Discussion Forum > Kaizen Life
This so far has been the only way to consistently create habits for myself. It's the reason why I can easily wake up at 5:30 AM now - I just moved the alarm back 5 minutes each day. I'm now applying this to a meditation habit. I'm up to three minutes and thirty seconds now, adding by thirty seconds each day. One kaizen habit at a time, otherwise I lose focus and quit super easily. :^)
May 2, 2019 at 13:32 |
MHW
MHW
I recommend a nice little book on this that I read some years ago:
"One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way" by Robert Maurer.
"One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way" by Robert Maurer.
May 9, 2019 at 14:21 |
Marc (from Brussels)
Marc (from Brussels)
Thanks for the pointer. I will check it out.
May 9, 2019 at 20:32 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
Reading the book now. Looks really good. Aspects of Kaizen I had overlooked so far include: the small improvements should always be evaluated from a customer's perspective. Will this change be good for them? There's also "using very small moments to inspire new products and inventions", which I have not thought about until now.
These past two weeks, I'm finding the Kaizen mindset to be quite effective. I'm improving slowly, but it feels like a trend I can keep up.
These past two weeks, I'm finding the Kaizen mindset to be quite effective. I'm improving slowly, but it feels like a trend I can keep up.
May 13, 2019 at 18:00 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
Turns out, Kaizen isn't originally Japanese but American. It developed in WW2 as a way to get the quality up in the conditions of total war where the traditional management methods (top down) just weren't as easy to carry out. It seems the method was more successful than expected and became a keystone of military industry during the war, and then what General MacArthur and Dr. Deming used to reboot Japanese industry after the war.
May 14, 2019 at 21:30 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
<< Turns out, Kaizen isn't originally Japanese but American. >>
That kind of stuff always fascinates me. Did you get this from that book?
Other similar examples - there's a lot of "traditional Japanese business practice" that actually originated with W. Edwards Deming. And a lot of stuff about Lean that people assume is Japanese but is really just Toyota Production System, pioneered by Taichi Ohno, and not adopted much in Japan outside of Toyota. Etc.
That kind of stuff always fascinates me. Did you get this from that book?
Other similar examples - there's a lot of "traditional Japanese business practice" that actually originated with W. Edwards Deming. And a lot of stuff about Lean that people assume is Japanese but is really just Toyota Production System, pioneered by Taichi Ohno, and not adopted much in Japan outside of Toyota. Etc.
May 15, 2019 at 3:05 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
I'm still pondering over how Kaizen can be most effective when it's applied to one's constraint or core problem -- or a key element of a vicious cycle that causes a core problem to persist -- and wondering how to find rules of thumb to simplify the process of steering Kaizen towards these things more automatically, so it is more effective.
There's an interesting book by Andy Core called Change Your Day, Not Your Life. I bought the book after hearing Andy Core speak at my job once. That one main idea is pretty powerful. Instead of looking at how to change things over the course of years (goals, objectives, resolutions, etc.), think more about how to change your day (habits, systems, processes). He gives some simple examples. Anyway, I guess Kaizen applies to things like this, not so much to things like how to achieve a goal. So think of one or two key things that will make your day better -- apply Kaizen to it -- and it will compound every day into a big result.
Sorry for "thinking out loud" here, there is something niggling at me here, I can't put my finger on it, I feel like there is an idea lurking here somewhere I am trying to tease out. Kaizen can produce mediocre results when applied haphazardly but powerful results when it hits on a core issue, like hitting a water main, or a vein of ore, or a deep well. Theory of Constraints is very powerful for finding those core issues -- the constraints -- but it can be very time-consuming, mentally challenging, even exhausting, and there are many pitfalls in the process. So how to apply Kaizen and TOC to themselves and find a fast, reliable, simple, effective process to get a consistent stream of small but meaningful breakthroughs in one's life and world? It just seems there has got to be a way to do that...
There's an interesting book by Andy Core called Change Your Day, Not Your Life. I bought the book after hearing Andy Core speak at my job once. That one main idea is pretty powerful. Instead of looking at how to change things over the course of years (goals, objectives, resolutions, etc.), think more about how to change your day (habits, systems, processes). He gives some simple examples. Anyway, I guess Kaizen applies to things like this, not so much to things like how to achieve a goal. So think of one or two key things that will make your day better -- apply Kaizen to it -- and it will compound every day into a big result.
