In 1986, Masaaki Imai introduced the world to the philosophy and practice of Kaizen in his book Kaizen, The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success. We highly recommend reading it if you are exploring ways to make your organization more efficient and better at achieving continuous improvement. (We’ll recommend a few other titles at the end of this post as well.) Our aim today is to share information about the framework of Kaizen. Hopefully, it will leave you ready to discuss the approach and eager to learn more.

In Japanese, the word Kaizen means "good change." It describes the continuous improvement of all functions of an organization across the entire hierarchy.

Kaizen's guiding philosophy is simple: operations can always be made better, even if they are functioning at an acceptable level for the moment. In addition, all problems are recognized as opportunities to improve.

Of course, creating a culture driven by Kaizen thinking is easier said than done. Fortunately, some simple yet powerful ideas can shape how team members think. Embracing these ideas makes improvement inevitable.

While most people agree that process operations should be standardized as much as possible, the topic of standardizing leadership comes up less frequently. That's unfortunate because standardizing leadership is a crucial element of building a culture of improvement. It is the surest way to sustain improvement and build an organization with strong problem-solving muscles.

Evaluating software for any purpose is a difficult task. You need to think about the technical infrastructure, user experience, features, implementation, and support. Choosing the right improvement management software comes with its own unique challenges. Most people have never evaluated or even used this type of software before. Another challenge is that many products claim to be fit for this purpose but really aren’t. If you are looking at software to support your continuous improvement efforts, good for you! Here are some questions that will help you frame your evaluation and choose a solution that will be a tremendous asset.

The selection process for any type of software can be challenging to navigate. You’ve got to find out what’s available, narrow down your choices, and dig in on the vendor and product. If you’re looking for an improvement platform, the task can be especially daunting because so much is riding on it. You certainly don’t want to start your organization’s journey toward continuous improvement with a technology failure.

This post will help. First, we’ll outline the vendor qualifications, and then we’ll dig into the key features you’ll want to consider.

Organizations that strive to improve continually can stay ahead of the competition, regardless of their industry. From manufacturing and engineering to healthcare and education, the effort dedicated to consistent, positive change in an organization directly tied to sustainability and success.

If you take a look at the measurements usually used to track an organization's success, you'll probably find a robust reporting framework in place. Financial metrics are probably the most obvious indicator of a company's health, and there isn't a company in the world that doesn't meticulously monitor them.