202.244.3738

Dear friends and clients,

My parents are Brits, and when we were growing up English-style tea parties were the family’s standard form of celebration. Even the smallest child was free to enjoy a cup of tea, loaded up with lots of milk and sugar.

As a weight-conscious teen, I wanted to break the sugar habit, but I wasn’t about to give up my tea. Leaving out the sugar seemed just too hard, but I decided to reduce the amount so gradually that I’d never even miss it. I started by removing a single grain of sugar from one of my normal three heaping teaspoons per cup. Every day I tried to remove a few more grains, and – after more than a year – I had learned to enjoy sugarless tea without a single moment of feeling deprived.

As an adult, I applied the “sugar grain” principle in all kinds of situations, from cleaning the closet to finding a new job. It wasn’t until years later that I discovered that “Kaizen” is the term that more learned folks use to describe the technique of creating big change with very tiny steps. With this issue I’ll offer some Kaizen tips that might help you bring about change in your own life.

Warm wishes,

Create Success the Kaizen Way
– One Tiny Step at a Time

April 6, 2005 * Number 12

The Kaizen approach to achieving excellence was rooted in the early days of World War II, when doing more with less was a patriotic mandate for U.S. manufacturers. After the war, Dr. W. Edwards Deming took American ideas for continuous improvement to Japan, where they quickly became part of the business culture.

“Kaizen” is roughly translated as “improvement,” and in management discussions the term generally refers to “continued and gradual improvement.” In a Kaizen company, improving all processes and providing better service to customers is everybody’s job, and even the most modest suggestion for better performance receives consideration .

For individuals, Kaizen means that very small steps can lead to sweeping change. Even if you face serious obstacles, you can move toward big goals by starting with the tiniest imaginable steps. For example, you can apply Kaizen in your personal life by launching a fitness program with just one minute of walking each day.

Proponents of positive psychology say that Kaizen works so well because it overcomes fear and resistance to change, it subdues negativity, and it builds new neural pathways.

You can start the Kaizen process by defining your goal and then asking yourself: “What tiny step can I take toward that goal?” Here are examples of how you might apply Kaizen in your life:

To reduce your caffeine addiction, mix a little bit of decaf into your regular cup of coffee, then gradually change the proportions over time.
To rebuild your network, start by making just one phone call to a new or neglected contact each week.
To find a new job, commit to taking just one very small step every day. A “step” might be mailing off a resume, touching base with a former colleague, or signing up with an on-line placement service. To meet your one-a-day goal you’ll probably have to get creative, and the resulting long shots may turn out to be the most valuable steps of all.
To clean up the stacks of paper in your office, see how much progress you can make in sorting through a single pile for just one minute a day. Make a game of it, gradually increasing the length of your daily clean-up sessions, and racing through as much clutter as possible in the allotted time.
To improve your vocabulary, learn one new word a day.
To get more sleep, go to bed one minute earlier each night, until you have reset your bedtime to a more reasonable hour.
To establish a meditation practice, start by focusing on your breath for a minute a day.
To become more productive, ask yourself each day: “What small thing can I do to be more efficient than I was yesterday?”

To defuse conflict with a colleague, each work day ask yourself: “What is one thing that I appreciate about this person?”

To reduce your daunting TODO list, ask: “What annoying task can I get out of the way today?” By training yourself to regularly spot and tackle small problems, you can avoid some big messes.

The gentle Kaizen technique is often most effective when you begin with the most trivial steps possible. If you start with steps that are so small that they are no trouble at all, it will be easy to build new habits. For more on building habits, click here for the March 15 issue of Bev’s Tips.

Reading suggestions

Described below is a book that will teach you more about Kaizen.
To directly order the book from Amazon.com, click on the title below. For reviews of other recommended books, each with a specific link to Amazon, go to o:
ClearWays Books and Services.

One Small Step Can Change Your Life – The Kaisen Way, by Robert Maurer, Ph.D., Workman Publishing, 2004.

With this readable little book, psychologist Robert Maurer introduces the Kaizen approach to management, and illustrates how Kaizen techniques can help you to reach your goals and achieve excellence in your personal life, as well as in business.

Maurer describes many cases where people have overcome their fears and turned around their lives by starting with mini-steps. One of his patients, for example, launched a successful exercise program by getting on her treadmill each morning and just standing there, reading the paper.

The science, Maurer says, is irrefutable: Small steps can circumvent the brain’s built-in resistance to new behavior. And the same approach, he says, can help you improve your attitude. For example, if you tend to berate yourself he suggests that you ask: “What is one thing that I like about myself today?"

Looking for a speaker? Bev provides one-on-one coaching and is available for speeches and workshops on ways to make your work life happier and more productive.

Want more tips? To read more tips, go to archived issues at: Bev’s Ezines. If you have a friend who could use some tips, send them this issue by clicking below on the blue line that asks whether you know somebody interested in Bev’s Tips. Meanwhile, Bev welcomes your suggestions, comments and questions.

Bev’s Tips for a Better Work Life is published on the first and third Tuesday of each month by Beverly E. Jones of ClearWays Consulting, LLC. Bev is a lawyer and former executive who now coaches accomplished attorneys and other professionals to bring new direction, energy and enjoyment to their work lives.

All rights in all media reserved. However, the content of Bev’s Tips for a Better Work Life may be forwarded in full without special permission on the condition that (1) it is for non-profit use and (2) full attribution and copyright notice are given. For other uses please contact Bev Jones.

Our address is: 2925 43rd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20016.