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The Agent: My 40-Year Career Making Deals and Changing the Game
by Leigh Steinberg Michael ArkushA New York Times bestseller!The real-life "Jerry Maguire," superagent Leigh Steinberg shares his personal stories on the rise, fall, and redemption of his game-changing career in the high-stakes world of professional sportsLeigh Steinberg is renowned as one of the greatest sports agents in history, representing such All-Pro clients as Troy Aikman, Bruce Smith, and Ben Roethlisberger. Over one particular seven-year stretch, Steinberg represented the top NFL Draft pick an unheard of six times. Director Cameron Crowe credits Steinberg as a primary inspiration for the titular character in Jerry Maguire, even hiring Steinberg as a consultant on the film. Lightyears ahead of his contemporaries, he expanded his players' reach into entertainment. Already the bestselling author of a business book on negotiation, the original superagent is now taking readers behind the closed doors of professional sports, recounting priceless stories, like how he negotiated a $26.5 million package for Steve Young—the biggest ever at the time—and how he passed on the chance to represent Peyton Manning.Beginning with his early days as a student leader at Berkeley, Steinberg details his illustrious rise into pro sports fame, his decades of industry dominance, and how he overcame a series of high-profile struggles to regain his sobriety and launch his comeback. This riveting story takes readers inside the inner circle of top-notch agents and players through the visionary career of Leigh Steinberg, the pre-eminent superagent of our time.
Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems VI: Post-Proceedings of The AESCS International Workshop 2009 (Agent-Based Social Systems #8)
by Takao Terano Ryuichi Yamamoto Shu-Heng ChenAgent-based modeling/simulation is an emergent approach to the analysis of social and economic systems. It provides a bottom-up experimental method to be applied to social sciences such as economics, management, sociology, and politics as well as some engineering fields dealing with social activities. This book includes selected papers presented at the Sixth International Workshop on Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems held in Taipei in 2009. We have 39 presentations in the conference, and 14 papers are selected to be included in this volume. These 14 papers are then grouped into six parts: Agent-based financial markets; Financial forecasting and investment; Cognitive modeling of agents; Complexity and policy analysis; Agent-based modeling of good societies; and Miscellany. The research presented here shows the state of the art in this rapidly growing field.
Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems VII: Post-Proceedings of The AESCS International Workshop 2012 (Agent-Based Social Systems #10)
by Takao Terano Shingo Takahashi Tadahiko MurataAgent-based modeling/simulation is an emergent approach to the analysis of social and economic systems. It provides a bottom-up experimental method to be applied to social sciences such as economics, management, sociology, and politics as well as some engineering fields dealing with social activities. This book includes selected papers presented at the Seventh International Workshop on Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems held in Osaka, Japan, in 2012. At the workshop, 24 reviewed full papers were presented, and of those, 17 were selected to be included in this volume. The papers are divided into two groups as "Fundamentals of Agent-Based Modeling" and "Applications of Agent-Based Modeling".
Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems VIII: Post-Proceedings of The AESCS International Workshop 2013 (Agent-Based Social Systems #13)
by Takao Terano Yutaka Nakai Yuhsuke KoyamaAgent-based modeling/simulation is an emergent approach to the analysis of social and economic systems. It provides a bottom-up experimental method to be applied to social sciences such as economics, management, sociology and politics as well as some engineering fields dealing with social activities. This book includes selected papers presented at the Eighth International Workshop on Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems held in Tokyo, Japan, in 2013. At the workshop, 23 reviewed full papers were presented and of those, 13 were selected to be included in this volume.
Agent-Based Approaches in Economics and Social Complex Systems IX: Post-Proceedings of The AESCS International Workshop 2015 (Agent-Based Social Systems #15)
by Utomo Sarjono Putro Manabu Ichikawa Manahan SiallaganThis book includes many cases that provide new perspectives in developing agent-based modeling and simulation. The real problems are complex, and sophisticated methodology is needed to handle them. Agent-based modeling and simulation is one methodology that provides a bottom-up experimental approach applicable to social sciences such as economics, management, sociology, and politics as well as some engineering fields dealing with social activities. However, to improve the applicability of agent-based modeling and simulation methods, a new perspective is needed. In this book, that new perspective is developed and utilized to deal with many cases of real-world problems such as the supply chain, land use and land cover, transportation, health, services, economics, and social problems. The cases are selected from papers presented at the Ninth International Workshop on Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems held in Bali, Indonesia, in 2015. At the workshop, 29 reviewed full papers were presented, and of those, 16 were selected to be included in this volume.
