WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 So, today we're going to look at the fascinating idea of Kaizen. Kaizen is a Japanese lifestyle 2 00:00:08.280 --> 00:00:15.280 or philosophy that encourages imperceptible micro-changes that over time produce dramatic 3 00:00:16.560 --> 00:00:22.040 improvements. It's one of those super simple things to implement once you build it into 4 00:00:22.040 --> 00:00:27.160 your lifestyle but the benefits are huge. So, what's the difference between that and 5 00:00:27.200 --> 00:00:32.400 continual improvement? In the West, when we talk about continual improvement, the way 6 00:00:32.400 --> 00:00:38.200 to visualize this is as a staircase. We are here, now we want to go to the next stair, 7 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:43.360 so we have to discuss what's the jump, what changes, what processes have to be fixed, 8 00:00:43.360 --> 00:00:48.080 and so it's a lot of work. And if we do even bigger steps, like we're reorganizing the 9 00:00:48.080 --> 00:00:54.280 department, re-optimizing our products, all this takes a tremendous effort and then we're 10 00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:58.280 done. And then we stay at that level until the next time we make the effort and then 11 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:05.280 we stay at that level. But Kaizen is a different idea. Kaizen is, think of a very gradual slope 12 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:09.640 that you're walking on and it's so imperceptible you can hardly feel that you're going up a 13 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:15.400 hill. It's so gradual. But then when you stop and look back, you go, oh, we've gained all 14 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:22.400 this height. Now, the benefit of doing this is that it makes improvement effortless. And 15 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:28.200 since we're in this whole module talking about making things effortless, this is one of those 16 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:35.200 super huge benefit things. It means creating a lifestyle that serves better every day. 17 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:42.400 Because it feels like free change. It's like putting change in the background and yet things 18 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:47.440 keep getting better. Does that sound amazing or what? And so this idea, which I've been 19 00:01:47.520 --> 00:01:52.800 living for over the last 30 years, is in my daily life, it's in my business life. I'm 20 00:01:52.800 --> 00:01:59.800 always doing these imperceptible micro changes. So let's talk about the three pillars for 21 00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:05.440 creating this kind of lifestyle for yourself. And this as a business culture, as a team 22 00:02:05.440 --> 00:02:10.560 of leaders, we can do this personally and together in the business. So it comes down 23 00:02:10.600 --> 00:02:17.600 to three things. Optimization, standardization and elimination. So by optimization we mean 24 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:24.520 making things better. Small imperceptible changes. Standardization, making it normal 25 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:30.040 to be always looking, doing this. In other words, we do this as a continual way of thinking. 26 00:02:30.040 --> 00:02:35.320 And finally, elimination. Always looking for steps we can take out. Little bits we can 27 00:02:35.320 --> 00:02:39.360 make shorter or quicker or better. So let's just jump into all of those. 28 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:45.200 Number one. Let's look at optimization. So making things better. So think of this as 29 00:02:45.200 --> 00:02:49.760 every single day when you're doing something, when you touch your email, making it slightly 30 00:02:49.760 --> 00:02:55.800 better. Maybe you're improved today. All you do is improve what your signatures are on 31 00:02:55.800 --> 00:03:01.040 your email. Or you have a way of organizing some categories so you can drop stuff that 32 00:03:01.040 --> 00:03:06.920 you can save off your emails in a certain way. It could be even as small as don't start 33 00:03:06.920 --> 00:03:11.080 your day with doing email because that's your prime time. You're just going to do it 34 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:18.080 at lunchtime. It's these tiny, tiny changes, but they become permanent. So it's these tiny 35 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:24.160 micro improvements over time. So you're looking at doing that every time. So whether it's 36 00:03:24.160 --> 00:03:30.240 organizing your basin at home and where your toothbrush is or whatever it is, it's just 37 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:37.280 making tiny, tiny changes. And you don't have to reorganize your entire closet, for instance. 38 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:43.600 You just change the way the sock drawer works. And then a few days later or next week, you 39 00:03:43.600 --> 00:03:48.080 tweak something else, you tweak something else. A year from now, you'll be amazed at 40 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:54.120 how organized your entire closet is. You'll be amazed how great your email looks. So it's 41 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:59.620 these tiny imperceptible changes. So for instance, when we're doing automations or I'm looking 42 00:03:59.620 --> 00:04:04.860 for reports, I'm thinking, how can I make this report a little bit better? Not a step 43 00:04:04.860 --> 00:04:09.940 change like add a whole new feature necessarily, but these tiny little improvements. Can I 44 00:04:09.940 --> 00:04:16.019 improve the font? Can I make the headings clearer? It's these tiny imperceptible changes. 45 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:20.660 Now it's really important that it's tiny, that it's the gradual slope, because that's 46 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:25.860 where you get the free change from. It's that mindset of completely tweaking little things 47 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:32.340 every day as a way of life. And when most people start learning Kaizen, they overdo 48 00:04:32.340 --> 00:04:38.420 it. They try to fix everything on everything they touch. That's not necessary. It's just 49 00:04:38.420 --> 00:04:42.980 when you touch something, making it slightly better. But you don't always. When it works 50 00:04:42.980 --> 00:04:47.360 for a while, coming back the next time. But any time, because you have a mindset always 51 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:51.100 looking for these tiny imperceptible changes. 