Two Approaches To Progress and Innovation

1. The gradualist approach (favored by Japanese companies):

2. The great-leap-forward approach (favored by Western companies)

Competitive Advantage: USA vs. Japan

U.S. and Japanese companies use quite different manufacturing and market leadership strategies.

Comparative strengths and advantage of U.S. and Japanese firms are:

• United States – where markets and technologies undergo constant and rapid changes

• Japan – where technologies are relatively stable and making incremental improvements is the basis for advantage...

The motto of U.S. firms: "It's not the big that eat the small... it's the fast that eat the slow." ( a book by Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton)

The motto of Japanese firms: "O snail, climb Mount Fuji with no hurry." (a haiku by Issa)... More

Competitive Strategies: 2 Types

Kaizen – Japanese Strategy of Continuous Improvement

Kaizen means "improvement". Kaizen strategy calls for never-ending efforts for improvement involving everyone in the organization – managers and workers alike.

Kaizen Mindset

Kaizen is an integral part of corporate culture. It requires continuous both conscious and sub-conscious thinking about improvements from everyone. Nurturing and effectively integrating Kaizen into corporate culture is not easy. It requires a sustained effort. But, as Toyota has demonstrated, it offers a more sustainable competitive advantage... More

Toyota Production System (TPS)

Implementation of Kaizen Strategy: 7 Conditions

One of the most difficult aspects of introducing and implementing Kaizen strategy is assuring its continuity.

When a company introduces something new, such as quality circles, or total quality management (TQM), it experiences some initial success, but soon such success disappear like fireworks on summer night and after a while nothing is left, and management keeps looking for a new flavor of the month.

Areas Targeted by TQM in Japan

This if because the company lacks the first three most important conditions for the successful introduction and implementation of Kaizen strategy... More

Kaikaku and Kaizen

Kaikaku is breakthrough rapid improvement, radical improvement of any activity, in particular to remove waste (or 'muda'). Kaikaku is also known as Breakthrough Kaizen, Kaizen Blitz, Flow Kaizen and System Kaizen. Kaikaku is about large rapid improvement, similar to radical innovation, though innovation is not necessary for Kaikaku.

Kaikaku is sought in addition to Kaizen, not in place of Kaizen. Kaikaku is a rapid change event as opposed to Kaizen which is smaller incremental improvements. Kaikaku is revolutionary while Kaizen is evolutionary. When approaching a problem situation, it might require radical improvement to start with (Kaikaku), then be continuously improved (Kaizen).

Kaizen Mindset

• Not a single day should go by without some kind of improvement being made somewhere in the company... More

Thinking Creatively

The Japanese success in world markets was focused less on products innovation than on innovative productivity and marketing. Creative thinking led to small, but highly powerful, improvements.

Yin-Yang of Entrepreneurial Creativity

Case in Point  Canon Production System (CPS)

Canon employees are offering around 50 improvement ideas per year per employee.

In some Canon plants, the foremen are told to set aside the half-hour as Kaizen time – time to do nothing but thinking improvement in the workshop. The foremen use this period to identify problems and work on Kaizen programs.

Each Canon employee receives a 55-page pocket-size CPS Notebook that explains the CPS, how to get Kaizen targets, and the award system. These CPS Notebooks also have special pages entitled "My Self-Development Goals – Method, Tools, and Investment" to be filled in by the worker... More