Agent-Based Computational Economics: How the idea originated and where it is going (Routledge Advances in Experimental and Computable Economics)
by Shu-Heng ChenThis book aims to answer two questions that are fundamental to the study of agent-based economic models: what is agent-based computational economics and why do we need agent-based economic modelling of economy? This book provides a review of the development of agent-based computational economics (ACE) from a perspective on how artificial economic agents are designed under the influences of complex sciences, experimental economics, artificial intelligence, evolutionary biology, psychology, anthropology and neuroscience. This book begins with a historical review of ACE by tracing its origins. From a modelling viewpoint, ACE brings truly decentralized procedures into market analysis, from a single market to the whole economy. This book also reviews how experimental economics and artificial intelligence have shaped the development of ACE. For the former, the book discusses how ACE models can be used to analyse the economic consequences of cognitive capacity, personality and cultural inheritance. For the latter, the book covers the various tools used to construct artificial adaptive agents, including reinforcement learning, fuzzy decision rules, neural networks, and evolutionary computation. This book will be of interest to graduate students researching computational economics, experimental economics, behavioural economics, and research methodology.
Agent-Based Modelling of Social Networks in Labour-Education Market System (SpringerBriefs in Complexity)
by Alexander TarvidThis book covers the modelling of human behaviour in the education and labour markets, which due to their interdependency are viewed as one system. Important factors influencing the decision-making of individuals and firms in this system are discussed. The role of social environment and networks is stressed. The approach of agent-based modelling is presented and compared with standard economic modelling and other simulation techniques in the context of modelling complex adaptive systems. Practical questions in building agent-based models of labour-education market system with social networks are discussed. These questions include modelling the structure of education system and agent behaviour there; modelling and calibrating the labour market without and with firms; generating the social network, defining its behaviour and calibrating it; and embedding the resulting system into a larger model.
Agent-Based Modelling of Socio-Technical Systems (Agent-Based Social Systems #9)
by Zofia Lukszo Koen H. Dam Igor NikolicDecision makers in large scale interconnected network systems require simulation models for decision support. The behaviour of these systems is determined by many actors, situated in a dynamic, multi-actor, multi-objective and multi-level environment. How can such systems be modelled and how can the socio-technical complexity be captured? Agent-based modelling is a proven approach to handle this challenge. This book provides a practical introduction to agent-based modelling of socio-technical systems, based on a methodology that has been developed at TU Delft and which has been deployed in a large number of case studies. The book consists of two parts: the first presents the background, theory and methodology as well as practical guidelines and procedures for building models. In the second part this theory is applied to a number of case studies, where for each model the development steps are presented extensively, preparing the reader for creating own models.
Agent-Based Modelling of Worker Exploitation: Slave from the Machine (Frontiers in Sociology and Social Research #5)
by Thomas ChesneyThis book illustrates the potential for computer simulation in the study of modern slavery and worker abuse, and by extension in all social issues. It lays out a philosophy of how agent-based modelling can be used in the social sciences. In addressing modern slavery, Chesney considers precarious work that is vulnerable to abuse, like sweat-shop labour and prostitution, and shows how agent modelling can be used to study, understand and fight abuse in these areas. He explores the philosophy, application and practice of agent modelling through the popular and free software NetLogo. This topical book is grounded in the technology needed to address the messy, chaotic, real world problems that humanity faces—in this case the serious problem of abuse at work—but equally in the social sciences which are needed to avoid the unintended consequences inherent to human responses. It includes a short but extensive NetLogo guide which readers can use to quickly learn this software and go on to develop complex models. This is an important book for students and researchers of computational social science and others interested in agent-based modelling.
Agent-Based Models and Complexity Science in the Age of Geospatial Big Data: Selected Papers from a workshop on Agent-Based Models and Complexity Science (GIScience 2016) (Advances in Geographic Information Science)
by Liliana Perez Eun-Kyeong Kim Raja SenguptaThis book contains a selection of papers presented during a special workshop on Complexity Science organized as part of the 9th International Conference on GIScience 2016. Expert researchers in the areas of Agent-Based Modeling, Complexity Theory, Network Theory, Big Data, and emerging methods of Analysis and Visualization for new types of data explore novel complexity science approaches to dynamic geographic phenomena and their applications, addressing challenges and enriching research methodologies in geography in a Big Data Era.
