KaiNexus: Continuous Improvement, Leadership, and More

Continuous quality improvement (CQI) is one of those things like a snow cone. It is something that pretty much everyone can agree is awesome. Who would not want it? Yet for some reason, not every organization has a plan for how to achieve CQI. Fewer still, have systems and processes in place to support it, and many that try never successfully reach their goals.

We do not think that companies should deploy process improvement software unless they have a clearly defined vision of what success looks like. Every company is trying to achieve something unique, of course, but we find some common goals for process improvement software among the most prepared organizations we encounter. Here are a few.

It looks simple at first, and a quick Google search will tell you what you need to get started - a way to capture ideas, a way to collaborate, leadership behaviors - there is so much content out there on this topic, it is easy to feel like an expert. Then, when you struggle to spread your improvement culture, you are left with a bag of moldy seeds wondering what went wrong.

The beginning of summer must be a good time for Kaizen events because we have been getting a lot of questions about them lately. We thought we would take a few minutes to answer the ones we hear most often.

Taiichi Ohno also said that Kaizen is about changing the way things are. If you assume that things are all right the way they are, you cannot do Kaizen. So, change something. Yes, there is some effort and time involved in implementing Standard Work, but the upside is enormous. If you are not using it, that may be the most important thing to change.

Whether you are new to huddle boards or have decided it’s time to move yours from the wall into the cloud, we offer you congratulations. Digital huddle boards are an excellent way to organize and track improvement projects. They have the potential to increase the number of completed improvements and to help you prove how valuable this effort is to the organization.

Whenever I read a book, I try to apply myself to the situations discussed. How does this affect my personal life? How can I apply what I learned to my work at KaiNexus? Oftentimes, this can be difficult depending on the subject. The Devil In The White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larsen may not be as applicable to me as Start With Why by Simon Sinek (but both are highly recommended!). Reading the behind the scenes of Game 7 of the World Series and hearing about some of the lesser-known details of his career made for a pretty fascinating read. However, the passage at the top of page 231 struck a chord with me.

Gemba walks are an increasingly popular management technique. By visiting the place where work is done, leaders gain valuable insight into the flow of value through the organization and often uncover opportunities for improvement and learn new ways to support employees. The approach is a collaborative one, with employees providing details about what is done and why. Great results depend on thoughtful planning, execution, and follow-up. Here are the most important steps you can take to ensure that your next Gemba walk is successful.

Giving staff members a larger voice and the ability to solve their own problems increases productivity, increases the sense of responsibility in the organization, and increases their satisfaction in daily tasks. Giving team members a stake in how their work also increases the intrinsic motivation that organizations look for in culture of improvement or collective responsibility.

Whether you work in healthcare, politics, construction, or really just about any industry, providing Service Excellence is particularly important for your business. Part of the problem is false beliefs that creativity happens like flashes of inspiration that come out of nowhere like lightning bolts, or that creativity is something that happens to other people.