Skip to content

World Cup Ball Science Offers a Lesson for Proactive Operations

| June 21, 2018 | By

“Each World Cup, the sportswear giant Adidas designs an official ball to be used in the tournament,” writes Merrit Kennedy in their recent NPR article entitled “The Science Behind The World Cup Ball.”

“And small changes in the design can create significant differences in how the ball responds during play,” Kennedy continues.

"It's an interesting phenomena that the world's most popular sporting event for the world's most popular sport and the most important piece of equipment in that sport is changed every World Cup," says John Eric Goff, a physics professor at Lynchburg College in Virginia, in the NPR article.

According to Kennedy, “The new ball is called the Telstar 18. It has six panels and a slick black-and-white design inspired by Russian cityscapes. It's meant to be a nod to a less technologically advanced predecessor, the Telstar ball used in the 1970 World Cup.”

Kennedy explains later in the NPR piece, “The technology used in making the balls has changed significantly since that 1970 World Cup ball. Earlier Adidas models featured 32 panels stitched together, Goff says, but more recent models have fewer panels that are thermally bonded.”

“And the changes have sometimes had what appear to be unintended effects on the physical properties of the official ball. For example, Goff points to ‘the dreaded 2010 Jabulani ball that was used in South Africa," shares Kennedy.

We love the exciting complexities and effects of science.

But, we love helping operations become proactive even more.

Kennedy’s article poses an interesting lesson for us here.

It’s not groundbreaking but does showcase fundamentals that could help your property achieve Proactive Operations.

So, do you see it?

Iteration Plays a Vital Part in Achieving Excellence

The lesson from the NPR article jumped right off the page as soon as we read it.

You’re not going to achieve perfection, but when you shoot for it, you will achieve excellence.

That can be done through iterative improvements.

It’s also important to understand that you must get started sooner rather than later because achieving Proactive Operations and reaching maximum performance takes time.

It won’t happen overnight!

But, if you do get started now, you can create your operation’s version of the Telstar 18 Adidas built for the 2018 World Cup.

Iteration.

Iteration.

Iteration!

Understand the needs of your operation and where you can take it.

Then, work – incessantly – to make the incremental improvements we’re talking about that last a lifetime.

But, don’t be blind to what you might be missing either.

Don’t be bias to what you believe to be fact.

That can be a dangerous game to play. It could cripple your operation right under your nose and hurt the people you’re charged with protecting.

You need a framework.

Then you’ll have a starting point to measure against.

A Disciplined Framework for Managing Improvements

Have you ever considered that you might be “winging it” when it comes to ‘improving’ your operation?

It’s often common practice when leaders try to improve their operation without a proven methodology in place.

You believe your making improvements to better your operation, but you don’t have the right framework, methodology, processes, and data to know the truth.

Think about it…

  • What issues or incidents are occurring that you don’t really know to exist?
  • Are your customers’ belongings disappearing into the dark abyss that is your lost & found storage?
  • Is equipment breaking on your watch over and over, costing your organization lots of money?

That’s only three yet acute items on your laundry list of hazardous possibilities.

Let’s change that today.

Use Proactive Operations to Program Your Operation

You need to program your operation to effectively and efficiently manage fixes, improvements, and optimization.

The Proactive Operations methodology will help.

We’ll give you a brief breakdown of what you need, but learn about every aspect of it here.

It’s enlightening for your operation.

Trust us.

Proactive Operations defines what every property, in every industry, must strive to achieve.

It represents those operations that have taken or plan to take their operation to the highest level of performance.

Strategy, Infrastructure, and Technology are the three pillars of the Proactive Operations methodology that work to produce and continuously support a world-class operation.

By employing each of these pillars, you can ensure each iteration you make to your operation sticks – and only improves day by day.

How does that sound?

(Now, the only thing missing is your official Adidas 2018 World Cup Ball you can pick up for $124.)

Over to You

You want to improve your operation but might not have the right framework in place to effectively and efficiently manage each iteration.

By employing a proven methodology like Proactive Operations today, you can ensure that your improvements positively affect your operation for the lifetime of your property.

So, will you be employing Proactive Operations to ensure your iterations have a long-term, positive impact on your operation?

Learn how to employ Proactive Operations using strategy, infrastructure & technology.

Related Blog Posts

3 Things Stadium Managers Can Learn From the Players of the Sony Open
Risk Management

3 Things Stadium Managers Can Learn From the Players of the Sony Open

June 21, 2018 2 min read
How Do You Evolve Your Operation? With Proactive Operations, Pillar by Pillar
Proactive Operations

How Do You Evolve Your Operation? With Proactive Operations, Pillar by Pillar

June 21, 2018 2 min read
Goodbye to the ‘Surrender Cobra’ in Your Operation
Proactive Operations

Goodbye to the ‘Surrender Cobra’ in Your Operation

June 21, 2018 2 min read
View All Posts