Incremental Innovation
We tend to think of innovation as explosive ideas that produce radical change. Apple is the poster child for innovation. In the last decade, they reinvented the computer industry, music industry, and mobile industry—and the iPad may create a new mobile computing industry. Not bad at all.
But for most businesses, innovations can be far less sexy and monumental—yet still lead to positive change. The drive behind innovation is to constantly find ways to improve. The operative word is constantly as the innovation process for businesses is never-ending.
The Japanese have competed brilliantly against American manufacturers over the last several decades, utilizing their concept of Kaizen—“constant improvement.” The Toyota production system had been studied by academia and American businesses for years, and yet American car manufacturers continued to lose ground. (Recently, however, even Toyota fell prey to the seduction of the “rush to grow.”)
Kaizen is a philosophy in action that American workers have a difficult time integrating into their businesses. Why? We’ve been programmed to “swing for the fence” every time we’re at bat instead of trying to hit a single. We expect massive change immediately; otherwise we abandon our strategies.
How many brilliant ideas have we failed to capitalize on simply because we don’t have the discipline to execute?
Learn to honor the creative process, live one day at a time, and commit to constant improvement in both your business and personal life. It’s not sexy or glamorous but it produces sustainable results.
Let go of the programming that says it has to happen now. Most “overnight” successes take at least a decade. Accepting this reality brings tranquility; it also leads to a more mature and disciplined approach to business and our personal lives.
Minor improvements compound into significant positive changes over time.
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