CHAPTER 10

Tips for Using Tournaments

For a very long time, managers have used tournaments and other contests, whether formal or informal, to encourage good ideas and to spark creativity. But with respect to tournaments, we’re entering a whole new age. Let’s take a look at a highly publicized example, the Netflix Prize contest, and then try to extract some more general lessons.

The Netflix Prize

Netflix, one of the major providers of rental and video-on-demand entertainment content, is an innovative and trend-setting company. It does a lot of its own research and development. A distinctive feature of its website—a feature that draws many customers to the business—is its movie recommendation service, Cinematch. If you like House of Cards, you’ll ...

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