When trying to find answers to this question I discovered the Kaizen methodology. Less of a productivity “system” used to organise a to-do list, Kaizen is a philosophy based on an optimistic belief in our potential for continuous improvement.
If you’re always looking for better ways to do things, and willing to give them a try, it’s just a step up to formalise it.
A bit of background
After the World War II was over, the American occupation forces were assigned the task to help Japan recover from the damages. American experts in cooperation with Japanese business managers developed new ways to improve quality and productivity.
Kaizen consistent practice of learning through seeing, doing, and acting were imperative; the application of standardised written instructions for all processes and practices made understanding and spreading information essential.
Respect for people was also a key part of the methodology. Not in the sense that we must like the people we work with, or get along with them, or even think they are good people. But that we understand that they are moral peers, not merely instruments suited for some business purpose.
Small steps
One of the most notable features of kaizen is that big results come from many small changes accumulated over time. This has been misunderstood to mean that kaizen equals small changes. While the majority of changes may be small, the greatest impact may be improvements that are led by senior management as transformational projects, or by cross-functional teams as Kaizen events. In fact, Kaizen means everyone is involved in making improvements.
Nowadays, along with Lean and Six Sigma, Kaizen is implemented by a majority of organisations to ensure continuous development and efficiency.
Six strategies to make Kaizen work at a personal level
Kaizen is inherently innovative, and promotes continuous improvement and change. But the resistance to change is inherent to human beings.
Change is frightening!
This human fact is unavoidable. This fear of change is rooted in the brain’s physiology, and when fear takes hold it can prevent creativity, change and success.
The Kaizen approach is a highly effective method for building new neural connections in the brain that will help you overcome fear and change by taking small steps, and effectively rewiring your nervous system. The key is that if you take a very small step or set yourself a very small goal, the fear will be bypassed and the fight-or-flight response that commonly occurs in your brain in the face of immediate danger won’t be triggered.
Robert Maurer introduces in his book, “One Small Step Can Change Your Live”, six different strategies to program your brain:
- Asking small questions to dispel fear and inspire creativity
- Thinking small thoughts to develop new skills and habits- without moving a muscle
- Taking small actions that guarantee success
- Solving small problems, even when you are faced with an overwhelming crisis
- Bestowing small rewards to yourself or others to produce the best results
- Recognising the small but crucial moments that everyone ignores
By doing activities slightly differently, our brain builds new neural pathways and our minds quietly develop a desire for this new behaviour, whether it’s regular exercise, a new way of eating, or spending time with a more loving group of friends.
“Consider how the world might be different if more of us conducted our social, business, and romantic lives with the belief that small steps matter, that even the shortest contact with another person is inherently important.”
To read more:
From One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way – https://www.amazon.com/Small-Step-Change-Your-Life/dp/076118032X
Healthful Elements – https://www.healthfulelements.com/blog/2015/01/kaizen-approach-change