Q&A: A Real 'Optimization Imperative'

The upper echelons of analytics is where winning companies gain competitive advantage

In economic times trying even for the most efficient companies, some still mange to outshine and outsmart their competitors time after time. How do they do that? Optimization is the answer, says expert Steve Sashihara, President and CEO of Princeton Consultants, an 85-person firm that helps clients optimize their assets through a blend of information technology and management consulting. In The Optimization Edge: Reinventing Decision Making to Maximize All Your Company's Assets , Sashihara argues that downsizing is no way to grow a company. Instead, the smart firms have figured out a better way to make business decisions. In the book and his practice, he shows clients how to squeeze every ounce of value from their company, even under the perfect storm conditions of the last few years. Today, Sashihara argues optimization is no longer a "nice-to-have" for companies but a categorical imperative.

Consulting: I know Princeton Consultants has always had a heavy focus on optimization, but why did you decide to write the book?