Lean Mastery Collection

by Jeffrey Ries

  Japanese Kaizen philosophy fundamentally believes that:

  There is no end to the process of improvement. It is a continuous and on-going pursuit. You can keep striving for perfection but you can never say, “Everything is perfect, and nothing needs to be changed now.” Change and improvement is a continuous and ongoing process.

  There must be a great desire, mindset, and curiosity for conceiving improvements. Unless you have an experimental, explorative, and curious mind—you will not attempt to come up with different ways to do things. Even the tiniest improvement can make a huge difference. Big changes made once in a while are not as much Kaizen as small changes made consistently and continuously over a period of time.

  Improvements can originate from people who are consciously looking for results and details. When you are detail oriented, you know exactly what works and what doesn’t. Train your managers and supervisors to figure out different methods of improvement, while also improving upon improvements.

  Chapter One: Kaizen and Teamwork

  Kaizen is at the epicenter of teamwork and team-building strategies. While teamwork has become the magic word of today’s competitive business circles, very few organizations make a sincere effort to streamline teamwork to make their systems function more efficiently. This reveals a major disconnect in teamwork theories and practical implementation of the philosophy of teambuilding.

  As part of the Kaizen philosophy, every worker is encouraged to offer his/her ideas and suggestions for improvement. Even the tiniest changes and suggestions will be considered and implemented. For instance, Toyota team members (note they are team members and not employees) are motivated to identify minor details that can use enhancement processes to make the desired improvement. Think of an unorganized file system that can be streamlined by alphabetizing and color coding.

  While several organizations do not permit file purging as part of the process in office, it can be tons of paperwork, outdated, obsolete, and creates physical as well as mental clutter—this can be time, energy, and efficiency-sapping. Then again, Kaizen can be used for better time management skills. You can go through the clutter and eliminate what no longer serves a purpose. Kaizen principles can involve giving employees time for going through paperwork for cleaning out their desks, workstations, and cabins to begin afresh for maximum productivity. This isn’t related to teamwork but nonetheless an important aspect of Kaizen.

  A Kaizen team engagement event in a business or organization involves improvements and team bonding through teambuilding exercises. People pick up new skills and new ways of looking at their organization and functions from a system based perspective. It urges employees to take responsibility or ownership for their contribution to the entire process as well as for pitching in to the overall improvement of the enterprise.

  As a startup, every employee or team-member is made to feel responsible or to contribute to processes that add to the overall improvement of an organization. There is no single person or leader responsible alone for the driving process as well as system and operational changes. It is every employee’s responsibility to contribute to the success of overall business processes.

  In Japanese organizations like Canon and Toyota, employees usually make 60 to 70 suggestions annually. These are not just heard but also documented, sent out, and implemented. In majority of cases, these are not major suggestions or ideas. They are based on making small changes on a periodic basis to help bring about change and improvement as well as to make employees feel a part of driving that change as if it is their own company. This fosters feelings of teamwork and loyalty, which, in turn, helps reduce employee attrition and boosts an organization’s overall productivity.

  There are different phases of team formation, growth, and development of a startup. The first is when a new set of people are just getting to know each other. They are all wondering not just about their purpose but also about processes and systems they’ve been pulled together to facilitate. Then, the team starts performing or working together.

  In this nascent stage, a good facilitator can help review the team’s performance and identify the current performance and areas of improvement. Think about it–always have a diverse group of people throwing in suggestions. It should be a mix of people who are actually involved in the process, people who wholeheartedly support the process, and people who are completely outside the process. This helps us gain a fresh perspective on the way things are done—while also bringing to light more wasteful pursuits.

  Chapter Two: Implementing Kaizen in a Startup

  There are plenty of ways to implement Kaizen in your startup to gain a competitive edge right at the beginning now that you know what the philosophy is all about.

  Every startup founder dreams of making it big with his product or service. However, not everyone can fulfill their dream. Only in every ten thousand startups can skyrocket their way to success and growth. This isn’t mere destiny or a matter of chance. It a result of carefully made decisions and an atmosphere that breeds constant improvement and productivity! Results happen only when there is an ideal environment for growth and development.

  Training

  At the onset, startups can ensure that employees are trained for future changes, dynamics, and advances to retain an edge over other business. Another important aspect is to train current employees to train future employees. A training culture breeds improvement and continuous progress/enhancement in any organization.

  It is the key to creating an environment that leads to open sharing of innovations, suggestions, and ideas. Every employee should be made to feel like a stakeholder in the company, which is when they will feel a part of the procedural and decision-making process. Train employees not to follow orders—but more importantly, to be decision-makers—if you want your startup to evolve into an organizational force to reckon with.

