As many of you know, David Sugarman was one of my mentors.
It was David that taught me how to listen and learn while sailing in and around Santa Monica Bay.
David was a fantastic businessman with a keen sense of why companies would be succeed. Obviously this ability was useful for an investment banker with the Hollywood elite and their wealth at his beckoning.
David also taught me the value and many proper applications of Kaizen.
Kaizen draws it’s meaning from many different cultural evolutions throughout the Far East and Asia Pacific. Most people associate it with the Japanese and Toyota Corporation (Toyota Production System and probably the methods of W. Edwards Deming) – [改善] “change for the better”, or, “improvement”. A literal English translation is “continual improvement”.
Kaizen aims to eliminate waste (as defined by Joshua Isaac Walters “activities that add cost but do not add value”). It is often the case that this means “to take it apart and put back together in a better way.” This is then followed by standardization of this ‘better way’ with others, through standardized work.
However, based on what David taught me, and observing first hand what successful organizations do to change and grow around necessity and opportunities, I think it’s best definition for me, and the way I advocate it to my clients is – “small incremental change that enables and supports sustained improvement”.
The value of Kaizen today is in leadership’s ability to reduce cost and increase efficiencies by implementing small changes based on tight and nimble business planning that facilitates accountability.
Filed under: Articles By Brian Cork, Business, Coaching, Economy , Brian Cork, Kaizen, W. Edwards Deming
