Don McMinn

In 1950, 21 of Japan’s most important business leaders attended a dinner party in Tokyo. American statistician W. Edwards Deming was the keynote speaker. Deming’s said that the key to restoring Japan’s post-war economy was to pursue a simple strategy of continuous improvement in all products and services. Collectively, and without regulatory or legislative involvement, these leaders adopted Deming’s recommendations, which eventually led to a manufacturing and economic renaissance.

In two decades, Japanese products, which had been referred to as “Jap scrap,” became synonymous with “quality” and “super-engineering.” These quality improvement methods took Japan, within one generation, from a country that had been completely destroyed in 1945 to the number two economic power in the world. The Japanese called the process “kaizen,” which means “continuous betterment” or “continuous improvement.”

Leaders, embrace the Kaizen mindset. Never be content with the way things are; continually strive to make things better. Adopt the mindset that everything is a work in progress and that incremental improvements will always be made. Continually ask, “How can this be improved?”

Here’s a great example. When Netflix was launched, their primary business was sending DVDs to customers using a simple mailing envelope that also doubled as the return envelope. For years the envelope went through many iterations as Netflix continually tweaked its functionality. Here’s a picture of a few of the different envelopes.

Of course, their distribution strategy has changed drastically. Now they stream their movies, making the envelope obsolete.

An important aspect of the Kaizen strategy is the emphasis on continuous improvement. We don’t improve things periodically, we do so continuously. We don’t just think of it once a year, it’s a modus operandi that influences us daily, if not hourly.

Here’s a 4-minute video about the Kaizen Strategy.

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[callout]The 10 commandments of rational debate. These 10 rules will help clarify your thinking and strengthen your ability to persuade others. [/callout]

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead

I have never understood why some leaders, when they are developing strategy and making decisions, are reluctant to include other people in the process. I can’t really think of any downside in doing so. You have assembled a team of smart, engaged people who love your organization; why wouldn’t you seek their input?

One of my favorite leadership mantras is: All of us are smarter than one of us. The IQ of the team is always greater than the IQ of any one person, and the IQ of the team can even exceed the sum of the intelligence of individual team members—collective team intelligence can produce a 1+1 = 3 outcome.

For instance, one study found that, on their own, participants got only 10 percent of the answers correct on a tough logic test. When they worked as a group, the score soared to 80 percent.

Collaborative wisdom will always exceed individual wisdom. Any idea or plan will be improved upon when submitted to the wisdom of others.

Collaborative leadership is more important now than ever before because in our complex society, functioning as a soloist will produce inferior results. The Lone Ranger is dead. Good leaders know that they don’t have to have all the ideas or know all the answers, and that’s why they’re eager to receive input from others. Wisdom does not necessarily flow from the top down.

I’m not suggesting that as a leader you relinquish all control—it is the leader’s responsibility to make decisions, and everyone knows that. And, I’m not suggesting that you lead by consensus—there are times when consensus is impossible and even undesirable. But if you truly listen to others and they know that their thoughts help shape decisions, there will be a healthy sense of unanimity when you make the final decisions.

During World War II, General Eisenhower made a habit of visiting his troops on the frontline, and he would ask the soldiers, “What do you think?”

We should follow his example. Feedback is a gift.

James Surowiecki’s book, The Power of the Collective, talks about the wisdom of crowds. Here’s a video of the author speaking on this topic.

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[callout]12 best books I read last year: book 1 of 12

How We Got to Now – Six Innovations That Made The Modern World – Steven Johnson, 2014.

Blending science and history, Johnson tells a fascinating story about glass, cold, sound, clean, time, and light. Click here for more information from Amazon. [/callout]

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Small wins have an influence disproportionate to the accomplishments of the victories themselves. Charles Duhigg

It seems our brains aren’t very good at distinguishing big successes from small successes. Often, we’ll enjoy as much emotional and mental reward when we succeed at something simple as we do with large wins. So, in your life and organization, orchestrate a series of small wins to generate “success momentum”—the feeling you get when you succeed over and over.

For instance, if you know you’re going to have a challenging day, perform a series of small wins to build momentum and to increase confidence and resiliency. This strategy will combat procrastination and complacency,  and will provide a growing sense of satisfaction and control.

If your organization is stalled or when you’re launching a new product or service, you can generate momentum by designing, accomplishing, and celebrating a series of small wins.

Here’s a great example of the benefit of small wins.

William H. McRaven, a retired U.S. Navy four-star admiral and former commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, is now chancellor of the University of Texas System and leads one of the nation’s largest and most respected systems of higher education.

On May 17, 2014, McRaven delivered the commencement address at his alma mater, University of Texas at Austin. In his speech, he gave 10 suggestions on how to change the world. His first point was: make your bed.

“Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam veterans, would show up in my barracks room and the first thing they would inspect was your bed. If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centered just under the headboard and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack—that’s Navy talk for bed.

It was a simple task, mundane at best. But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that we were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle-hardened SEALs, but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.

If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.

And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”

Making your bed every morning is a simple example of how small wins can be used to generate momentum and can lead to larger accomplishments. Take advantage of the power of small wins.

Here’s a video of McRaven’s speech at U.T. Austin.

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Getting angry is okay as long as you get angry for the right reason with the right person to the right degree using the right words with the right tone of voice and appropriate language. Aristotle

Many people don’t know how to properly express their anger. They either stuff their anger or spew it. Said differently, some hide it, others hurl it. Said again, some people are like turtles (when conflicts arise, they pull into their shells), others are like skunks (when challenged, they spray nasty stuff).

Stuffers are often reluctant to even admit that they’re angry and have a hard time expressing their anger. Spewers are just the opposite; when they’re upset, they let you know, and it’s usually not pretty.

Aristotle’s statement (see above) teaches a wholesome approach to anger. When you’re angry, express it, don’t stuff it, but do so in a proper way—don’t spew.

Getting angry is okay…

Getting angry is often unavoidable and, at times, healthy and the right thing to do because it is our natural response to pain and hurt.

For the right reason…

Get angry over child trafficking; don’t get angry when your newspaper gets wet. Get angry when politicians lie; don’t get angry when your two-year-old knocks over his milk.

With the right person…

When you get angry about something that happens at work, don’t take it out on your spouse or children when you get home. It’s immature, unfair, and irresponsible to flail on someone who was uninvolved in the situation that made you angry.

To the right degree…

If your kid forgets to make his bed, don’t go ballistic. If he sneaks out at night and wrecks your car, go ballistic.

Using the right words…

Don’t curse—that’s obvious; don’t exaggerate—“You’re always late”; and don’t dispense shame—“You’ll never get it.”

With the right tone of voice and appropriate language…

Even right words can be inappropriate when spoken with an improper tone of voice, so be careful not only about what you say but how you say it.

Let me add two more suggestions to Aristotle’s list: (1) While it’s okay to periodically get angry, don’t be an angry person—one who is predisposed to being upset and vexed. If you have a reputation of being an angry person, your anger is out of control. (2) Sometimes we need to “drop an issue” because it’s just not important enough to stall the day. Carol Tavris says, “For some of the large indignities of life, the best remedy is direct action. For the small indignities, the best remedy is a Charlie Chaplin movie. The hard part is knowing the difference.”

Here’s some good advice on how to manage your anger.

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