Step 07 – Kaizen

Kaizen /’kī zǝn/ Noun:  a Japanese business practice of continuous improvement in performance and productivity. Best implemented with the process:
PDSA: Plan • Do • Study • Act

Once you have gone through the first 6 steps and the documents surrounding this step, the idea is to return to Step 01 and tighten everything – like an infinity loop (lemniscate). Keep returning and improving.

Your business and life evolve. As time moves forward, it is important to keep Planning, Doing, Studying and Acting.

Plan: Most of what you have done up to this point is planning: A plan for your life and a plan for the different elements of your business. A plan is important so you have a map of where you are going and how you will get there. As they say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Do: There is no substitute for action. The greatest plans will fail without action. Get going. One of my favourite sayings is “you can’t steer a parked car.” Better to be moving and all over the place than to sit and never go anywhere.

Study: There is something magical about getting above your business to get a good look at it. The difference of working in your business and working on your business. The fact that you have made it here says you have been working on your business. Keep studying it. Get a PhD in your business and arena. Understand it so deeply that no one knows as much about it as you do.

Act: As you discover the different areas that need improvement through diligent study, act on them. Don’t just see them and let them sit as a todo. Act to improve based on your constant study.

If you haven’t already, sit down with your calendar and pick an annual planning day somewhere away from your usual places. Also, choose your quarterly half day – also away from the office – and ensure you get some time each week to review and plan your week. Remember: what gets measured improves.

Good luck on your Kaizen journey.

To your success on The Entrepreneur Roadmap.

Colin.