Agent-Based Models in Economics: A Toolkit
by Domenico Delli Gatti Mauro Gallegati Alberto Russo Giorgio Fagiolo Matteo RichiardiIn contrast to mainstream economics, complexity theory conceives the economy as a complex system of heterogeneous interacting agents characterised by limited information and bounded rationality. Agent Based Models (ABMs) are the analytical and computational tools developed by the proponents of this emerging methodology. <P><P>Aimed at students and scholars of contemporary economics, this book includes a comprehensive toolkit for agent-based computational economics, now quickly becoming the new way to study evolving economic systems. Leading scholars in the field explain how ABMs can be applied fruitfully to many real-world economic examples and represent a great advancement over mainstream approaches. The essays discuss the methodological bases of agent-based approaches and demonstrate step-by-step how to build, simulate and analyse ABMs and how to validate their outputs empirically using the data. They also present a wide set of applications of these models to key economic topics, including the business cycle, labour markets, and economic growth.<P> Applies the major new theory of agent-based modelling to real-world economic topics.<P> Accessibly written but rigourous.<P> Edited by leading figures in the field.
Agent-based Models of the Economy
by Riccardo Boero Matteo Morini Michele Sonnessa Pietro Terna Elena Tànfani Angela Testi Simone PellegrinoAgent-Based Models Of The Economy uses agent-based models for understanding a broad spectrum of economic phenomena. This book aim is twofold. First, it introduces the reader to the methodology and to the technicalities and the tools necessary to master the creation of agent-based models. Second, it presents several examples of applications to different economic phenomena where agent-based models are crucial in answering the research question and in solving practical problems emerged in business and policy domains (e. g. , financial markets, cooperation dynamics, public policy evaluation). With this book, readers learn what agent-based models are and the advantages they can provide. Further, readers learn how to develop from scratch and with scientific rigor their own agent-based models for studying economic phenomena. Finally, readers find in the book several applications that can represent examples to be imitated and to be kept as reference.
Agent-Based Simulation of Organizational Behavior: New Frontiers of Social Science Research
by Davide Secchi Martin NeumannThe aim of this book is to demonstrate how Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) can be used to enhance the study of social agency, organizational behavior and organizational management. It derives from a workshop, sponsored by the Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behavior (AISB), held at Bournemouth University Business School in 2014 on "Modelling Organizational Behavior and Social Agency". The contents of this book are divided into four themes: Perspectives, Modeling Organizational Behavior, Philosophical and Methodological Perspective, and Modeling Organized Crime and Macro-Organizational Phenomena. ABM is a particular and advanced type of computer simulation where the focus of modeling shifts to the agent rather than to the system. This allows for complex and more realistic representations of reality, facilitating an innovative socio-cognitive perspective on organizational studies. The editors and contributing authors claim that the use of ABM may dramatically expand our understanding of human behavior in organizations. This is made possible because of (a) the computational power made available by technological advancements, (b) the relative ease of the programming, (c) the ability to borrow simulation practices from other disciplines, and (d) the ability to demonstrate how the ABM approach clearly enables a socio-cognitive perspective on organizational complexity. Showcasing contributions from academics and researchers of various backgrounds and discipline, this volumes provides a global, interdisciplinary perspective.
Agent-Based Strategizing (Elements in Business Strategy)
by Duncan A. RobertsonStrategic management is a system of continual disequilibrium, with firms in a continual struggle for competitive advantage and relative fitness. Models that are dynamic in nature are required if we are to really understand the complex notion of sustainable competitive advantage. New tools are required to tackle challenges of how firms should compete in environments characterized by both exogeneous shocks and intense endogenous competition. Agent-based modelling of firms' strategies offers an alternative analytical approach, where individual firm or component parts of a firm are modelled, each with their own strategy. Where traditional models can assume homogeneity of actors, agent-based models simulate each firm individually. This allows experimentation of strategic moves, which is particularly important where reactions to strategic moves are non-trivial. This Element introduces agent-based models and their use within management, reviews the influential NK suite of models, and offers an agenda for the development of agent-based models in strategic management.
