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 →

#Kaizen & The Leaky Rowboat TAGS: address | boat | consulting | continuous improvement | eradicate | event | far side | ignore | kaizen | leaky | lean blitz | mindset | operations | problems | row | sports | stopgap You’re in a rowboat that has sprung a leak and is taking in water. You’re rowing to shore but a couple miles away. What are your options? – You can …Continue reading →

The 2013 #Masters: Low Scores and Standardized Work TAGS: albatross | augusta national | clubs | continuous improvement | golf | golf club | history | kaizen | lean | lean blitz consulting | louis oosthuizen | masters | operations | par | process | sports | standardized work | streamline | takt time | tiger woods Masters Week is finally here! All of the golf world has descended upon Augusta, Georgia for April 8-14 for the 2013 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Last year …Continue reading →

The 2013 #Masters: Coaching Is Auditing AND Facilitating Improvement TAGS: audit | auditing | augusta national golf club | benefit | coach | coaching | continuous improvement | georgia | improvement | lean blitz consulting | masters | operations | process | project | punitive | quality | sports | standards | zach johnson | zack johnson Masters Week is finally here! All of the golf world has descended upon Augusta, Georgia for April 8-14 for the 2013 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. The Masters …Continue reading →

The 2013 #Masters: The #Lean Blog Podcast about Lean in Sports TAGS: 2013 | augusta national | bcs | championship | consulting | continuous improvement | david meier | eric ries | golf | jeffrey liker | jim womack | lean blitz | lean blog | major league baseball | mark graban | masters | miami | mlb | norman bodek | notre dame | operations | pace of game | pace of play | podcast | process | sports MP3 File (run time 33:12) Masters Week is finally here! All of the golf world has descended upon Augusta, Georgia for April 8-14 for the 2013 Masters golf tournament at …Continue reading →

Miami Marlins Suing Season Ticket Holders Over Complaints About Seating TAGS: challenge extended network | continuous improvement | craig calcaterra | customer service | jeffrey loria | lawsuit | lean blitz consulting | leon | miami marlins | miami new times | operations | principle #11 | process | root cause analysis | season tickets | sports | toyota way While hosting tiny crowds in a tax-financed new stadium with a team that now features no notable superstars, the Miami Marlins have found a new way to ruffle the feathers …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 →

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 →

Mobile Beer Vendors Cut Customer Wait Times At Sporting Events TAGS: beer | concessions | continuous improvement | customer experience | futbol | lean blitz consulting | leansempai | mobile | operations | process | russell watkins | sempai | six sigma | Soccer | sports | transportation | vendor | waiting | walking | waste Russell Watkins of Sempai Lean Consulting in the UK posted a great photo on Twitter this weekend from a soccer (okay, futbol) game he attended: On the plus side, mobile …Continue reading →

Additional Notes on Efficiency TAGS: baseball reference | billy beane | boston red sox | continuous improvement | defects | dpmo | efficiency | energy conservation | field goal percentage | hall of fame | hoosiers | hr | indiana university | lean blitz | lean blitz consulting | lebron james | mcdonald's | miami heat | moneyball | obp | on base percentage | operations | paul depodesta | process | productivity | rbi | six sigma | sports | ted williams | victor oladipo On Monday we looked at efficiency with field goal shooting percentages for Indiana’s Victor Oladipo and the Miami Heat’s LeBron James as well as points-per-possession efficiency on offense and defense …Continue reading →

Where I Got My Start In Lean (and Sports) TAGS: automotive industry | autonomous management | consulting | continuous improvement | dannon | dr. robert jacobs | eaton corporation | engineer | georgia | indiana university | kaizen | kelley school of business | l.a.m.e. | lean | lean as misguidedly executed | lean blitz | lean in name only | mark fougerousse | ohio | operations | optimization | plastic engineering technical services | pontiac coil | problem solving | process | root cause analysis | sandy cutler | six sigma | solving efeso | south carolina | sports | thomson plastics | tri-state university | trine | wastes I don’t often get to tell my story of how I got started with Lean, but more frequently I’m asked about how I’ve gotten into and what I’m doing with …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 →

Why Overpurchasing Is Wasteful TAGS: baseball winter meetings | batch | bulk | china | concession | consulting | continuous improvement | dayton | defects | discounts | excess | hats | inventory | lean | lean blitz | liquid assets | merchandise | motion | operations | overpurchasing | process | production | promotions | purchasing | safety | shipping | six sigma | sports | stand | transportation | up and running | wastes It’s very easy to get caught up in volume discounts – buy more at one time or buy earlier, and we’ll give you a price break on each piece. It …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 →

Goodbye, Unwanted TSA Naked Body Airport Scanners! TAGS: administration | airport | body | continuous improvement | eric ries | hassle | implementation | invade | invasive | lean blitz consulting | lean startup | minimum viable product | naked | pilot | privacy | problem | public | scanner | scans | scrap | security | transportation | tsa | tsa.gov | waste Last month the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced they were finally doing away with the awkward naked-body scanning imaging systems. When they were first introduced in 2007 they came under …Continue reading →