Kaizen leading: Slow and steady wins the race Published Feb. 24, 2015 By Capt. J. Travis Doyle 9th Airlift Squadron DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- This Japanese philosophy is not new, at least not in the business sector. The principle of kaizen is "continuous improvement" or "incremental change." Broken down literally, it means "good change." In Air Force terms, we might think of AFSO21, Six Sigma, Lean Principles or a plethora of other complex systems aimed at either reducing waste or improving efficiency. The problem with thinking about it in Air Force terms is it seems overwhelming and too complex to instill daily. It doesn't have to be that way. Kaizen on the other hand is more suitable to you and me, normal hard working individuals. It is a way of producing and maintaining excellence. By understanding this concept and putting it into daily practice, we can slowly win the race. What metaphorical race am I referring to? It exists both inside and outside of work. Consider the race your life. It is highly unlikely that one day all the answers will come to you, your health will magically get better and all the problems that you have will disappear. It is going to take continuous improvement (kaizen) to produce results. For example, at work, I just took over as the Readiness flight commander. I took the first few weeks on the job to get to know my duties, responsibilities and my people. Now that I have a grasp on that, I show up to work asking how can we make our shop just a little bit better every day. We can all think of a few people that come into their new leadership position and try to make big changes to make a name for themselves. More often than not, those leaders are resented and talked about, not in a good way. Kaizen allows for continuous change in a way that doesn't ask too much of people's time and energy. It is people-friendly and easy. In my shop specifically, I asked an Airman to take a look at our Mobility Folder Review checklist and see if he could make it better. I asked for small changes and gave him a lenient seven-day time constraint. Less than 24 hours later, 11 out of 35 tasks involved were improved. Was the readiness shop revolutionized? No. But we did make it easier on every member in our squadron to maintain his or her mobility folder. By asking to make small continuous improvement, we can affect the lives of many. That's another important concept behind kaizen. It is not just about changing processes and formalities; we are helping our brothers and sisters out. It is personal. This concept can be applied to family life too. When you go home, ask yourself "How can I make this family a little bit better?" Nothing crazy, just small incremental change for the better. Now that you have a little knowledge and some practical examples about kaizen, give it a shot. If it doesn't work for you, you can always go back to the 332-page AFSO21 Playbook. Good luck and have some fun with it.