digital; Michael Svilar, Managing Director, Advanced Analytics; Royce Bell, former CEO of Accenture Information Management Solutions; and Dave Rich, formerly Global Managing Partner of Accenture Analytics (and later, CEO and president of Microsoft Advanced Analytics). Thank you also to the initial sponsors of the enterprise systems and analytics survey, where we first found a link between analytics and high-performance organizations: Dave Hill, Patrick Puechbroussou, Jim Hayes, and Mark Jones.

In addition to contributing their insights, many current and former Accenture executives helped me find some outstanding examples to showcase in the book, including Walt Shill, Brian McCarthy, Mark McDonald, Jeff Merrihue, Umesh Hari, Jane Linder, John Copeland, Glenn Gutwillig, Michael Bova, Ramin Mikhali, David Sheehy, Baiju Shah, Andy Fano, Larry Lerner, Chris DiGiorgio, and John Ballow. Thanks also to the executives at Silicon Valley Data Science, including Sanjay Mathur (CEO), John Akred (CTO), and Scott Kurth (VP, Advisory Services), who always generously share their experiences and ideas. Kristi Kamykowski’s insights are much appreciated. I am, as always, grateful to my friends at the Accenture Institute for High Performance (including Allan Alter, Dave Light, Bob Thomas, and Paul Nunes) for their generous assistance and willingness to contribute great ideas. Finally, I want to express special thanks to Pete Bott, Joel Friedman, Norm Rickeman, and Jean Davis, who many years ago set me on the path that eventually led to writing this book.

We’d also like to thank our families for their patience in dealing with us during the writing of this version. Jeanne especially thanks her husband, Carl, and her daughter, Lauren, for their love, encouragement, wit, and wisdom. They are the real analytical talent in her family. She could not have completed this book (twice!) without their understanding and support. She also thanks her mother, Rhoda Harris, and her sister, Susie, for their unwavering encouragement and enthusiasm. Tom thanks Jodi for predicting that the analytics topic would be a hot one back in 2005 (she still thinks it’s hot) and for once again enthusiastically supporting his every venture. He’s analyzed all his personal data and discovered that his wife’s presence is highly correlated with his happiness. He thanks his sons Hayes and Chase for passionate discussions about sports analytics, particularly at the Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots.