Kaizen 101: Essentials of Continuous Improvement
This Kaizen Tip was written by James Rosenegk of the Kaizen Team
Scroll down to find out more about James’ only Kaizen Open Workshop during 2011.
Why do just one thing well?
Whether you’ve been in organisations for many years or whether you’re a recent graduate just entering the workplace for the first time you’ve already experienced numerous change initiatives in your life that have affected what you do and how you can do it. And many of those changes will have been imposed from the top downwards whether by parents, teachers, bosses or organisations.
Now when that happens, the response from many people is resistance and an immediate sense of needing to push back or rebel against the change (something called a “threat response”). Now if it was you or I who had initiated that change then we’re going to have to expend energy and resources trying to get people back on side with us. Sounds like (and is) hard work!
So if you could find a better way, would you be interested? Would you be willing to invest just 3 days trying to find out how you could do that? And I’m guessing that most of you will already have answered “yes!” Well more of that later.
Of course, it’s completely possible to do things differently and changing the paradigm is easier than you think. And on top of that it’s far more engaging, has far greater personal ownership and generates greater “reward responses” so that people not only buy-in to the change, they also help to define it. Then guess what happens? That’s right; the results you were hoping for actually begin to happen.
So what is this thing? Well it’s more than just a set of methodologies and it’s far beyond just a new set of rules. This is something that permeates all levels of an organisation – public, private, for profit or not for profit. From the boardroom to the shop floor and front line, and done well achieves much more than doing just one thing well.
It’s Kaizen – and not just that as our company name. It’s a philosophy, a mindset, a way of thinking (and yes there are some tools in the mix too). It’s a way of engaging the whole
organisation in change and continuous improvement supported by true leadership enabling and empowering the organisation. It recognises that you can’t fix customer service from the boardroom alone, that you won’t understand what your employees are thinking by performing an annual attitude survey alone, that targets and averages are not the perfect way of steering and monitoring performance. Everyone needs to be engaged because for all organisations the most valuable, creative, customer focussed assets are the people inside it.
If you’re a leader or manager, when did you last go and sit on a customer phone call alongside one of your employees? When did you last go on a sales visit with a member of the sales team? When did you last walk the shop floor and talk to your people to hear about the frustrations they face from poor investment, lack of equipment maintenance or poor product specification?
As an employee when were you last asked about your ideas and when did you last submit them anyway? The solutions and proposals to the things that frustrate you and your customers every day?
That’s where Kaizen comes in. Changing the culture of the organisation to harness the knowledge and creativity of all. Everyone lining up behind a shared vision and common purpose.
So back to the 3 days: Are you ready to join me in my only open workshop in 2011? To experience what 100’s of others have already experienced during in-house programmes? To find out why, what and how to make the Kaizen difference to your customers and employees? If you are, go to my Kaizen 101 page for more of what I have to say about Kaizen’s approach to Change that Engages and to sign up for the workshop.
Your call to action:
- Stop expecting top-down initiatives to make the difference for you
- Consider how you could better harness the whole human capital of your organisation
- Start doing more than one thing well by enabling each of your employees to do what they need to do well
- Allow your customers to reap the benefits!
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go to
Kaizen Tips Archive
