Playing to Win

By Marna Meier

What have you got to lose? It's time to start winning.

Whether you'd like to wrangle your entire business into a more efficient, profit-making machine, or you just want to tackle that one business problem keeping you up at night, this book is for you. 

Marna uses (and teaches) efficiency practices known as "Lea

• Language: English
• Publisher: Niche Pressworks
• Release date: Aug 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9781952654602

Book preview

Playing to Win

Transform Complicated Business Problems into Simple Solutions Using Lean Six Sigma

(Even if you don’t know what it is...yet!)

Transform Complicated Business Problems into Simple Solutions Using Lean Six Sigma

(Even if you don’t know what it is...yet!)

Marna J. Meier

Indianapolis

Playing to Win: Transform Complicated Business Problems into Simple Solutions Using Lean Six Sigma (Even if you don’t know what it is...yet!)

Copyright © 2023 by MARNA J. MEIER

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written consent of the author, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law.

Neither the publisher nor the individual author(s) shall be liable for any physical, psychological, emotional, financial, or commercial damages, including, but not limited to, special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. You are responsible for your own choices, actions, and results.

These stories actually happened, but names and other details have been changed. Some events have been combined into composite characters. Everything is depicted as truthfully as recollection permits and/or can be verified by research.

Any product names, logos, brands, and other trademarks or images found or referred to within this work is the property of their respected trademark holders. These trademark holders are not affiliated with or endorsers of this literature work or marnameier.com.

For permission to reprint portions of this content or bulk purchases, contact [e-mail]

ISBN-13: 978-1-952654-59-6 paperback

ISBN-13: 978-1-952654-61-9 hardback

ISBN-13: 978-1-952654-60-2 eBook

Published by Niche Pressworks, Indianapolis, IN

http://NichePressworks.com

Photographer: Jaime Belden 

Figure Illustrations by Emily Marshburn

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated

to all who pursue excellence

and are on a journey of

continuous improvement.

And to everyone who tries to improve

1 percent every day.

You are my people!

Table of Contents

THE GAME PLAN

Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

A Little Help from Your Friends

Why Are You Here?

What Is Lean, and Why Do You Want to Use It?

One of My Favorite Things—The 5 S’s

STARTING POINT

Looking Around the Classroom

To Your Starting Position!

Walking the Walk

Find the Fences

SORT

In the Classroom: Sorting the Chaos

What is Sort?

Sorting out Your Organization: Some Examples

5 Whys

Voice of the Customer

Sorting Can Save You Millions

Sorting Reports: The Process

On, Donner! On, Blitzen!

STRAIGHTEN

In the Classroom: a New Game

How to Straighten

Removing the Kinks

On the Line

Lean Daily Management

Lean Daily Management on Steroids

SHINE

Back in the Classroom: Plan-Do-Check-Act

How Shine Works

Polish

Stop

STANDARDIZE

Checking In on the Classroom

How to Standardize

Following the Rules

A New Dance Craze?

Job Security?

Insert Logo Here

SUSTAIN

In the Classroom: Monday May Madness

Keep on Keeping On

Don’t Stop Believin’

Maintaining Sustain

Sustaining Made Easy

Schedules

LET’S PLAY

Just Start

Choices, Choices, Choices

Charters, Stakeholders, and Scope. Oh My!

Lessons Learned

Party!

Remember the 5 S’s

Micro-Improvements Make a Difference

Changing Times

Don’t Let Perfect Get in the Way of Better

THE NEXT STEP

A New Set of Eyes

The Offer

ENDNOTES

HEARTFELT THANKS

PRAISE FOR PLAYING TO WIN

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

THE GAME PLAN

If you can get just one percent better at something each day, by the end of a year…you will be 37 times better.

—James Clear

Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Do you ever find yourself wanting to do something totally different? Well, I did. In what was perhaps NOT my most well-thought-out decision, I took a year off from my efficiency practice and worked in a fifth-grade classroom. It went…well, worse than I could have possibly imagined. It was paper-airplane and fart-spray bad. I certainly