In a world where everyone’s always doing something, it won’t be wrong to say that time is money. Managing time is still an art not many master. Be it a small-business owner or an employee of a multinational company, the currency of time has become more important than ever.
There have been numerous philosophies mentioning efficiency and time management. But there is this Japanese one that caught our attention.
Are you familiar with the ancient Japanese philosophy of ‘Kaizen’?
What is it about?
Kaizen is the principle of continuous improvement that can make a huge difference to the efficiency of any company and is saving some of the world’s most powerful companies millions of dollars a year. Sound good? Here are ways you can embrace Kaizen to improve your business.
- What’s your waste? – This isn’t just about what’s ending up in the rubbish, it’s also unnecessary movement, overproduction of stock, waste due to mistakes, and time spent waiting. Examine whether the waste is avoidable or could be made more efficient.
- Get organized! – Create a standardized work week so the same things are happening on the same day or time. Organize your equipment so everything has a home, and everyone knows where it is.
- Create visual systems – Get everything out of your head and onto a board –the goals and priorities, how you’re tracking, and who’s responsible. It helps with communication and eases the pressure on you because you now don’t need to be there to answer all the questions.
- Non-utilized resources – Listen to your team; their ideas and even their hidden talents could be put to good use.
You don’t have to spend millions on flash solutions
Simply get down to basics, understand the root cause of the problem, and put systems in place. Continuous improvement is about making your life easier, less frustrating. It gets you more time to be an efficient, effective business owner.
Source: BOMA
