Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning

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THE NATURE OFANALYTICAL COMPETITION

Using Analytics to Build aDistinctive Capability

IN 1997, A THIRTY-SOMETHING man whose resume included software geek, education reformer, and movie buff rented Apollo 13 from the biggest video-rental chain on the block—Blockbuster—and got hit with $40 in late fees. That dent in his wallet got him thinking: why didn’t video stores work like health clubs, where you paid a flat monthly fee to use the gym as much as you wanted? Because of this experience—and armed with the $750 million he received for selling his software company—Reed Hastings jumped into the frothy sea of the “new economy” and started Netflix, ...