Genchi Genbutsu & Manti Te’o's Draft Stock TAGS: actual place actual thing | bcs championship | combine | consulting | draft | football | gemba | genbutsu | genchi | go and see | go and see for yourself | lean | lean blitz | lennay kekua | manti | nfl | notre dame | operations | sports | t'eo We have been inundated with the story of Manti Te’o and the girlfriend hoax, especially this past weekend as the NFL Draft unfolded. Te’o is one of the most award-decorated …Continue reading →

The University of Miami Scandal, 18 Months, and Accountability TAGS: booster | cbssports.com | cheat | continuous improvement | coral gables | enforcement | football | hurricanes | jonathan duncan | julie roe lach | lean blitz consulting | miami | nevin shapiro | operations | ponzi | process | reform | scheme | six sigma | sports | university A subject that is due for analysis yet I’ve left untouched is the Nevin Shapiro scandal at the University of Miami in Coral Gables. The NCAA violations resulting from the …Continue reading →

Was Elvis Dumervil a Victim of Bad Process, Bad Technology, or Both? TAGS: agent | broncos | contract | defensive end | demaurice smith | denver | denver post | dumervil | elvis | espn | fax machine | lean blitz consulting | magid | mike klis | national letter of intent | nfl | nflpa | operations | overprocessing | photo | process | scholarship | sports | technology | video | waiting In one of the quirkiest NFL contract-related events, we present to you new accidental free agent defensive end Elvis Dumervil, formerly of the Denver Broncos. Dumervil, under contract with the …Continue reading →

Punxsutawney Phil and Measuring the Wrong Things TAGS: 5S | causation | combine | consulting | continuous improvement | correlation | day | draft | groundhog | indicators | lean blitz | manti te'o | measure | nfl | operations | overprocessing | pennsylvania | process | punxsutawney phil | react | scouting | six sigma | sports | standardized work | tom brady | visual   Every February 2nd Americans gear up for the grand indicator of how much longer winter will be with us – by checking in with a groundhog in Pennsylvania about …Continue reading →

NBA and NFL Draft Eligibility Restrictions – Why? TAGS: acl | basketball | brandon jennings | college | consulting | continuous improvement | david stern | derrick rose | draft | eligibility | football | greg oden | injury | jadeveon clowney | kentucky | knee | lean blitz | marcus lattimore | nba | ncaa | nerlens noel | nfl | operations | pat forde | process | risk | rules | six sigma | south carolina | sports The NBA and NFL both have eligiblity restrictions on draftable players, and those restrictions are very quickly being called into question. The NBA implemented a rule in 2005 that required …Continue reading →

Could the Super Bowl Power Outage Have Been Prevented? TAGS: asq | baltimore | beyonce | blackout | continuous improvement | failure modes effects analysis | fmea | football | game | grid | halftime | john priebe | lean blitz consulting | national football league | nfl | operations | outage | power | prevention | problem solving | process | ravens | root cause analysis | san francisco 49ers | six sigma | sports | super bowl | superdome We’ve all been watching the stories fly in over the last 24-36 hours about the power outage at the Superdome during the Super Bowl, so that won’t get rehashed here. …Continue reading →

The Chicken Wing Shortage and Super Bowl Week TAGS: changeover | chicken wing | consulting | continuous improvement | darren rovell | demand | espn | lean | lean blitz | operations | optimization | peak season | process | rumor | shortage | smed | sports | super bowl | temporary staffing | wings There is a rumor, as seems to be every year for Super Bowl week, that we are suffering from a shortage of chicken wings. While it’s apparently true that the …Continue reading →

The NFL Pro Bowl and Focusing On Things That Matter TAGS: all-star game | aloha stadium | change | concussion | continuous improvement | football | jeff saturday | kaizen | kyle rudolph | lean | nfl | operations | pro bowl | process | quality | six sigma | sports | super bowl | testing | that's the way we've always done it | value There is serious talk at the highest league levels about discontinuing the NFL Pro Bowl, and for very good reason. – The game really only serves as a vacation for …Continue reading →

