Toronto Star Article about Buffalo Bisons and Toronto Blue Jays TAGS: 51s | AAA | baseball | buffalo bisons | consulting | interview | las vegas | lean | lean blitz | morgan campbell | new york mets | sports | toronto blue jays | toronto star Earlier this year I wrote a post about how the New York Mets were changing their AAA affiliate from the Buffalo Bisons to the Las Vegas 51s and that they …Continue reading →

Team Websites Facilitate the Sales Process TAGS: augusta | baseball | broken | consulting | continuous improvement | funnel | greenjackets | lean | lean blitz | minor league | phone number | process | sales | sports | website | yellow pages Lean is the operational management philosophy about providing exactly what the client wants, when they want it, and in the condition/location where they want it, all while doing it as …Continue reading →

#EarthDay 2013 and Conservation of Resources TAGS: 2013 | baseball | conservation | consulting | earth day | hot dogs | inventory | lean | lean blitz | operations | sourcing | sports | strategic | transportation | waiting Today is Earth Day 2013, and the Earth Day mission is to promote actions toward environmental protection and conservation. The focus of Earth Day 2013 is The Face of Climate Change. …Continue reading →

The Miami Marlins and Why Throwing Money At Problems Doesn’t Make Sense TAGS: ame | art byrne | baseball | ceo | consulting | contracts | espn | hoshin kanri | jeffrey loria | league | lean | lean blitz | major | mark graban | marlins | miami | payroll | spending | strategy I’ve piled on the Miami Marlins before (see here and here) but the organization continues to shoot itself in the foot. I won’t get into any more of those details. …Continue reading →

The Designated Hitter and Poor Root Cause Analysis TAGS: american league | anniversary | baseball | bob gibson | designated hitter | five whys | free agency | lean blitz consulting | luis tiant | national league | reserve clause | rob neyer | ron blomberg | root cause analysis | sb nation | sports Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the first use of a Designated Hitter in a Major League Baseball game. Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees made history as he …Continue reading →

A #Lean Look at the #Baseball Jersey Manufacturing Process TAGS: baseball | buttons | error-proofing | inventory | jersey | jerseys | lean | lean blitz consulting | majestic | meredith marakovits | mlb | overprocessing | pants | pockets | production | sports | uniform | waste | yes network | zippers Rob Neyer of SBNation shared this great video from the YES Network on how Majestic manufactures the game jerseys for the New York Yankees. With an eye on the eight …Continue reading →

Minnesota Twins Shorten Communication Gaps AND Minimize Beer Keg Transportation TAGS: baseball | beer | columbus blue jackets | concessions | don't stop believing | english | hockey | inventory | journey | karaoke | kegs | language | lean | lean blitz consulting | lines | marc aune | minnesota twins | motion | overpurchasing | singing | spanish | spring training | stockouts | transportation | uni-watch | waiting | waste Here are two quick stories about the Minnesota Twins finding ways to increase efficiency (or productivity, which is probably a better depiction). First, the Twins have enrolled some of their …Continue reading →

Will MLB Show Little “Respect For People” By Eliminating Non-Uniformed Personnel Pension Plans? TAGS: ballpark | baseball | continuous improvement | craig calcaterra | customer experience | cut | dollar foolish | employees | enterprise | espnnewyork | executives | hardball talk | industry | lean | lean blitz consulting | major league baseball | minor league baseball | mlb | nbcsports | non-uniformed | operations | pennywise | pension | pension plans | process | respect for people | six sigma | sponsorships | sports | ticketing | waste reduction The two pillars of Lean are 1) reduction of waste activities and 2) respect for people. Some of the ways organizations respect their constituents are with fairness, sharing of best …Continue reading →

LASIK, Eyeglasses, and Eradication vs. Containment TAGS: autonomous management | baseball | bouncy pit | concession | contact lenses | contain | eradicate | eyes | fun zone | glasses | injection molding | kaizen | lasik | lean blitz | oil dry | operations | pa system | problem | process | root cause analysis | six sigma | solving | sports | stand | standardized work The most common types of vision correction solutions are eyeglasses and contact lenses. They compensate for the inability to properly focus our eye’s internal tissues comfortably by providing additional focal …Continue reading →

Ray Chapman, Carl Mays, and Baseball Safety TAGS: babe ruth | baseball | blitz | carl mays | cleveland indians | consulting | continuous improvement | fatality | lean | new york yankees | operations | process | ray chapman | six sigma | sports On August 16, 1920, Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch from New York Yankees pitcher Carl Mays. Bleeding profusely, he walked off the …Continue reading →

Long Overdue Thank-Yous TAGS: augusta | baseball | blitz | consulting | continuous improvement | dayton | georgia | lean | ohio | operations | process | six sigma | sports | thanks With 2012 winding down, there are a few key posts I’d like to share before we flip the calendar to 2013. This first one is to recognize (just about) everyone …Continue reading →

Kickball Kaizen!! TAGS: adult | ballers | baseball | blitz | co-ed | columbia | consulting | curve | helping young professionals emerge | hype | kaizen | kickball | lean | miami | ohio | operations | piqua | pitching | playoffs | process | six sigma | south carolina | sports | troy | waka | world adult kickball association I love adult kickball, almost to the point of obsession. Combining co-ed athletic competition, a childhood staple, and the social atmosphere after games, I was hooked almost immediately after being …Continue reading →

The Filth and Disgusting Health Behaviors at Wrigley Field TAGS: 5S | baseball | big league stew | blitz | blog | chicago cubs | cleaning | concessions | consulting | disdain | disgusting | documentation | espn | everywhere | facilities | fan | feces | field | filth | filthy | five whys | gross | hands | health | indiana | inspector | issues | lean | maintenance | major league baseball | management | opening day | operating | operations | playbook | procedures | process | root cause analysis | set in order | shine | sort | sports | stadium | standardize | standards | strategy | sun-times | sustain | tpm | training | ufe | ufe.com | upkeep | urine | visual | wash | with leather | wrigley | yahoo sports I came across this little op-ed piece on ESPN.com’s Playbook about Wrigley Field being the grossest sports stadium in the four major North American sports leagues, sharing a little bit …Continue reading →

Football Fans Falling from Stadium Upper Decks TAGS: alcohol | answers | arrowhead | atlanta falcons | barriers | baseball | blitz | chick-fil-a | chiefs | colorado rockies | consulting | continuous improvement | coors field | death | drinking | escalator | facilitate | fall | field | football | georgia dome | harness | hazards | houston | kansas city | kickoff | lean | nc state | nets | operations | osha | process | reliant stadium | safety | sports | stadium | tennessee | texans | texas rangers | upper deck | walls The 2012 football season was barely a week old when two fatal falls from stadium upper decks took place. First, a fan fell from a fifth-floor escalator at Reliant Stadium …Continue reading →

A Link from ESPN, a Contribution, and Guest Post That Ruffled Some Feathers TAGS: baseball | baseball think factory | ben hill | ben's biz | blog | charleston | collegiate wood bat league | david schoenfield | diamond sports | draft | espn | feathers | home run derby | home runs | insidethebook | lean blitz consulting | leanblog.org | links | major league baseball | mark graban | minor | mlb | mlb.com | operations | pace of game | process | professional | quality | ruffle | scout | south atlantic league | south carolina | sports | statistics | summer | sweetspot | tangotiger | uss yorktown In the last few weeks I’ve been fortunate to provide contributions to some notable blogs and outlets. First, my analysis of the Major League Baseball pace-of-game regulations was shared by …Continue reading →