Initially championed by Jack Welsh and GE Corporation in 1985, Six Sigma is a highly disciplined, project-based approach to attaining perfection.

There’s probably no better application for these principles and approaches than in coaching – specifically in turnaround situations. Through the application of Six Sigma principles, a coach faced with a turnaround situation can set realistic expectations on the part of the entire football community that are more oriented toward progress and getting on a “road to success”, as opposed to instant, overnight success.

The key is in the Six Sigma concept of striving for perfection. Agreeably elusive and unattainable, “striving for perfection” sets in place a mentality of progress and improvement as the key measurement of success, as opposed to strictly wins and losses. Granted, a program on the road to success will eventually be measured in the W-L column, and probably sooner than later. But, if a coach and his staff are able to identify, define, measure and report improvement on a number of “actionable items”, the emphasis can be shifted toward a program’s march toward perfection, as opposed to its “arrival”.

At the heart of any improvement program, is the establishment of goals. By evaluating past performance and possible causes for underperformance or a lack of success, the right kind of goals can be established. Depending on “where a program is”, the big picture stuff like have a winning season, win X games, make the playoffs, beat this opponent, etc might be appropriate. Equally important is the identification of the specific objectives required to accomplish the goals, as well as a disciplined system for measuring their attainment. This second list of items might include aspects of Offense, Defense and Special teams that have been earmarked for improvement, player participation levels, etc.

Fortunately, competitive athletics already has a well-entrenched orientation toward extensive statistical performance measurements. As the season develops, the progress-oriented coach can choose to emphasize those indicators that measure improvement as opposed to the traditional ones. By continually checking the measurements, evaluating performance against goals and objectives, and most importantly communicating progress on a regular basis, a coach can instill the “continual-improvement” mentality and show his or her commitment to the “game plan” and the process.