Continuous Improvement - Presentation Zen Design - page 240

take time off the grid, and reflect on where you are now and on how you want to improve.
In Japan there is a reflection process called hansei , which is a kind of downtime of
introspection and self-reflection during which people think about the current situation or
project—even if things are going well—and brainstorm ways to improve it. Without
hansei, there can be no learning. No reflection, no improvement.
Jazz legend Paul Desmond once said, “Writing is like jazz. It can be learned, but it can't
be taught.” Much the same could be said of design—about learning to see and think
more visually. Teachers are necessary and important and they can point the way. But in
the end, it's always up to us to learn it, and most of our learning now is a result of our
own efforts and our lifelong commitment to continuous improvement through education
outside the classroom.
Long-Term Improvement: Kaizen
The Japanese term kaizen ( ) means “improvement,” literally change + good. In
relation to business processes, however, kaizen more closely resembles “continuous
improvement.” Kaizen is rooted in the principles of total quality management brought to
Japan after World War II by statistician W. Edwards Deming and others.
Kaizen is key to the steady improvement and innovation of successful companies in
Japan such as Toyota. In the topic The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for
Mastering Innovation (Free Press, 2006), author Matthew May says, “Kaizen is one of
those magical concepts that is at once a philosophy, a principle, a practice, and a tool.”
Although corporations use kaizen as a tool to achieve greater innovation, productivity,
and general excellence, it's also an approach we can learn from and apply to our own
lives as we strive for continuous improvement on a more personal level. Let's call this
“personal kaizen.” You can apply the personal kaizen approach to personal efficiency or
to GTD—Getting Things Done. You, too, can take the spirit of kaizen and apply it to your
unique personal approach to improving—step by step, little by little—your design
mindfulness, knowledge, and skill.
Kaizen is daily, continuous, and steady—it takes the long-term view. Kaizen also
requires a commitment and a strong willingness to change. I suggest you incorporate it
into your approach to learning all you can about design and visual communication over
the long term.
The interesting thing about kaizen is that big, sudden improvements are not necessary.
Instead, what is important is that you're always looking for ideas—even the smallest
ideas—that you can build on. Tiny improvements are OK as over the long term they can
add up to great improvements. Each journey begins with a single step, also a precept
inherent in kaizen. Simple, doable changes may not seem like much at the time, but they
add up.
There is an old saying that goes, “Once you think you have arrived, you have already