  Team Building

  Like we discussed in the earlier chapter, building solid teams is at the core of the Japanese Kaizen philosophy. Going by the Kaizen tradition, your team should include both experts and employees who are willing to challenge power positions. There has to a change in the status quo if you want to strive for transformations in the system. Sticking to a rigid status quo goes against the Kaizen philosophy. Change and continuous innovation are key to successfully implement of the Kaizen philosophy.

  Developing Improvement or Driving Enhancement

  How does one develop or drive continuous improvement or enhancement in a startup? Think brainstorming, ideating, keeping an open door policy for suggestions, creating a less rigid organizational hierarchy, and so on. This is where data collection comes into the picture. Start collecting data about your business from day one. Use it to understand what is working and not working in the startup's favor. Though it is fairly early to drop systems that are ineffective at the beginning where startups are concerned, a collection of data over a period of time can help you make fairly accurate decisions and drop ineffective systems in the long run. As an entrepreneur or founder of the startup, you may not use these records. However, they are important for decision making and dropping ineffective systems in the long run. Collect data, analyze it and work out what changes need to be made in the long run for the efficient functioning of the startup.

  Implementing Change

  The biggest enemy of progress is an organization’s unwillingness to change its procedures, policies, and systems to embrace newer, quicker, and more efficient ways of doing things. Assess the effect of these changes on the progress of your enterprise. Start by assessing the impact of changes over a period of a month. Then, switch over to assessing the impact of procedural, system or other changes over a period of one year to ensure the changes are effective.

  How Do You Implement the Kaizen Philosophy Within the Context of a Startup?

  At its core, Kaizen is all about teamwork, which means you have to involve all your workers completely involved in the systems and processes. They should be encouraged to share their ideas,
analysis, observations, and suggestions about the business as if it is their own. The ideas and suggestions should involve optimizing business processes, increasing work productivity, saving resources and improving quality/safety parameters.

  Employees must get the required stimulation for actively participating in and realizing their observations and ideas. Startups may not have the budget to hire a Kaizen expert. You can overcome this by attending Kaizen trainings and seminars to understand the finer nuances of this progressive Japanese philosophy and start applying it to fulfill your organizational/business goals.

  Employees should be encouraged to gain a six sigma certification. Then there are other trainings such as project management, which can help improve their overall efficiency by minimizing errors and streamlining the system.

  The Do’s and Don’ts of Applying Kaizen in a Startup

  Kaizen goes beyond simply getting employees involved in the process of improvement and development. Here are some dos and don’ts of the Kaizen philosophy when it comes to implementing it in your startup.

  Avoid relying only on your expertise or have excessive faith in your abilities alone over others. Consider of the skills, ideas, wisdom, and experience of other people in the team if you want to evolve in a competitive and progressive business. Following rigid systems and procedures can impede your results, thus allowing other more change embracing competitors to move ahead in the game.

  Do not blame others. Accept responsibility for your actions and decisions.

  Replace “We can’t” or “I can’t” with “we can” or “I can.”

  Treat other people as you’d want them to treat you.

  Do not wait for accomplishing perfection. You can begin a business even with 50 percent improvement, and keep improving and making changes along the way. If you wait for until everything is perfect, you’ll only be led into a state of inertia.

  Avoid overlooking problems and issues. Rectify them as soon as you notice it instead of delaying it or waiting for the right time to resolve it. The right time is when you discover. The more you overlook small, everyday niggling problems in your startup, the bigger they grow into and cause heavy disruption in the overall productivity, efficiency, and success of the startup.

  Avoid hesitation when it comes to asking someone (even an intern or a new employee) about something that you don’t understand. When things are not clear, do not allow the ambiguity and vagueness to build. It is better to clarify things in the beginning than allow misconceptions and an unclear understanding of systems, procedures, and technology to build over a period of time.

  One of the biggest mistakes many startups make is following opinions over statistics and figures. Since it is a new business, everyone desires to offer their two cents. However, this isn’t really productive where efficiency and results are concerned. By all means, embrace all suggestions and ideas. However, ensuring where ever possible that they are backed by statistics. Keep in mind that improvements are not made over cups of coffee in the conference room, which means 20 percent discussions and 80 percent practical tasks.

  Never believe that you have everything in perfect order and that nothing needs to be changed. You need to strive for continuous enhancement, change, and improvement. This is especially true in a startup where you will be testing different system, organizational and procedural models to know what works best for you.

  Tips for Developing a Kaizen Mindset

  Kaizen has value for both–the growth of your startup as well as you as an individual. Though in this context we are talking about applying Kaizen to your business, it can well be used in both your personal and professional life. Making it a way of life has allowed the Japanese to lead a fulfilled, rewarding and gratifying life. Here are four basic steps for acquiring a Kaizen mind.