Trust TAGS: blitz | business901 | catfish | consulting | continuous improvement | customer expectations | football | hoax | joe dager | kaizen | lance armstrong | lean | manti te'o | notre dame | operations | oprah winfrey | process | robert guillame | six sigma | sports night | trust | trustworthiness | trustworthy Our trust in the athletes we’ve grown to admire was certainly tested this past week. Any way we look at trust – reliability, faith, integrity, consistency, honesty, strength – is …Continue reading →

Tailgating at the 2013 BCS National Championship in Miami TAGS: 2013 | alabama | bcs | blitz | cell | championship | consulting | continuous improvement | disaster | discover | five whys | florida | football | lean | logistics | lot | miami | notre dame | operations | parking | porta-potty | process | service | six sigma | sports | sun life stadium | tower | trash | verizon | waiting | waste It’s been a week since my beloved Irish were convincingly thwarted in their effort to win their first college football national championship since the Reagan administration, so I feel I …Continue reading →

Notre Dame Football and the 14 Principles of The Toyota Way – Part 1 TAGS: bcs | blitz | brian kelly | championship | college football | consulting | gsr | lean | manti te'o | miami | notre dame football | operations | principles | process | six sigma | sports | sun life stadium | toyota way | tyler eifert | zeke motta Tonight, for the first time since the 1989 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl, the University of Notre Dame will vie for college football’s national title, the 2013 BCS National Championship in Miami. …Continue reading →

2013 BCS National Championship and Silly Rules About Parking TAGS: 2013 | alabama | bcs | blitz | championship | college | consulting | continuous improvement | crimson tide | discover | florida | football | game | irish | lean | miami | national | notre dame | operations | overprocessing | parking | pass | process | radio | rules | six sigma | sports | sun life stadium | tailgate | traffic | will call As a lifelong lover of all things Notre Dame (for example, using them as examples in previous articles), I cannot put into words my level of excitement for the 2013 …Continue reading →

Modell’s Gets Burned on Tebow Jerseys and Linsanity TAGS: blitz | ceo | consulting | continuous improvement | darren rovell | domestic | espn | excess production | jeremy lin | jersey | lean | mark sanchez | merchandise | modell's | new york jets | new york knicks | operations | overseas | popular | process | production | six sigma | sports | tim tebow ESPN’s Darren Rovell shared an enlightening article today about the gambles taken by the sports merchandise store Modell’s in New York. Between “betting big” on Linsanity by ordering a slew …Continue reading →

The Holiday Season, Post Updates and a Blog Carnival Shout-Out TAGS: adult kickball | arrest | barack obama | baseball winter meetings | beyond lean | blitz | blog | booth | bud selig | cards | carnival | christmas | consulting | continuous improvement | curious cat | dallas | dump | election | elves | festivus | green bay packers | heisman trophy | integrity | inventory | john hunter | johnny football | johnny manziel | kaizen | kansas state | klein | lean | manti te'o | matt wrye | miami marlins | mitt romney | monday night football | nashville | nfl | notre dame | operations | process | referee | replacement | root cause analysis | roundup | salary | santa claus | seattle seahawks | sports | t'eo | texas a&m | toronto blue jays | trade | trade show Ahh, the holiday season is fully enveloping us. Everybody be happy and peaceful to one another during this stressful time of shopping, traveling, seasonal obligations (like choral activities where folks …Continue reading →

Sprinklers Spring Up During NFL Game TAGS: blitz | breakdown | consulting | continuous improvement | error-proofing | game | input | lean | miami dolphins | nfl | november | operations | poka-yoke | process | seattle seahawks | six sigma | sports | sprinklers | sun life stadium | technology A couple weekends ago at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, the Seattle Seahawks were battling the Miami Dolphins in a hard-fought one-score game…when this happened. Whoops. Many stadiums (if not …Continue reading →