52 00:04:51.620 --> 00:04:57.580 Okay, let's talk about standardization. So standardization is making this normal. Making 53 00:04:57.580 --> 00:04:59.820 it normal to be thinking in this way. 54 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:05.000 So, for instance, you can automate some of the elements. 55 00:05:05.320 --> 00:05:06.880 I'll give you super simple examples. 56 00:05:06.880 --> 00:05:09.480 What if you had a bowl near the back door 57 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:10.600 where you put all your keys? 58 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:12.800 So you're never looking for keys again. 59 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:15.040 Or you have a little rack where all the kids drop shoes 60 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:18.120 so we never search for shoes when we're leaving the house, 61 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:20.280 which is what we did and rarely were we looking 62 00:05:20.280 --> 00:05:22.440 for shoes or keys. 63 00:05:22.440 --> 00:05:25.480 Or having a simple system for never leaving late. 64 00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:27.000 It's these little things. 65 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:30.520 So if you look at what creates a lot of stress in our lives 66 00:05:30.520 --> 00:05:33.960 is that we haven't standardized simple things. 67 00:05:33.960 --> 00:05:36.760 We haven't standardized where we leave the keys. 68 00:05:36.760 --> 00:05:39.320 In a business context, we haven't standardized 69 00:05:39.320 --> 00:05:43.360 the simple process of when somebody signs onto a product, 70 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:44.880 they get an onboarding email. 71 00:05:44.880 --> 00:05:46.000 We haven't standardized. 72 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:48.400 So when we start standardizing things 73 00:05:48.400 --> 00:05:50.960 and we make them consistent, 74 00:05:50.960 --> 00:05:55.560 so think of standardization as making consistency normal. 75 00:05:55.560 --> 00:05:56.760 When we start to do that, 76 00:05:56.760 --> 00:06:01.080 we remove a huge amount of stress in our lives. 77 00:06:01.080 --> 00:06:04.800 Not finding keys, not helping the kids find their shoes, 78 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:07.560 always leaving late, arriving late situation. 79 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:11.400 That is stressful and yet you can standardize. 80 00:06:11.400 --> 00:06:14.320 When I look at my flight details, 81 00:06:14.320 --> 00:06:18.320 I see the time I know I have to leave two and a half hours 82 00:06:18.320 --> 00:06:22.640 from my home before whatever the boarding time is 83 00:06:22.640 --> 00:06:23.920 or whatever the flight time is. 84 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:25.160 And I just standardize that. 85 00:06:25.760 --> 00:06:26.600 I don't think about it. 86 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:27.760 I'm not always checking traffic. 87 00:06:27.760 --> 00:06:30.720 I've built all the traffic issues and all that in. 88 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:33.800 I just have one simple standardized time I leave. 89 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:36.360 And for you, that could be just, 90 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:39.120 because if you can make your travel effortless, 91 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:41.160 that makes a huge difference. 92 00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:45.680 So I've standardized a number of elements of my travel. 93 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:48.400 I've standardized elements of how I work. 94 00:06:48.400 --> 00:06:53.400 I've standardized lots of little things in my workday, 95 00:06:53.800 --> 00:06:56.280 little habits, little ways, little routines. 96 00:06:56.280 --> 00:07:00.080 And this standardization amazingly takes off 97 00:07:00.080 --> 00:07:01.560 so much pressure off your life 98 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:05.040 and makes you just enjoy and make it feel effortless. 99 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:07.000 Okay, the last step is elimination. 100 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:09.880 That's removing the extra things. 101 00:07:09.880 --> 00:07:13.280 And sometimes one could even argue 102 00:07:13.280 --> 00:07:14.640 we should have started with this, 103 00:07:14.640 --> 00:07:15.920 because I've found myself, 104 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:17.320 I don't know if you've done this, 105 00:07:17.320 --> 00:07:20.200 where you have optimized something and then deleted it. 106 00:07:20.200 --> 00:07:22.480 You go, I could have saved a lot of time. 107 00:07:22.520 --> 00:07:26.160 So, how can we make this not five steps 108 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:27.840 and make it three steps? 109 00:07:27.840 --> 00:07:29.160 Do we need this step? 110 00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:30.440 Does this have to exist? 111 00:07:30.440 --> 00:07:32.800 Challenging the way things are. 112 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:34.440 And can we take out steps? 113 00:07:34.440 --> 00:07:37.000 Can we make the process simpler? 114 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:41.360 And it's this elimination that really, really helps. 115 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:43.760 Just another personal practical thing. 116 00:07:43.760 --> 00:07:46.080 Maybe you're very particular about 117 00:07:47.880 --> 00:07:49.360 what your car looks like. 118 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:52.440 But instead of doing like a one and a half hour detail, 119 00:07:53.440 --> 00:07:54.800 that's too much work. 120 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:58.520 What if you did a 20 minute detail every second week 121 00:07:58.520 --> 00:08:00.400 and you always have a clean car? 122 00:08:00.400 --> 00:08:02.880 So, it's those little things where you've standardized, 123 00:08:02.880 --> 00:08:05.120 you've eliminated the big shifts. 124 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.080 So, think of this again as we recap this. 125 00:08:08.080 --> 00:08:11.360 Instead of the staircase of continual improvement 126 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:14.160 where we stay on this level until we reorganize 127 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:16.280 and rethink it and then stay on that level, 128 00:08:16.280 --> 00:08:17.560 instead of doing that, 129 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:20.320 what if we just put it into a gradual slope 130 00:08:20.840 --> 00:08:23.360 of continual micro improvements? 131 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:27.960 This will genuinely take so much stress out of your life 132 00:08:27.960 --> 00:08:31.520 and make so much of your work feel effortless. 133 00:08:31.520 --> 00:08:32.360 Enjoy.