Sorry for "thinking out loud" here, there is something niggling at me here, I can't put my finger on it, I feel like there is an idea lurking here somewhere I am trying to tease out. Kaizen can produce mediocre results when applied haphazardly but powerful results when it hits on a core issue, like hitting a water main, or a vein of ore, or a deep well. Theory of Constraints is very powerful for finding those core issues -- the constraints -- but it can be very time-consuming, mentally challenging, even exhausting, and there are many pitfalls in the process. So how to apply Kaizen and TOC to themselves and find a fast, reliable, simple, effective process to get a consistent stream of small but meaningful breakthroughs in one's life and world? It just seems there has got to be a way to do that...
May 15, 2019 at 3:15 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
There's that aluminum company (Alcan?) that took on a new CEO at a time it was struggling. He decided radical transformation was needed and chose as catalyst to mandate Safety as the number one priority. This priority was implemented in Kaizen fashion where if any worker sw a safety issue they had the authority to propose a change on the spot and get it addressed. They could propose operational changes and equipments improvement.
This resulted in a vast improvement in safety, but also morale, efficiency (no more work stoppage for spills or injury), and production.
I think this is the kind of big-picture direction low-level implementation you are digging for.
This resulted in a vast improvement in safety, but also morale, efficiency (no more work stoppage for spills or injury), and production.
I think this is the kind of big-picture direction low-level implementation you are digging for.
May 15, 2019 at 14:22 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
I think the aluminum company example is in Duhigg's The Power of Habit. The new CEO was absolutely committed. He gave his home number to junior employees, and fired a good friends after an accident because, even though it was handled well in every other way, they didn't immediately call the CEO to report it. Choosing safety was brilliant. It's unusual, so it set him apart. It affects morale. It's something often cut to save costs.
Kaizen, if done only at a small scale, can result in local optimums, like a really efficient paperclip sorting system. Goldratt's The Goal covers this multiple times in different ways.
I think Kaizen can make a huge difference if it's on the right things. Even things that seem small can build. Learning how much I can realistically do in a day, and how to organize it to make the best use of my focus and energy, help me plan my week, which in turns helps me plan my month, year, etc. Having all my snack food in one place saves me only a few seconds, unless you also count the time I'd spend looking through the fridge for something else, re-organizing a shelf, wiping a spill, etc.
Kaizen, if done only at a small scale, can result in local optimums, like a really efficient paperclip sorting system. Goldratt's The Goal covers this multiple times in different ways.
I think Kaizen can make a huge difference if it's on the right things. Even things that seem small can build. Learning how much I can realistically do in a day, and how to organize it to make the best use of my focus and energy, help me plan my week, which in turns helps me plan my month, year, etc. Having all my snack food in one place saves me only a few seconds, unless you also count the time I'd spend looking through the fridge for something else, re-organizing a shelf, wiping a spill, etc.
May 15, 2019 at 15:56 |
Cricket
Cricket
Duhigg's other book, "Smarter, Better, Faster" proposes that to reach a goal you need two parts: First a well defined objective (think S.M.A.R.T.), and second a tiny next step plan that you can easily carry out.
I think Kaizen is the same way. To be successful in the big you need a solid objective. Then you need to figure how you will approach it. If you reach a local optimum for small changes, you need to change the metric to something that will lead you to the next level of performance. In "The Goal", a key metric was "impact on the bottleneck step", instead of "my station is maximally efficient". You can still use Kaizen to help approach that solution by having individuals consider what they can do. This is not exclusive of bigger process changes, but even those can often be rolled out incrementally.
I think Kaizen is the same way. To be successful in the big you need a solid objective. Then you need to figure how you will approach it. If you reach a local optimum for small changes, you need to change the metric to something that will lead you to the next level of performance. In "The Goal", a key metric was "impact on the bottleneck step", instead of "my station is maximally efficient". You can still use Kaizen to help approach that solution by having individuals consider what they can do. This is not exclusive of bigger process changes, but even those can often be rolled out incrementally.
May 15, 2019 at 16:27 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
Following the inspiration in Atomic Habits (the thread), I'm applying Kaizen to my life. My first project was to improve my sleep habits, and I have in over a period of time applying kaizen eliminated most of my tiredness during the day, and am getting up earlier besides.
My current project is to apply it to my home. I aim to establish a mindset of always improving the organization and cleanliness in everything I do. So I'm not allowed to just grab something, use it and leave it out. It must go back every time. If I complete laundry, that must go away. Normal stuff, but I want to go a step beyond. If I pick up a book, I will also will also improve the organization of my books, reducing them or moving where they ought to be.
This might seem complicated, but I'm aiming for simple: Pay attention to how things are, and think-do how things can be a little better. And for sure, never worse.