Kaizen is the Japanese method for transforming habits one small step at a time. Of course, the most crucial part is that these habits will always carry our lives to the better. The book talks about small changes that we can apply in every aspect of our lives, from health to work and home to our relationships. These changes don’t look as daunting as they sound when you read the book cause it always suggests that we take small steps. For example, we have to exercise to be healthier. The book suggests that we walk for ten minutes on the first day. Maybe the next day you’ll be up to twelve minutes.

I was delighted to see one of my all-time favourite writers and inspirations, Seth Godin, release a book that looks at the creative side of kaizen in practice, or rather, the practice of creativity. The larger the external rewards, the greater the risk of inhibiting or stunting the native drive for excellence. Kniha mě rozhodně motivovala a s prvním zlepšováním jsem již začala. Po přečtení mám pocit, že bych potřebovala začít ve všech výše zmíněných oblastech, ale jak se dočtete, vše hezky pozvolna a pomalu, ať si na změny můžeme zvyknout. Věřím, že tentokrát se mi podaří svůj zvyk udržet a vytrvat.Kaizen is a Japanese word that refers to "achieving great and lasting success through small, steady steps," an interesting—although not necessarily intuitive—place to start for a person like me who sometimes thinks all good change comes in one fell swoop! In practicing kaizen you begin by making tiny but regular steps toward a goal so that you can circumvent whatever (fear, inertia, etc.) keeps you from starting out, and it eventually snowballs into real movement and significant change. So, for example, you might begin a workout program by exercising one minute per day at first or try instituting portion control and healthy eating habits, not by cutting out sweets cold turkey, but just by throwing out that first bite of dessert for a couple weeks and working your way up to the rest. Singh, J., Singh, H.: Kaizen philosophy: a review of literature. IUP J. Oper. Manag. 19(7), 902–970 (2009)

The Japanese and Chinese alphabets don’t have a single symbol for the word ‘crisis’. Instead, it is an amalgamation of the two symbols for ‘danger’ and ‘good opportunity’. It is hard to see the wood through the trees when you are having a hard time, but remembering that good things can come out of adversity can be helpful. Brunet, A.P., New, S.: Kaizen in Japan: An empirical study. Int. J. Oper. Prod. Manag. 23(11–12), 1426–1446 (2003) Automotive & Specialty Vehicle Deliver high-quality vehicles and parts with end-to-end traceability

The truth is…80% of New Year’s Resolutions have failed by February. Why? Because people were never taught how to set goals properly. Most plans are never completed on time. And even highly skilled and dedicated professionals still struggle to accomplish goals and overcome procrastination.

Kodama, K.: The important points in the improvement of the nutrition of our race. [Waga minzoku eiyō kaizen no zyūten.]”. [Kōsei kagaku]. Jpn. J. Public Health 7(1), 37–39 (1948) The Kaizen method was originally pioneered by the US government as part of the Marshall plan to help Japan restart its economy after the devastation of World War II. The step-by-step approach to change helped many Japanese companies become global corporations, most notably Toyota, and because it became synonymous with helping the automotive giant achieve success, Kaizen became known as “the Toyota Way.” Mail delivery workers of the Danish Postal Service have limited influence on how tasks are accomplished and decisions about the work environment are made. Results show that implementing kaizen for a number of years helped them increase the level of awareness and capacity to manage issues, which led to increased job satisfaction and mental health. Clear is known for distilling complex topics into simple behaviours that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and top their field. The ideas it contains are simple, and we've certainly heard them stated in many different ways before. But, as McArdle says, "...that doesn't mean they don't bear repeating."Day 1: Kaizen blitz introduction from top management, blitz team training on process improvement, and project review with a high-level map of the blitz process Kaizen is not one-size-fits-all; one person’s experience of it will be entirely different from another’s. The important thing is to listen to your mind and body, then create good habits that work for you and let go of the ones that aren’t doing you any favors. Making small improvements in one area will then inspire you with the confidence to go out and achieve improvement in another. Implementing kaizen in the workplace can be near impossible because management usually expects immediate results. Companies often miss out on improved work procedures and optimized business processes which yield a corporate advantage due to focusing too much on results. To maximize the benefits of kaizen, the following elements and principles should be clearly understood before applying them in your context. Management Commitment

In it, they provide a step-by-step walkthrough of the augmentation framework that shows readers when how, ​why to augment their workforce, as well as concrete strategies on how to scale augmentation methods throughout your operations. This book introduces us to the Kaizen way of changing your life through small steps: small questions, small thoughts, small actions, solving small problems and giving small rewards. This works if it's about you as much it's about a group of people in a business. By doing so small steps it's almost ridiculous, we override the brain's natural resistance and fear of changes. It's true that there has been recommendations of breaking changes into steps, but this takes it a bit smaller. And it's true that some people really can do big leaps - like from meat-eater to vegan - but success in this way is rather rare. The method will show you how to interrogate your existing habits, think about long-term goals, and then formulate a plan to start gradually making small improvements towards those goals. In the process, you will overhaul your mindset and attitude towards change. The most important thing to ensure you stay motivated is that the small changes shouldn’t feel too scary or impact upon your existing routine too much.By asking small, gentle questions, we keep the fight-or-flight response in the “off” position. Kaizen questions such as “What’s the smallest step I can take to be more efficient?” or “What can I do in five minutes a day to reduce my credit-card debt?” or “How could I find one source of information about adult education classes in my city?” allow us to bypass our fears. Research has shown that just six minutes of reading at bedtime can promote better sleep. Try reading a book before bedtime one night a week and see if it affects the quality of your sleep. Money Terziovsky, M., Sohal, A.S.: The adoption of continuous improvement and innovation strategies in Australia manufacturing firms. Technovation 20(10), 539–550 (2000)