Agent-Mediated Electronic Commerce. Designing Trading Strategies and Mechanisms for Electronic Markets: AMEC 2013, Saint Paul, MN, USA, May 6, 2013, TADA 2013, Bellevue, WA, USA, July 15, 2013, and AMEC and TADA 2014, Paris, France, May 5, 2014, Revised Selected Papers (Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing #187)
by Esther David Onn Shehory Sofia Ceppi Verdan Podobnik Valentin Robu Sebastian Stein Ioannis A. VetsikasThis volume contains 12 thoroughly refereed and revised papers detailing recent advances in research on designing trading agents and mechanisms for agent-mediated e-commerce. They were originally presented at three events: the Workshop on Agent-Mediated Electronic Commerce (AMEC 2013), co-located with AAMAS 2013 in Saint Paul, MN, USA, in May 2013; the Workshop on Trading Agent Design and Analysis (TADA 2013), co-located with AAAI 2013 in Bellevue, WA, USA, in July 2013; and the Joint Workshop on Trading Agent Design and Analysis (TADA 2014) and Agent-Mediated Electronic Commerce (AMEC 2014), co-located with AAMAS 2014 in Paris, France, in May 2014. Given the breadth of research topics in this field, the range of topics addressed in these papers is correspondingly broad. These include the study of theoretical issues related to the design of interaction protocols and marketplaces; the design and analysis of automated trading strategies used by individual agents; and the deployment of such strategies, in times as part of an entry to the trading agent competition.
Agent of Influence: How to Use Spy Skills to Persuade Anyone, Sell Anything, and Build a Successful Business
by Jason HansonIn the spirit of Jocko Willink's Extreme Ownership and Chris Voss' Never Split the Difference comes the most empowering sales tool yet: a practical guide on how to use proven spy techniques to bolster your business strategies.Even if you’ve never seen a James Bond film or never met a real-life CIA agent, you should know that spies are geniuses at surviving covertly. Their ability to communicate in code is practically written into their DNA. And while it’s true that spies receive some of the best survival training in the world, there’s another, more critical skill a spy must have to survive… business savvy. In Agent of Influence, bestselling author Jason Hanson, a former CIA special agent and founder of Spy Escape School, reveals how anyone can use spy tactics for increased success, from learning how to strategically plan your day to mastering the steps you’ll need to embrace challenges and set achievable, personal goals. He teaches you how to develop a winning sales personality and target the perfect business opportunity using the SADR cycle—”spotting,” “assessing,” “developing,” and “recruiting.” With this invaluable and unique handbook, you will become a more productive, confidant professional or entrepreneur.Discover how to use proven spy techniques to bolster your business strategies—from self-advocation to selling to interviewing—and ultimately make more money. In our evolving age of entrepreneurships, corporate careers, and self-run businesses, Jason’s message will appeal to those looking for a competitive leg up, and who entrust the insider secrets of spy practice to take them there.
Agent You: Show Up, Do the Work, and Succeed on Your Own Terms
by Nicole LynnWhat does it take to achieve your personal and professional goals? When is the right time to take calculated risks, and how do you prepare for the moment when opportunity presents itself?If anyone can show you how to do this, it&’s Nicole Lynn. As the first Black female agent to represent a top three NFL draft pick, Nicole worked her way from childhood poverty to become a Wall Street financial analyst, then attorney, and now top agent to elite athletes and entertainers.In a male-dominated profession, her extraordinary success was earned through a combination of hard work, preparation, self-advocacy, tenacity, and faith."In this book, Nicole reveals her incredible journey and how she got where she is today." -Gabrielle Union (from the foreword)Agent You shares Nicole&’s key strategies for creating a plan and executing it, even in the face of self-doubt and external obstacles. Each chapter includes exercises to help you implement the strategies presented, so you can start working toward your goals today. After reading Agent You, you&’ll learn how to:Discover and stay focused on your purpose.Develop your personal brand and advocate for yourself.Prepare for big opportunities.Land your dream job.Manage your workload and still prioritize self-care. You define what success looks like, unlock a plan to succeed on your own terms.What will your legacy be? Regardless of what life&’s challenges you face, everyone can own their success story -- and Nicole believes you are your best agent.Now is your time. Time for you to walk in your purpose. Time for you to claim your peace. Time for you to own your success story. Are you ready?
