Kaizen
Continuous improvement - the practice of making small, incremental improvements constantly.
Evolution operates through continuous incremental improvement—small mutations that slightly increase fitness accumulate over generations. Bacteria evolve antibiotic resistance through daily micro-improvements, not sudden leaps. Coral reefs build complexity through millions of tiny polyp additions. The biological principle: fitness landscapes are climbed through persistent small steps, not revolutionary jumps. Organisms that wait for perfect solutions go extinct; those that continuously improve survive.
Business Application of Kaizen
Continuous improvement - the practice of making small, incremental improvements constantly. Formalized across Toyota's ecosystem in the mid-successional phase (1970-1980), involving suppliers, engineers, and production workers in collaborative improvement.