Kaizen Advantage.
Welcome to the Kaizen series. I hope you find the readings thought-provoking and inspiring. Please enjoy.
To be happy, to make others around them happy, to live life to its fullest. These are the top three reasons we seek to continually improve in life. Without happiness, smiling faces around us, and living life to the fullest, what type of life would we live?
Today, I would like to introduce you to a little something called kaizen – many of you may have heard of this before, but to some, this may be a foreign word. Simply put, it is a Japanese management strategy that can be incorporated into all areas of your life, from work situations to personal life issues and the management thereof.
Roughly translated, it means; “Continuous slow improvement, or good change. “Kaizen, is the philosophy of using small steps, or contributions, that work towards a big change, or ‘big picture’. It focuses on you and me, the individuals that form part of a small business, corporation, and even a country. It encompasses the little things that can be changed by each one of us, on the path to becoming better, healthier, fitter Human Beings.
This is achieved by concentrating and improving on the little things that with time, effort, and consistency, add up to a way of life, creating success almost effortlessly. To get to this point, we must conquer our bad eating habits, cogitation, lack of activity, and stress. We must take small, but steady steps towards achieving our goals, no matter what they might be! We can use the power and effectiveness of Kaizen, to accomplish all of this.
Kaizen is a long-term commitment. It takes a long-term view, and the most important principles are that it is a daily, continuous, and steady exercise. It is not important that huge and sudden improvements are made. Small improvements are great, and it is important that you continually look at ways of making things better, no matter how small. You know the saying, “if it works, why change it?”
The Kaizen philosophy suggests that there are always ways to improve things, no matter how small these changes may be. We all know that it is better to prevent a problem than to fix one. By incorporating the Kaizen principles into your life, any obstacle to your success can be removed, even if it is one step at a time. Just remember, a thousand-mile walk begins with the first step.
How to start?
You must start with your mind. What motivates you? What is your reason for wanting to do whatever it is you want to do, be it weight loss, planning a trip, or improving your financial well-being? How will reaching those goals make you feel and how it might change your life?
We must learn to be patient. This can only be measured by your commitment to your goals. You are committing to changes to improve your life, and this will not change over- night. As they say, Rome was not built in a day! When you have embraced the Kaizen philosophy, you will not be put off by setbacks, but will enhance your vision with objectives based on timelines and measuring your success daily, by sticking to your commitment.
Well now it’s time to take a closer look into the subject of Kaizen, through this short journey we are going to uncover exactly what kaizen is, the history behind it, the different types of Kaizen, how to create a Kaizen environment in your home, and much more.
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Nick Thorne is the founder of Nick’s Digital Solutions Limited. He lives in Levin, New Zealand.
Nick Thorne performs a Cat Scan