DailyKaizen

I have been thinking a lot about what I saw last week during my visit to Genie Industries.  One of the key learning’s for me is just how powerful the cumulative effect of small improvements can be as they collect over time.  Genie has created a culture where each employee spends time everyday to make small improvements or solve small problems. The improvements continuously improve the smoothness and reliability of the operations leading to less chaos and fire fighting.  The employee finds great satisfaction in doing this work, because they can see the impact over time the changes they make have on the customer and the work environment. 

Leaders and consultants often spend their time focused on finding or executing the “next big improvement.”   We plan for months, schedule five day RPIWs and bring about rapid change with a lot of hoopla.  I would be the first to admit that I thrive and am energized by the chaos of change.  Small improvements are not nearly as exciting for us, mainly because we are not needed.   

Luckily, there is plenty of improvement to go around.  The real trick is build the culture that will support the “big” and “small” stuff.

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