principles of kaizen
The principles of kaizen
Let's see how each principle can be applied to one's personal life.
1. Never stop
No matter how successful you are in your life or career, there is still an area for advancement and refinement in your life. e.g. Maybe you have a good job,car, house, etc but that is not enough- keep pressing on to achieve more.
2. Eliminate former habits
Let go of former habits, even if they seemed to have some benefit to you at that particular time. For example you have been using analogue record keeping like paper work: You should digitize workflows to eliminate slow, manual tasks and paper clutter.
As time progresses, you should also make an effort to progress.(Move with technology
3. Be proactive
If there is something you want in your life, or in your career, go for it. E.g. transitioning from technical role to managerial position
Stop hesitating because of possible obstacles that you foresee, and instead march forward towards your goal.
4. Don't assume new methods will work
Just because something worked for someone else, that does not necessarily mean it will work for you. Don't compare yourself with others.
Take some time to find a method that works for you when it comes to achieving your goals.
5. Make corrections
Recognize the areas in your life that can use improvement, and make relevant corrections. . E.g the attribute of poor time keeping is holding you back. for you to progress you must eliminate it
6. Empower other employees to speak up
Everyone who is involved in the success of the company—from the CEO to the junior workers—should be encouraged to offer suggestions and solutions for problems that can be fixed, or improvements that can be made. Every opinion counts.
7. Crowdsource
Before implementing a change or possible improvement at your workplace, talk to several people to get their input.
Having multiple opinions can not only add to a possible improvement, but it may also offer a different perspective that will open up more new ideas.
8. Practice the ''Five Why'' method
Before making any final decisions, get to the root of the problem by asking “why?” five times.
This can lead you to the root cause of the problem.
9. Be economical
Watch your finances during the whole process of making an improvement. Look for ways to save money while making small improvements, and then spend the saved money on further improvements.
E.g. when you switch from paper to digital document management system at your workplace, use the money you save on paper work to invest in digital systems like cloud storage.
10. Don't stop
Never consider yourself to be finished. Improvement has no limits, and can be continued on an infinite or cosmic level.
Don't fear to fail. Failure is not a dead end. learning from mistakes, and the courage to continue despite setbacks, that is what defines success.
