Baseball usage: Runners in scoring position. Business usage: A good chance of success.
Maybe it’s World Series season getting to me but lately I’ve been thinking of Continuous Improvement in baseball terms. Which is weird since I’m an A’s fan and we won’t be playing there; neither are we improving. But a sports analogy warning anyway:
Most Continuous Improvement programs focus on hitting home runs. They’re too broad, swing for the fences, and have everyone hoping for that dinger before they strike out — meaning the project looses inertia or otherwise fails.
It’s important to note that in the last 100 Major League seasons there’s been an average of 6.5 strikeouts per home run. Almost exactly the same as for big projects in the Fortune 500, according to the Harvard Business Review. It makes you think.
So instead, why not start Continuous Improvement programs using what baseball calls "small ball" — getting on base with singles or even walks* and then working runners around until they score. This would generate results on a monthly and quarterly basis and create lots of fans.
Then maybe consider bringing Hank Aaron in. In the meantime, you can’t strike out if you’re on base.
One more baseball-ish analogy — I’ve found it’s ok, and often better, to have a different team lineup for every game**. More folks involved with successes creates a winning culture faster.
Oh yeah, the asterisks, turns out baseball loves them…
*Walks are the low hanging fruit everyone talks about in Continuous Improvement but that no one has picked.
**Games being improvement sprints just long enough to create a meaningful and firm step toward the goal.
Maybe I’ll do football next time. It’s just not a great week for that here in Colorado!
