Kaizen: quote

A quote for the day:

Constant dripping hollows out a stone.
— The Roman poet Lucretius (98-55 BCE)

The Japanese Garden, Washington Park, Portland, Oregon USA

Kaizen: solve small problems

There are many instances when we must solve large problems because we failed to notice them when they were small. Tiny changes can add up for good and for ill. Consider these examples:

"Just a drop in the bucket" adds up to gallons of sweet maple syrup

• The uncomfortable chair that causes a small back problem that flares into a major disability.
• The daily 100-calorie indulgence that adds an unwanted 20 pounds in a year.
• The small irritation imposed on a client (“…press 8 to speak to a customer service representative…”) that costs referrals and eventually the relationship itself.
• The small pieces of insulating foam that regularly break away from the space shuttle’s fuselage, at first having no apparent impact, eventually damaging the wing, causing failure on re-entry.

Here’s a kaizen improvement technique that anyone can use, courtesy of Robert Maurer, author of One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way. It will help to bring focus to small problems before they have out-sized consequences down the road.

Step 1: Each day identify one mistake you have made, without becoming angry with yourself. (This step alone will carry you closer to your goals for excellence by helping you notice what is available for improvement.)

Step 2: Ask yourself whether that mistake might reflect a larger problem. For example, if you misplaced your keys, is it an indication that you are over-committed, you are trying to multitask, or are too distracted?

Step 3: If so, ask yourself, what small step can I take to correct this situation?

There is nothing more productive than to deal with small problems before they become large. The kaizen mindset shows the way.

(For more about the concept of kaizen and how it relates to productivity, search my tags for earlier posts on this topic, and contact me through my website.)

Improvement: Kaizen quote

A quote for the day:

Do not fear going slowly; only fear standing still. ~~ Chinese proverb

Improvement: Tiptoeing past “Amy”

by Margaret Lukens, New Leaf + Company LLC

Like weight loss, getting organized is one of the top five resolutions on New Year’s lists. Every year. So why are we not all specimens of peak productivity and perfect health by now?

While it’s undeniable that sometimes change happens in an eye-blink, more often getting good results requires consistent application of a new practice until that new practice becomes a habit.

We humans are uniquely able to work at cross-purposes to our own desires and commitments. I may decide to write a book or do 30 minutes of cardio every day, no matter what, but in the crush of competing values and interests the work required to produce five good pages or get on the rebounder loses out. There is some stress involved in making even the most beneficial changes.

One factor that contributes to our reluctance to change is seated in the part of our brain responsible for our emotional learning, the amygdala. I’ll call it “Amy”. When something is emotionally powerful, it is Amy’s job to record that memory. In the average person Amy is moderately risk-averse, avoiding the repetition of painful or stressful experience. To make positive change, we must charm her.

One way to avoid activating all of Amy’s powers against stressful change is to tiptoe past, by making small incremental changes. Focus on one improvement at a time, and implement it gradually. Make a list of all the positive changes you’d like to make, then choose just one to work on daily for a week or a month before adding another.

(Thanks to Jennifer McDaniel-Wolfe, CPO, CPO-CD, of Organize for Life LLC in Milwaukee, and her April 12 session at the National Association of Professional Organizers conference for some of the ideas in this post. A CD of her session is available from VW Tapes.)

Will incremental change be sufficient to get you to your goal? I’ll address that question later in the week.

Improvement: Kaizen or the Big Win?

by Margaret Lukens, New Leaf + Company LLC

When making changes in habits or processes to improve productivity, which is better: to make a dramatic change or to move ahead with small incremental steps?

Some people tend to opt for the sweeping gesture. Comparing habit change to removing a band-aid, they want to yank it off in one fell swoop rather than remove it by stages. Or comparing habit change to a business deal, they go for the “big win”, aiming for the one life-changing event.

Others adopt the kaizen approach. Kaizen is a method (some call it a philosophy) brought to public attention in recent years by the success of the Japanese auto-makers. (See the article by James Surowiecki in the May 12, 2008 issue of The New Yorker entitled “The Open Secret of Success”.) Usually translated as “continuous improvement”, it refers to a process of looking to get the greatest impact by consistent adjustments in all phases of the manufacturing process.

This week I plan to explore the question of which method is most useful, not to an auto manufacturer, but to the busy professional, who may be a knowledge worker, service provider, or worker in a creative field.

What have you tried, kaizen or the big win? What worked for you? Please post your responses here, and stay tuned for more on this subject in the coming days.