Operations
Kaizen
Japanese for 'change for the better' or 'continuous improvement'
A Japanese business philosophy of continuous incremental improvement involving all employees, from executives to assembly line workers. Small, ongoing positive changes that accumulate to major improvements.
Biological Context
Kaizen parallels evolutionary adaptation through small mutations. Rather than dramatic reorganization, organisms improve gradually through accumulated small changes. Natural selection is kaizen at the species level—continuous incremental improvement over generations.
Business Application
Kaizen culture empowers everyone to identify and implement improvements. Small daily improvements compound dramatically over years, often outperforming occasional dramatic changes.