Continuous Improvement is part of my DNA. I embrace change. In fact, I welcome it. Striving for better, both professionally and personally to find the best way to ensure that I am doing things the most efficient, effective, and productive way, every 👏 single 👏 day👏.
So, it is a wonder why I started a new role this week that focuses on Continuous Service Improvement?... Nope!
The truth is, Continuous Improvement is actually a simple thing to achieve, yet leaders and teams who are not familiar with process improvement techniques (such as Kaizen) have a hard time implementing and sustaining it. To implement this mindset, you need to have a clear understanding of what exactly Continuous Improvement is, what principles you need and want to follow, what benefits it will bring and choose your best practice(s).
The term Continuous Improvement can easily slip into the jargon category ❌ if it has not been defined or given a specific context within the/your organisation.
To put simply, Continuous Improvement is all about learning from what you do now and making small steps to improve for efficiency, accuracy, and to be as effective as possible.
Improvement really doesn't have to be a big bang approach.
And that is why we have Kaizen.
One small step
*Kaizen can be defined as:
Using very small steps to improve a habit, a process, or product.
Using very small moments to inspire new products and inventions.
Thus, "KAIZEN™ means improvement. Moreover, it means continuing improvement in personal life, home life, social life, and working life. When applied to the workplace KAIZEN™ means continuing improvement involving everyone – managers and workers alike." - Masaaki Imai, Founder of Kaizen Institute.
(Masaaki Imai is a Japanese organisational theorist and management consultant, known for his work on quality management, specifically on Kaizen.)
A very brief history & science lesson
The term Kaizen originated in Japan shortly after the end of the Second World War. It gained massive popularity in manufacturing and became one of the foundations of Toyota’s success.
Kaizen is a combination of two words, Kai (change) and Zen (good).
Kaizen is about empowering people to make small changes to get significant results.
Kaizen is a philosophy.
Our brains are programmed to resist change. However by taking small steps, we effectively rewire our brains so that it will bypass that fight-flight-freeze response as well as creating a new connection between the neurons so that the brain enthusiastically takes over the process of change and you then progress rapidly towards the goal/aim/change/process... cool huh?!
How to implement Kaizen
Here are my top 10 tips to get yourself prepared to implement a Kaizen Method:
Reprogramme your mindset. No more: 'it has always been done that way.'
Stop going into solution mode. Understand the problem first!
Be collaborative. Yes, Rome wasn't built in a day, but it also wasn't built by a single person.
Embrace a coaching persona.
Get ready to ask WHY! (See '5 Whys' in this article ⬇)
What tools will you use on the journey? - Trello? Planner?
Think small. Ask small Questions. And take small actions
Recognition. If you see success, praise it!
Embrace Plan, Act, Check, Do
If something doesn't work, don't throw the towel. Be agile and try something else.
💡 "When you improve a little each day eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don't look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That's the only way it happens - and when it happens, it lasts!"- John Wooden
There are different ways to implement and execute the Kaizen method within a business.
As Kaizen is a philosophy rather than a specific tool.
Thus, make sure to choose a path that will best fit your team and how you work.
A good place to start is by identifying:
➡ Wastes within your business.
➡ Trends in data.
➡ Customer feedback.
➡ What is working well?
The Power of 5 Whys
When executing your improvements process, the 5 whys is a great tool to start with.
⚡ 5 whys is a problem-solving method that explores the underlying cause-and-effect of particular problems.
The aim is to determine the root cause of a problem by successively asking the question “Why?” - The concept of the number ‘5’ comes from the anecdotal observation that five iterations of asking why is usually sufficient enough to reveal the root cause. (See the video below)
Principles of Kaizen
The 5 principles are: Know your Customer, Make it Flow, Go to Gemba, Empower People and Make it Transparent.
💡 Note: You will find that there are a number of definitions of Kaizen and the way people work with it. My recommendation, stick with approved bodies and accredited companies.
The benefits
This strategy can improve the way you work dramatically.
Productivity improved.
Cost savings.
Happier staff.
And happier customers.
Fit for purpose processes.
Actual tangible results!
AND...
When done properly, Kaizen just keeps going through the cycle ⭕ identifying improvement opportunities > coming up with solutions > implementing the solutions > testing it...
If the solutions are positive, the cycle starts over with new problem / improvement opportunities. If not, you will go around the cycle again learning for what you did before, being agile and creating change.
This will continue forever, leading to an optimised process that is never satisfied with the status quo. Music 🎵 to 🎵 my 🎵 ears!
Remember keep it simple
When I was researching for this article there were times where I was overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge and data out there. It felt too much for something so simple.
In essence, a Kaizen way of working are the small steps you take to achieve your desired outcome.
Useful Resources:
Here are the resources I used in the making of this article.
Image created by Wix AI
Comments