El Agente de Seguridad del Siglo 21: Guía de Carrera
by D. W. RoachNo importa si eres un avezado agente de seguridad o si eres nuevo en la industria de la Seguridad Privada, este libro es para tí. Aprende rápidamente los fundamentos necesarios para ser exitoso, ser tomado en cuenta y ser asecndido para colocarte en el camino del Profesional de Seguridad.
Agentenbasierte Modellierung: Eine interdisziplinäre Einführung (essentials)
by Silvio Andrae Patrick PobudaMit Hilfe der agentenbasierten Modellierung (ABM) lassen sich komplexe Systeme wie Finanzmärkte, Gesellschaften, Infrastrukturnetze, Organisationen oder ähnliches detailliert darstellen und anschließend realitätsnah simulieren. Aufgrund der zentralen Fähigkeit der ABM, das Zusammenspiel einer Vielzahl heterogener Agenten miteinander sowie mit ihrer Umgebung recht einfach zu modellieren, können Phänomene auf der Makroebene durch Ereignisse auf der Mikroebene verständlich erklärt, zuverlässig prognostiziert oder auch in experimenteller Weise erkundet werden. Diese computergestützte Methode bietet zahlreiche Vorteile, weshalb sie heutzutage bereits in vielen Anwendungsbereichen erfolgreich eingesetzt wird. So kann beispielsweise, abhängig von der gewählten Modellierungsumgebung bzw. der verwendeten Software, eine grundlegende Einarbeitung ohne größeren Zeitaufwand und vor allem auch ohne entsprechende Programmierkenntnisse autodidaktisch geschehen. Diese interdisziplinär angelegte Einführung ermöglicht einer breiten Zielgruppe einen Einblick in die Grundlagen der ABM.
The Agent's Edge: Secret Strategies to Win Listings and Make Your Fortune Selling Real Estate
by Jordan CohenFor the first time ever, five-time number-one RE/MAX agent worldwide, Jordan Cohen, reveals his secret sales strategies that will elevate your real estate sales career to the highest levels.Jordan Cohen started out selling entry-level houses in Southern California over thirty years ago, before transitioning to the luxury market. Always working alone as an individual agent without a partner or a team, he consistently sets new sales records year after year, including 2021 where he closed over $314 million in residential real estate. In The Agent&’s Edge, he teaches agents of all levels how to win listings, take advantage of every opportunity and make your fortune in the fast-paced, exciting world of real estate sales. Whether you&’ve been in the business for decades, are just starting out, or somewhere in between, these strategies will work for you.In this powerful and entertaining guide with a heartwarming forward from Sylvester Stallone, Jordan shows you how to set yourself apart from the competition to attract sellers and win listings. He walks you through every aspect of a successful listing presentation and includes examples and stories from some of the famous athletes and celebrities he has represented including NFL stars Aaron Donald and Marcus Allen, rock star Bret Michaels, WWE superstar The Miz, and many more. Jordan&’s lessons apply to real estate agents of all levels and all companies and work in any market. Topics covered include: How to Win Every Listing InterviewMarketing Yourself and Your Listings to SucceedTapping into the Power of Social Media (featuring Broke Agent Media&’s Eric Simon and Matt Lionetti)Strategically Putting the &“Agent&” in Real Estate AgentTurning Tired Old Techniques into Cutting Edge Strategies That WorkThe Big Pay-off That Makes Real Estate More than a Great Career
Agents of Reform: Child Labor and the Origins of the Welfare State (Princeton Studies in Global and Comparative Sociology)
by Elisabeth AndersonA groundbreaking account of how the welfare state began with early nineteenth-century child labor laws, and how middle-class and elite reformers made it happenThe beginnings of the modern welfare state are often traced to the late nineteenth-century labor movement and to policymakers’ efforts to appeal to working-class voters. But in Agents of Reform, Elisabeth Anderson shows that the regulatory welfare state began a half century earlier, in the 1830s, with the passage of the first child labor laws.Agents of Reform tells the story of how middle-class and elite reformers in Europe and the United States defined child labor as a threat to social order, and took the lead in bringing regulatory welfare into being. They built alliances to maneuver around powerful political blocks and instituted pathbreaking new employment protections. Later in the century, now with the help of organized labor, they created factory inspectorates to strengthen and routinize the state’s capacity to intervene in industrial working conditions.Agents of Reform compares seven in-depth case studies of key policy episodes in Germany, France, Belgium, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Foregrounding the agency of individual reformers, it challenges existing explanations of welfare state development and advances a new pragmatist field theory of institutional change. In doing so, it moves beyond standard narratives of interests and institutions toward an integrated understanding of how these interact with political actors’ ideas and coalition-building strategies.
