MONEYBALL
(and how to win an unfair game!)
Why do I talk about and live the "Moneyball" concept?
Other than almost sharing my surname with the name of the book and film, both of which were inspired by real-life events in the National Baseball League in 2002, I also live and breath the mindset of the Moneyball concept, which is to use data and analytics rather than gut-feeling to make important business decisions.
Doing more with less, finding the hidden gems to gain an advantage over your competitors for a fraction of the price!
KEY MONEYBALL CONCEPTS
There are three core concepts to the successful implementation and usage of the moneyball concept.
Rational Methods get results
The core reason, why the Oakland A's were so successful with so little money, they took rational decisions.
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They developed a whole swathe of KPI's and metrics to measure the importance and potential impact of potential new signings.
Baseball is a field of ignorance
A fundamental element here is the prevailing environment at the time in Baseball & the MLB. This was the complete ignorance of data, as well as preexisting, spurious bias's & opinions regarding players. Everything came down to how the scouts and experts "felt" about a players' abilities.
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Billy Beane and the Oakland A's used this ignorance to their advantage, identifying players with great metrics that other scouts and experts had wrongly thought were misfits and no longer fit to play in the MLB.
Good statistics possess power
Billy Beane and his statistician - Bill James - were able to dispense with the few statistics that other "experts" were using such as fielding errors, which had little value.
Instead they identified the KPIs and metrics, which would generate more wins, such as "slugging percentage" and "On-base percentage". So, when they were buying a player, they were actually buying runs.
THE BOOK
Author: Michael Lewis​
Release Date: 2003
The bestselling book that later inspired the film of the same name, tells the story of the Oakland A's and how they nearly won the MLB, as well as all the data behind this amazing David vs Goliath story.
APPLY MONEYBALL TO YOUR BUSINESS
The Moneyball concept is not limited to Baseball or the domain of sports only, business can utilise this way of thinking to beat their rivals.
Collect Data
Ensure you are collecting accurate and relevant data.
Visualise Data
Its time to visualise and present your findings to the decision makers. Use a toolset like LookerStudio or Tableau, so you can continue using the same visualisations.
Process & Audit Data
Process and validate that data, ensure its correctness, consistency & relevance.
Action!
This is what it's all about: ACTION! Optimise your campaigns, websites and other online activities to improve performance.
Analyse Data
Analyse that data to gain important insights.
Review
Continue to look back on your data. Have your changes delivered success? Were your success/failure criteria fulfilled?
THE FILM
Director: Bennett Miller​
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Chris Pratt.
Release Date: 2011
Inspired by the bestselling book of the same name, tells the story of the Oakland A's and how they nearly won the MLB, as well as all the data behind this amazing David vs Goliath story.