KAIZEN: Small changes v/s Big Projects

KAIZEN: Small changes v/s Big Projects

Be it personal life or professional – I have always wondered why people resist change/parivartan/transformation. The behaviour of people (and other organisms or even mechanisms) falls within a range with some behaviour being common, some unusual, some acceptable, and some outside acceptable limits. Human behaviour is greatly influenced by the attitudes we use on a daily basis. 

Change is uncomfortable and requires new ways of thinking and doing. People have trouble developing a vision of what life will look like on the other side of a change. So, they tend to cling to the known rather than embrace the unknown.Change management is an approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired future state. Kaizen/Lean helps the organizations to achieve their operational excellence goals or the desired future state. KAIZEN™ refers to “small changes for the better” and equates to continuous improvement in English and is, first of all, a mindset and a commitment. The attitude is that we are never satisfied with the status quo, and believe that there are always a better way to do the job. KAIZEN™ can be a great way of overcoming this fear of change. KAIZEN focuses on small changes by everyone, everyday & everywhere and not big workshops or projects. People can absorb small changes everyday rather than one big change. Small daily changes become a habit and it helps to change the behaviour or the mindset of the people. It becomes a routine that is no longer threatening.

It is particularly important that top management adopt this mindset, and make the commitment, if they truly want to compete successfully at a global level. It does not matter what name you use – the pull production, logistics improvements, just-in-time production, lean, Toyota production system – these methods are readily available for companies to use. Yet 99% of all companies fail to fully implement it……KAIZEN™ has to be adopted as a corporate strategy, where everyone in the company is making improvements every day, so that the cumulative effect could be dramatic.

“Endless conversation about CHANGE is the barrier. Actually committing to doing something and then acting is what is required.” – by David Jakes

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