Tag Archives: billy beane

Great Leadership and the Business of Baseball

Posted on October 2, 2011 by
Don't try to tell me the season isn't over, you annoying Yankee fans

Well, the season is over for my beleaguered SF Giants, but I just got back from seeing the movie Moneyball and it was a worthy substitute for a day at the ballpark.  I loved this Michael Lewis book when it came out and remember it as my all time favorite book about business.  I know millions have written about Moneyball, but the movie made a big impression and reminded me why I loved the book so much so I thought I’d make a note here.

Moneyball is ostensibly about how the Oakland A’s of the early 2000′s blew up conventional baseball by adopting Sabermetrics:  the art of selecting players based on statistical models instead of old-school scouting. Sabermetrics was “invented” by a guy named Bill James, who was a baseball fanatic and a security guard at a pork and beans factory.  It was popularized by A’s General Manager Billy Beane, a former baseball player who failed after being hailed as a golden boy prospect on the field.  As the story unfolds, it appears Beane has virtually lost his mind after losing in the play-offs and sets to work  building … (read the rest)

Posted in General Business Issues, Healthcare private equity, Healthcare Venture Capital, Random Thoughts of the Day, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Government as an Engine for Innovation

Posted on July 21, 2010 by

I’ve been thinking a great deal about the newly formed Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. (CMI). This entity was established as a result of the Affordable Care Act (the new healthcare reform legislation) and its purpose is to “research, develop, test and expand innovative payment and service delivery models that will improve the quality and reduce the costs of care for” patients covered by CMS-related programs. The legislation gives this entity over $10 billion dollars initially and broad authority to figure out new ways of doing things better and differently than before. What is great about CMI is that they have the authority to run their programs much more like a business would without many historical governmental constraints. That’s great news for innovation, which is sorely needed in the U.S. healthcare system.

Among the key objectives that the administration has discussed is how to transition the collective mindset from one of healthcare to one of health. In other words, if a person is healthy, they do not need health CARE. This is a very important distinction; it puts the emphasis on prevention and wellness as opposed to what … (read the rest)

Posted in Girls Rule!, Healthcare Reform, Healthcare Venture Capital, Venture Capital, Women in Venture Capital & Private Equity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments