Reading series
Business to Mathematics
Five connected essays about turning ambiguous priorities into variables, constraints and meaningful objectives.
Chapters, in reading order
- 01
What should the optimizer want?
The objective function is the compass of an optimization model. Choosing it well is part mathematics and part understanding what a business really values.
- 02
Every optimization model draws a line between what must be true and what would be preferable. That distinction shapes every answer.
- 03
What is a late delivery worth?
Penalties and preferences let an optimization model represent the value of service, not merely the cost of moving things.
- 04
Straight lines for a complicated world
Linear models can describe surprisingly rich business behavior. The art lies in preserving the decision that matters.
- 05
How a messy business problem becomes mathematics
A working optimization model begins with decisions, not equations. Follow one delivery-planning question from a meeting room to a testable formulation.