  1. Plan.

  Plan your day on the evening of the previous day. Know what you are going to focus on the night before. Once you have decided the focus of your day, plan your other activities around it. When you know what is lined up for the day before beginning the day, it becomes more streamlined. You attend to high priority tasks that need your time and attention first. Similarly, you don’t waste time and energy trying to figure out what to do. Everything that you need to get started with your work is already in place. All you have to do is begin.

  2. Visualize.

  Visualize your day by waking up early each morning. Make mental notes or allow the mind’s eye to see how you plan to live the day. Think of everything that you plan to do throughout the day in a step by step manner. These mental footnotes can successfully place triggers within your subconscious mind, which can guide you in the right direction. The thing about our subconscious mind is that it doesn’t know the difference between reality and imagined reality. It believes whatever we feed into it to be real, thus guiding our actions in line with what we visualize (and what it takes to be real).

  3. Set Reminders.

  Setting reminders is crucial to adopting a Kaizen lifestyle. As a startup, you’ll have to do plenty of things to set the system in place. Remember, it is when the baby is just born that it needs maximum care. Once it is up, walking and running on its own you simply have to keep a watch but you don’t have to carry it everywhere. Simply, a new business involves setting multiple policies, procedures, and systems in place. And if like me you don’t have an elephant’s memory, you may not be able to complete all tasks on time to strive for improvement. Smartphones are great for setting reminders and schedules. Ensure you stay on the path of continuous and consistent improvement by setting reminders and sticking to a schedule.

  4. Review.

  Towards the end of the day, take notes about how things went even if you cannot recollect the exact goal. The lessons that you acquired through today’s review can be utilized for creating tomorrow’s plan. Reviewing is absolutely integral to the Kaizen philosophy because it involves continuously learning and making improvements based on past experiences and performances.

  Keep in mind that Kaizen doesn’t ensure immediate success. It is a slow and gradual process. However, results are certain if it is used effectively to drive continuous improvements and enhancements. Here are a few areas where Kaizen can be used for accomplishing amazing results.

  Five Areas Where Your Startup Can Benefit by Employing the Kaizen Philosophy

  Kaizen can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. At its heart, it’s a simple and effective philosophy that has the potential to bring big results. However, where most businesses struggle is knowing areas where Kaizen can be implemented or identifying methods that can be used a part of adopting the Kaizen philosophy.

  1. Management Performance

  As a founder or manager of the startup, you need to be convinced about the Kaizen philosophy before implementing it across the organization. This can be done by designating a time (15-20 minutes each day) for every manager or key personnel to devote time to Kaizen related activities or work. It can be anything from organizing their workstation to labeling their files to keeping the desk free from clutter. Make it a policy for every manager to spend a few minutes of their workday practicing Kaizen. Train your managers and key players to keep asking why. Go to the root of the issue. What is causing a certain problem? Why is something happening? Managers can use this strategy to recognize what is happening and when an issue arises.

  Then again, managers in the startup should be trained to work as a unified team for containing and correcting the root cause of a problem. This involves strengthening interaction and communication between the management team or managers and employees. As a founder, you will have to carry everyone along on your way to success. This ensures that key players are always aware of issues, and the team can be involved in identifying solutions.

  2. Management-Employee Communication

  Kaizen is about enhancements in the way managers and employees interact or communicate with each other. It fosters the idea that management and employees are partners or stakeholder
s in the startup. The rigid hierarchical system that prevents employees from communicating with managers or founders in a startup doesn’t foster progress, improvement, and development. Everyone should be viewed as working together with each other rather, thus removing the ‘boss-servant’ equation. It makes sense for the management to talk to employees as equals instead of dictators. It helps everyone recognize and encourage better ways of doing something. Try to develop a positive relationship with your employees, while attempting to understand what they do on a daily basis.

  It can be something as simple as greeting co-workers and employees first thing in the morning and inquire about them. These small steps strengthen the founder-employee interaction and help the management be attuned with what is happening at the grass root level of their business.

  3. Productivity, Systems, and Processes

  When you improve your business’ management/founder interaction, it leads to greater productivity or a strong tradition of process Kaizen, which creates improvements that can be implemented on the very same day. Primarily, this is a review of activities to determine if one can work more effectively or better. Start with a plan-do-check-act cycle if you want to incorporate Kaizen into your management process immediately.

  Planning involves identifying opportunities and having a solid plan for change in place. This is where the staff and management closely work together to identify potential action or improvement areas.

  Doing involves implementing small-scale trial changes to gauge if the change is worth it. For instance, you may notice that outsourcing your accounts and billing is helping you save time, and focus more on your areas of strength, you may try this for a while before implementing it on a full-fledged scale.