Summary Robert-Maurer-The-Kaizen-Way-

Change is hard!” It’s a sentiment so widely accepted as fact that we don’t question whether or not it’s actually true. And there are good reasons why many of us see change as a mountain to climb. Consider New Year’s resolutions, which almost always fail. The average American makes the same resolution ten years in a row without success. Within four months, 25 percent of resolutions are abandoned. And those who succeed in keeping their resolutions usually do so only after five or six annual broken promises. Organizational change in business is also perceived as difficult. Popular business books preach quickfix solutions to managers looking for fast ways to motivate resistant staff. Often these books take the form of business fables, employing simple storylines and cute animals to convey their message. Some become bestsellers, like John Kotter’s Our Iceberg Is Melting, which neatly encapsulates the prevailing wisdom of this genre: Employees must be convinced of an imminent emergency—a threat—in order to be motivated to make some change. But contrary to popular opinion, change—whether personal or in business—doesn’t have to be agonizingly painful. Nor must it happen only as the result of scare tactics employed to shock ourselves— or our colleagues—into meaningful action. The pages you are about to read will shatter the myth that change is hard, effectively removing the roadblocks that keep individuals and work groups from achieving the results they seek. You’ll learn that change doesn’t have to happen only as a radical response to a dire situation. This book will show you how to harness the power of kaizen: using small steps to accomplish large goals. Kaizen is an ancient philosophy captured in this powerful statement from the Tao Te Ching: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Though it is rooted in ancient philosophy, it is just as practical and effective when applied to our hectic modern lives. Kaizen has two definitions