Kaizen - Japanese method of continuous improvement
Summary
- State of continuous improvement where we naturally look for ways to improve
Details
- We keep on looking for ways to improve our work processes
- All involved (in the case of business, all employess) can contribute to the improvement or give ideas
- notably used by Toyota - any employee could stop the entire production line to provide a suggestion to improve the process
- The Japanese word kaizen means 'change for better', with the inherent meaning of either 'continuous' or 'philosophy' in Japanese dictionaries
References
- Personal Kanban - Mapping Work Navigating Life
- wikipedia
- Kaizen The Japanese Method for Transforming Habits, One Small Step at a Time - Sarah Harvey
Quotations
Kaizen isn’t about change for change’s sake, but about identifying particular goals – both short-term and long-term – and then making small, manageable steps to achieve those goals. Rather than forcing us to make big dramatic changes, the method emphasizes doing things incrementally.