Reminder: I'm doing a webinar today on the themes of my book Measures of Success. You can now pre-order the book through the Amazon Kindle Store. Or, you can still buy the in-progress version through LeanPub.com.
Here is my latest article that I published on LinkedIn:
Is the Reported Drop in Major League Baseball Attendance a “Signal” or “Noise” in the Data?
I hope you'll check it out.
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Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. His latest book is Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. He also published the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.
I like how you framed the data several ways, Mark. It proves out the old adage, “There’s lies, damn lies, and statistics.” ;-) Overall, I think the data points to noise in the system, especially when viewed since 1980. With so many variables at play it’s very hard to pinpoint root causes for this specific season – I believe there are many – but I do believe one responder is onto at least one special cause for this season’s lower attendance – the cold weather early in the year that led to, I think, the most cancellations of games in the past 30 years, not to mention low attendance for games that weren’t cancelled.
Overall – this is noise.