Be a Kaizen Black Belt (page 1 of 2)

Such would be the warning in times past when confronted with the threat of physical harm from angry giants you have unwittingly spilt beverage over or roof pounding road-ragers itching to pound you for failing to yield to their large four by four.

Thanks should be due in part to the vast body of work of martial art artistes, Bruce Lee, David Carradine, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chang and the like did to raise the martial art profile in the late sixties and early seventies.

Thanks to martial arts popularity it allowed one to bluff one's way out of danger thanks to the premise that in fact, really quite weedy looking chaps could appear to gain neck breaking status purely by uttering those lines and therefore extricating themselves from the promise of a thorough pasting by threatening superior physical specimens.

Now, in the new millennium there is a new bluff on the block, feeble puniverses trembling before buff bullies can utter a new phrase to confound the potential thugs, 'Don't thump me, I've got a black belt in Kaizen!'

So what weird and wonderful method of pain delivery is this Kaizen business all about? Do you batter your opponent with lashed bamboo sticks, num-chuck them into submission with flailing metal or turn your hand into a deadly weapon and perform the four fingered death tickle? Well, actually none of the aforementioned, this is a management training article, remember?

Kaizen's only link to martial art is the fact that it originates from the Far East; Japan and The Toyota Motor Company to be precise. It is in fact an advanced change technique and ultimately a means to change processes and therefore the business culture, for the better.

Kaizen means 'change' or 'break apart' as in 'Kai' and betterment or goodness as in 'zen'. The Kaizen process requires a period of three to five days, called a Kaizen Event with six to eight leaders giving 100% dedication to it, sequestered from their daily work. Back-ups are put in place for team members who carry out important functions that can't be placed on hold for the duration of the Event. The structured degree of focus and team commitment is one reason why Kaizen Events are so effective.

Core team members must include a representative sample of the people who actually do the work, as they are the ones who know best how to improve the process. Management may be included in the team, but only if they serve as active members and view their role as equal to any other team member. Most importantly within a Kaizen Team, rank has no privilege and there is no veto power from outside the team. For the greatest degree of success, the team should also include at least one pair of "outside eyes" to contribute objectivity to the targeted process. Selecting the core team is potentially the most important Event planning activity. Careful consideration of team candidates will ensure that no function involved in or touched by the process is left out and that the team consists of people who are both independent thinkers and team players.

The members then go about the business of pulling systems processes and methods to pieces much the same as a four year old with lego bricks to see how things work or fail and then reassemble the process into a more successful format.

For Kaizen to work the team must be empowered to make it's own decisions To help the leadership buy into the arrangement, the Kaizen Team gives several briefings throughout the Event with the executive sponsor and the leaders of the areas that will be affected by the change, if they aren't members of the team.