Win the Day Ch 8

Kaizen: Continuous Improvement

• Kaizen is an uncompromising commitment to continuous improvement.
• It's a key to success, starting with a growth mindset.
• Kaizen involves staying humble and striving for better without reaching a finish line.
• It prioritizes steady progress, "little by little".

Sakichi Toyoda and the Toyota Way

• Sakichi Toyoda, a Japanese inventor, developed the "go and see" (genchi genbutsu) approach.
• This hands-on problem-solving method is the foundation of the Toyota Way.
• Inspired by his mother and grandmother's work on manual looms, he designed a power-driven loom—the start of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works.
• His son's automobile company, Toyota, faced bankruptcy after WWII.
• A field trip to American plants spurred a focus on improvement, leading to Toyota's global dominance.

Little by Little: God's Process

• The Israelites' journey to the Promised Land, despite taking longer than expected, is an example of God's "little by little" approach.
• This process involves ecological reasons that are beyond human comprehension.
• God's growth, promotion, and deliverance occur gradually.
• Planting seeds (today's actions) lead to a harvest (long-term results).

Desirable Difficulty

• Desirable difficulty refers to tasks that require significant effort and initially slow down learning—resulting in ultimately greater long-term benefits.
• The key is to find "just manageable difficulty"
• This contrasts with easy tasks that lead to boredom and too-difficult tasks that lead to discouragement.
• Examples include: discomfort (afflicting the comfortable), failure management, tough love.

Stretch Goals

• Stretch goals represent "little by little" increments toward progress.
• They help achieve progressively more challenging targets.
• Setting stretch goals can transform perceived impossibilities into achievable feats.
• Example: increasing push-ups daily or training for a marathon.

Emil Zátopek's Kaizen

• Emil Zátopek exemplified kaizen with dedication despite being ordinary in physical traits.
• He was relentless in training, setting personal records and exceeding expectations.
• His relentless effort (stretch goals) led to remarkable accomplishments; triple gold medalist in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and numerous world records.

Feedback Loops and Lead Measures

• Effective feedback loops are crucial for kaizen.
• Self-evaluation and a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) are essential for personal improvement.
• Defining the win (specific goals) paired with effective plans (lead measures), not just outcomes (lag measures), are key.
• Achieving goals requires dedication, focus, and self-discipline.

Kaizen in Action: Examples

• The Washington Nationals' focus on a daily win ("go 1–0 today"), despite losing ground at the beginning of a season, generated success and a championship.