Howard Raynor extols the virtues of a step-by-step approach to managing change.
When faced with a tough challenge or major upheaval there is a tendency to see the problem as something we can do nothing about ? be it an external issue like regional skills development, funding or company restructure, or shifting public opinion on a key issue. The scale of what is involved literally paralyses us; we feel unable to act. Sometimes this shows up as stress, sometimes it shows up as helplessness, and sometimes it shows up as going out of business.
Small steps
?Kaizen theory? as a management tool comes to us from Japan and it offers an alternative perspective to problem solving. The West is infatuated by abrupt step change and innovation ? scary stuff for the leader and the team: elation when it pays off but decreasingly effective in actually solving problems. The Kaizen view is to look at a persistent incremental change approach ? taking lots of tiny, low-threat, low-stress steps towards a goal every day ? and it is very effective if applied well. It still needs vision, it still needs the goals, but the goals are broken down into a process of tiny steps. Think about how rust eats cars and you get the idea.
The Bridgewater Hall?s success hinges on the fact that orientation towards the goal is owned by the whole workforce, everyone is taking very small, low-stress steps towards the business objectives. It makes for great team building, effective business plan delivery and shared ownership of the result. Our success is gradual not abrupt.
Allied to this is the psychology of small steps. We all tend to think of change as being formidable, destabilising and stressful because we think of the scale of change, and the scope of the unknown can overwhelm us. It is easy to see why people choose stasis or consolidation over growth and development, particularly if we live in a world where management think ?our job is to manage change; if we fail we must change management?. However, if we are only looking for the first tiny step that we can actually take today we can focus on something much less threatening. If you multiply this by the scale of the workforce then you can see the potential of gradual change. If fear isn?t in evidence, it means less tension, less argument and more focus on the task.
Fresh ideas
The full Japanese Kaizen umbrella covers a range of improvement tools, including process mapping, statistical process control, quality circles, suggestion schemes and just-in-time delivery. Many of these are manufacturing ideas that the arts would struggle to make use of, yet there is some real wisdom in the idea of focusing on improvement right across organisations and engaging with ideas from another culture (in this case Japan) to help us deal with our own sector.
The elements of Kaizen that I have found most useful are:
- long-term and long-lasting effects, which are born out of small, continuous and incremental steps
- constant, gradual improvement involving everyone
- the form of collectivism it proposes: a group effort based on a systems approach
- that it doesn?t preclude innovation: it is about maintenance and development not just innovation. It creates a great environment for innovation
- its combination of state-of-the-art and conventional know-how
- that it needs little investment but great effort to maintain it
- that it works well in a highly-developed, mature economic environment.
In terms of practical application, the best tools are:
- asking small questions to dispel fear and inspire creativity
- thinking small thoughts to develop new skills and habits
- taking small actions to guarantee success and build confidence
- solving small problems, even when you are faced with an overwhelming crisis
- bestowing small rewards on yourself and others to produce the best results
- recognising the small but crucial moments that everyone else ignores.
Fight the fear
The physiology of human beings is wired particularly well for incremental change and particularly badly for major change. Faced with large goals, we find ourselves becoming frightened; we tend to call it ?stress? but it is the same thing. At this point, our brain adopts strategies allied to survival, thus restricting access to the most creative part of the brain; the result is poor performance. Think about the last time you sat an examination and your mind went blank.
If we are faced with small goals, fear is less likely to be triggered, leaving us able to engage the most creative part of our brain ? the cortex ? and, as a result, success is much more likely. Success, in turn, nurtures confidence; we feel able to deal with challenging situations more easily.
Have a peaceful 2005 and think small.
Howard Raynor is Group Chief Executive for The Bridgewater Hall and Urbis.
e: howard.raynor@bridgewater-hall.co.uk
If you would like to read more about Kaizen try One small step can change your life by Dr Robert Maurer, Built to last by Collins and Porras and, my favourite, Out of the crisis by Dr W Edwards Deming.