Adopting Kaizen for a "Radically" Better Life
Firstly, I'd like to apologise for using the word "radical" in the title. This is a new low for me to which I'm both ashamed and embarrassed. But, apparently, "better" just won't cut it…
Which is precisely why you need to keep reading. Because if you can take your head out your ass and stop being overly ambitious to your detriment for just a minute, then you might get to experience this radical change so many with hidden agendas preach about daily on the Internet.
Never to your detriment, improvement is everything Kaizen both preaches and delivers upon.
What the hell is Kaizen?
Kaizen is the Japanese word for improvement. Kai meaning change. Zen meaning good.
Kaizen doesn't focus on rapid improvement. Nor does it focus on radical improvement. It focuses on gradual improvement. Graaaaaaadual. Because more often than not, striving for rapid improvement or change will only fuck your shit up.
In life. In business. In everything.
Kaizen was birthed following World War II after the States had bombed the be Jaysus out of Japan, leaving their country in a mess, and their industry in shambles.
Ironically, the U.S then decided to step in and pretty much save the day for the Japanese knowing just how much of a negative impact it would have on the global economy if they didn't.
Now, I'm no historian, and please don't fact check any of this, but if you ever needed evidence that people in power are more often than not complete dipsticks, here you have it on a platter.
And this is where it gets good. And where they royally fucked up…
Detroit originally rejected the dude the U.S sent to save the day in Japan.
When W. Edwards Demming went to Detroit with a proposal to improve their quality control, the suit & ties turned to him and yelled;
"We don't give a shit about quality, asshole. We're all about quantity. Go fuck yourself!
Personally, I like to imagine the Godfather delivering that line.
As it turned out, it was Detroit that got pummeled in the end. Both metaphorically and figuratively speaking.
Why? Because Demming turned out to be a Marvel when it came to quality. His strategies helped the Japanese auto industry go from a dying one to one of unparalleled quality — quality Detroit couldn't match, ensuring their industry was dethroned by the Japanese.
Some of Demming's strategies were so good; they’re still mimicked to this day by successful organisations the world over. And one of the most important ideas to come from his work was labeled — you guessed it — Kaizen.
Not only are the small gradual changes of Kaizen more likely to stick. They are also easier to implement. DOUBLE BOOM.
Now get ready for the radical in this bitch because these small changes gradually stack up to bring — drumroll please — you that radical change over time.
Which, come to think of it, might be some sort of oxymoron because I'm not even sure radical can take place over time? But fuck it, we're marching on…
So how does Kaizen work?
The Deming Cycle — or Kaizen — can be summarized as Plan -> Do -> Check -> Act.
Deming's concept was that it was everyone's job to make incremental improvements in everything they do. All the time.
Japan did NOT mess around. If the smallest man in the factory saw an opportunity to improve quality or efficiency, he was obliged to pull up his engineer immediately and let him know.
In doing so, they were revolutionizing design through small, incremental continuous improvements. And they were relentless in their approach.
All the time. Never-ending. Continuously improving.
And if you were to ask the boys in Detroit how it all worked out? Well, despite them being dead, I still wouldn't recommend it.
Adopting Kaizen for life
In life, we are constantly trying to better ourselves, but too often, we deviate from our course. While there are multiple reasons for this, here are just a few that spring to mind;
A) We’re impatient little bastards
B) We pay too much attention to shitheads with hidden agendas
C) We don't plan very well
D) We don't apply the lost art of Kaizen
The good news is, you can use Kaizen to improve your life in, oh, so many ways:
Start by asking yourself what area of your life you want to improve the most?
If you already have a list from your arse to your elbow, then you're not quite getting the point. Keep reading because I'm about to make it real simple.
Let's just say you suck at getting out of bed, and every morning you snooze for about 30 minutes.
This habit is not only scientifically proven to ruin your sleep, but it carries many adverse effects which when compounded over time can get you into real trouble…
You're late to work. You rush. You're groggy. You're stressed. Your boss stops loving you. Your boss hates you. Your boss fires you. You can't bring yourself to get up and find a new job. You fall depressed. You die.
That kind of trouble. And we don’t want that. Right? So what can we do?
Let’s see what happens after a sprinkle of kaizen magic:
Remember: Plan -> Do -> Check -> Act.
Plan:
The problem is you keep snoozing, and you need to stop. The question is, what can you do to stop snoozing?
One solution might be putting your phone and alarm out of reach, so you have to get out of bed to turn it off. And when you jump out of bed, you stay out of bed.
You could also put protocols in place in the evening to ensure you get to sleep earlier. And when you sleep, you sleep better. No electronics in bed could be one of them.
Simple, right?
The one where Ross discovers Kaizen!
Do:
You execute. After this, you should begin to wake up feeling fresh.
Less rushing = less stress. You'll have time to spare. And you'll be excited to tackle the day.
Well, excited might be a stretch depending on where you’re currently at, but Kaizen can certainly help get you there.
And in time, you'll change what was once a bad habit into a great one.
Check:
It's important to continuously check-in to evaluate how you are doing. Remember, a continuous gradual improvement is what you are aiming for.
After your first round of lifestyle tweaks begin to work in your favour, you can now reevaluate and introduce additional optimization hacks into your life that will compound over time to bring great rewards.
Act:
Repeat the cycle while implementing further tweaks that will lead to radical improvements over time. Always with the focus on gradual improvement.
Maybe you introduce a morning stretch or meditation?
Do all that, and in time, you will get to experience those radical improvements you long for. They just won't seem so radical because they'll have been gradual.
Remember: It's you versus you.
Those morning routine bloggers who swear by some bullshit cherrypicked list containing a million and one things to do before you shit are only setting you up for failure. And likley constipation due to the stress of it all?
You can apply Kaizen to any area of your life. Most of us have been conditioned to want and demand instant results. This is, arguably, why so many are miserable, anxious, and depressed. It's from trying too hard.
Kaizen for life is about optimising the quality of yours. It's about shifting your focus and awareness to gradual improvements you can make today that will lead to radical improvements in the future.
It's not about instant gratification. It's about delayed gratification with a sprinkle of just enough instant to keep you going. Because if you overwhelm yourself with this stuff, you'll simply give up and fall backward. And who the fuck wants that?
Over and out.