Agents' Preferences, the Equity Premium, and the Consumption-Saving Trade-Off: An Application to French Data1
by Anne Epaulard Aude PommeretThis paper aims to measure the risk premium on French equities during 1960-92 and to evaluate how well theoretical models based on various representations of agents' preferences can explain it. Aside from the standard, time-additive utility function with constant relative risk aversion, three other utility functions are reviewed: a recursive utility function, a habit formation utility function, and a utility funtion that accounts for the interdependence of preferences. Both calibration and econometric estimations show that none of the studied marginal changes in the representation of agents' preferences are sufficient to solve both the equity premium puzzle and the risk-free rate puzzle.
Agenturauswahl: Der Weg zur richtigen Kommunikationsagentur (essentials)
by Ralf NöckerRalf Nöcker liefert einen Überblick über den Agenturmarkt und zeigt auf, dass der Auswahl einer passenden Kommunikationsagentur allergrößte Bedeutung zukommt. Häufig wird sie, was Tragweite und Aufwand betrifft, verglichen mit der Besetzung einer Top-Führungsposition im Unternehmen. Der Autor stellt eine Übersicht der Auswahlkriterien, Berichte von Praktikern aus Marketing, Einkauf und Agentur sowie weiterführende Links vor und liefert dem Leser eine umfassende Hilfestellung bei allen Themen rund um das Thema Agenturauswahl.
AgeProof: Living Longer Without Running Out of Money or Breaking a Hip
by Michael F. Roizen Mehmet C. Oz Jean Chatzky Ted SpikerTwo of the world's leading experts explain the vital link between health and wealth that could add years to your life and dollars to your retirement savings.All the money in the world doesn't mean a thing if we can't get out of bed. And the healthiest body in the world won't stay that way if we're frazzled about five figures worth of debt. TODAY Show financial expert Jean Chatzky and the Cleveland Clinic's chief wellness officer Dr. Michael Roizen explain the vital connection between health and wealth--giving readers all the tactics, strategies, and know-how to live longer, healthier, more lucrative lives. The same principles that allow us to achieve a better body will allow us to do the same for our investment portfolio. For instance, physical and financial stability comes down to the same equation: Inflow versus outflow. Do we burn more calories than we ingest? Likewise, are we making more money than we spend? The authors detail scientific ways to improve our behavior so that the answers tilt in the readers' favor. They also offer ways to beat the system by automating how we do things and limiting our decisions in the face of too much food or too much debt. Chatzky and Roizen provide a plan for both financial independence and biological strength with action steps to get you there.
Agero: Enhancing Capabilities for Customers
by Natalie Kindred Robert L. SimonsCross Country (renamed Agero in 2011) operated call centers that coordinated with thousands of small, independent towing companies-Cross Country's "service provider network"-to deliver roadside assistance services, such as vehicle towing and tire changes, to motorists covered by automakers' warranties and insurers' policies. The case describes Cross Country's evolution from 1972 to 2012 in three phases. This allows students to, at various stages, grapple with defining Cross Country's business (what business is it, and should it be, in?) and its primary customer (vehicle makers and insurers? motorists? service providers?). The answers to these questions have important implications for organization design. During the first phase, from 1972 to 1998, founder Sidney Wolk built the business through personal relationships with clients. A passionate entrepreneur, his approach to growth-secure customers first, figure out how to make money later-was remarkably successful, if sometimes chaotic. Facing an increasingly commoditized marketplace, in 1998 Wolk hired professional managers who implemented formal performance management systems and invested in sophisticated data analytics. From 1998 to 2007 (phase two), these investments allowed Cross Country to quantify service providers' impact on motorist satisfaction, monitor service providers' performance, and introduce programs to strengthen top-performing service providers' loyalty to Cross Country. Concurrently, the company undertook a two-step organization redesign to focus more resources on service providers (the new primary customer?), improve market-focused innovation and increase client satisfaction. In phase three, from 2008 to 2012, Cross Country entered the high-tech telematics/connected-vehicle business, invested in additional innovations to strengthen its service provider network, and rebranded itself as "Agero." Wolk and his team believed Cross Country had "more driver information than any other company."