9/14/15

Profit From Science

© SpringerSolving Business Problems using Data, Math, and the Scientific Process
By George Danner
15 September 2015
$35 | £21.99 | Hardback | 9781137474841

 

‘This book presents a step change in the art and science of solving complex business challenges. The implications of George's work on corporate strategy and decision making are nothing short of transformational. Everyone shaping a company should have these tools.’
—Wayne Wisniewski, President and COO, Eagle Hydrocarbons

 

Most of us learn about the scientific method when we are young and use it often throughout our schooling. Yet once we get in the world of work, somehow this process is left behind in favor of rigid adherence to rules, gut feeling, and lightning-fast decision making. Profit from Science seeks to subvert this trend by drawing from the world’s best problem solvers: scientists.

In his book, award-winning business consultant George Danner presents solutions to the big problems that modern businesses face—solutions that are grounded in the logic and empiricism of the scientific method. Danner and his team have used the scientific method of modelling and simulation to solve real business problems such as:

  • Using a simulation model to help the California DMV understand the interaction of their locations, staff resource levels, and the use of self-help kiosks, against several customer makeup scenarios – reducing costs while improving overall service level and satisfaction
  • Helping a large national retailer find the optimal locations for 1,100 new stores in its network
  • Guiding two newly merged major energy companies to the optimal combination of facilities and locations by simulating one year’s operation of their two inefficient supply chains

Profit from Science uses case studies across health care, energy, retail, and many other industries to show how applying the scientific method to any problem can lead to answers that might not have been considered before. Companies from around the world have turned to Danner for help solving some of their most complex problems, with his client list including Ford Motor Company, British Petroleum, Shell, and the US Navy.

Profit from Science instructs businesses leaders in how to add the discipline and technical precision of the scientific method to strategic planning and decision making. This book can show how to make these broader disciplines – including analytics, data science, and decision analysis – work in practical ways on real-world problems, no matter the industry or context.

 

‘George Danner's book goes to the heart of better decision making and shows us how to achieve it. Borrow the best from scientific processes – develop hypotheses, analyse data, use best modelling techniques, test the evidence under various scenarios, be objective and transparent, be prepared to experiment, and problem solving improves. It sounds simple and yet so many businesses lack the internal processes and disciplines to achieve this.’
—Professor Vicky Pryce, Former Joint Head of the UK Government's Economic Service

 

-ENDS-


About the Author

George Danner is President of Business Laboratory, LLC, an award-winning consultancy that uses the very latest scientific techniques and methods to improve the performance of mid-size and large organizations through problem solving, the optimization of existing practices, and advanced forecasting. George specializes in the application of agent-based simulation modelling, Monte Carlo simulation. George has 30 years of experience in corporate strategy, specifically operational and financial analysis, across a wide variety of industries: manufacturing, energy, telecommunications, transportation, and financial services. Prior to founding Business Laboratory, George held executive positions at nGenera Corporation, Industrial Science LLC (as founder), and Arthur Andersen. Business Laboratory clients include BP, Sun Microsystems, Schlumberger, Manpower, Target Corporation, AstraZeneca, TIAA-CREF, National Grid (UK), TD Ameritrade, Schlumberger, and the US Navy. George has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.


For more information or to get in touch with the author please contact:
Rebecca Krahenbuhl, rebecca.krahenbuhl@palgrave.com, +44 0207 014 6634