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Creating a Kaizen Culture: Align the Organization, Achieve Breakthrough Results, and Sustain the Gains
FOSTER AND SUSTAIN A KAIZEN CULTURE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION WINNER of the 2015 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award!
FOREWORD BY JOHN TOUSSANT, CEO OF THEDACARE
Transforming a culture is far more about emotional growth than technical maturity. Co-written by leaders at the Kaizen Institute, Creating a Kaizen Culture explains how to enable an adaptive, excellent, and sustainable organization by leveraging core kaizen values and the behaviors they generate.
The proven methods presented in this book will dramatically increase your chances of success in implementing a kaizen culture by closing the biggest gaps in the correct understanding
WHAT KAIZEN CULTURE IS AND WHY WE NEED IT HOW EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE CAN PRACTICE KAIZEN EVERY DAY THE LEADER'S ROLE IN TURNING KAIZEN CULTURE INTO COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Based on more than 50 years of combined experience from experts who have successfully used kaizen to lead real transformation in a wide variety of industries, Creating a Kaizen Culture reveals how to propel rapid and sustainable performance improvement. It provides a detailed and illustrated road map to organized kaizen implementation through kaizen events. Real-world examples demonstrate kaizen culture in action at Toyota, Zappos, Wiremold, and many other companies. Featuring valuable insights from Kaizen Institute leaders, this practical resource
WHY WE NEED A KAIZEN CULTURE THE TRUE MEANING OF KAIZEN THE ORIGIN OF THE KAIZEN EVENT KAIZEN AS A STRATEGY IN PRACTICE DAILY KAIZEN SUSTAINING A KAIZEN CULTURE ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS FOR KAIZEN TRANSFORMATION FACING UP TO THE CULTURE MONSTER CASE STUDIES OF REAL-WORLD KAIZEN IMPLEMENTATION IN ORGANIZATIONS OF VARIOUS SIZES AND INDUSTRIES
FOREWORD BY JOHN TOUSSANT, CEO OF THEDACARE
Transforming a culture is far more about emotional growth than technical maturity. Co-written by leaders at the Kaizen Institute, Creating a Kaizen Culture explains how to enable an adaptive, excellent, and sustainable organization by leveraging core kaizen values and the behaviors they generate.
The proven methods presented in this book will dramatically increase your chances of success in implementing a kaizen culture by closing the biggest gaps in the correct understanding
WHAT KAIZEN CULTURE IS AND WHY WE NEED IT HOW EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE CAN PRACTICE KAIZEN EVERY DAY THE LEADER'S ROLE IN TURNING KAIZEN CULTURE INTO COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Based on more than 50 years of combined experience from experts who have successfully used kaizen to lead real transformation in a wide variety of industries, Creating a Kaizen Culture reveals how to propel rapid and sustainable performance improvement. It provides a detailed and illustrated road map to organized kaizen implementation through kaizen events. Real-world examples demonstrate kaizen culture in action at Toyota, Zappos, Wiremold, and many other companies. Featuring valuable insights from Kaizen Institute leaders, this practical resource
WHY WE NEED A KAIZEN CULTURE THE TRUE MEANING OF KAIZEN THE ORIGIN OF THE KAIZEN EVENT KAIZEN AS A STRATEGY IN PRACTICE DAILY KAIZEN SUSTAINING A KAIZEN CULTURE ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS FOR KAIZEN TRANSFORMATION FACING UP TO THE CULTURE MONSTER CASE STUDIES OF REAL-WORLD KAIZEN IMPLEMENTATION IN ORGANIZATIONS OF VARIOUS SIZES AND INDUSTRIES
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
33 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
About the author
Jon Miller
63 books3 followersLibrarian Note: There are multiple authors by this name in the Goodreads database.
For the Professor of Philosophy at Queen's University, see Jon Miller.
For the Professor of Philosophy at Queen's University, see Jon Miller.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 8, 2025
This book comes from seasoned Lean and Six Sigma practitioners with decades of combined experience, making their insights particularly valuable. Fair warning upfront: my perspective is certainly colored by personal connections and getting an early copy right off the press.
Be prepared for a challenging read, though, as the language is dense and incorporates terminology from systemic engineering beyond typical Kaizen jargon. Fundamentally, the book makes a strong case that Kaizen Culture isn't a Japanese or automotive artifact, but a universal approach built on deep-seated beliefs and a profound valuing of people. It pushes the idea beyond simply improving processes to improving how we improve, acknowledging cultural contexts and the transfer of knowledge. The "true meaning" isn't just projects, but daily, company-wide engagement across three distinct levels.
A key takeaway lies in the exploration of 10 core beliefs that form the culture's bedrock, drawing fascinating parallels with foundational principles like Deming's and The Toyota Way. Practical chapters delve into adaptive decision-making, integrating Kaizen into strategy (Hoshin Kanri), and emphasizing the leader's vital, visible role in daily practice. The book doesn't shy away from the tough stuff either, discussing the emotional hurdles of change, the challenge of sustainability, and confronting the formidable "culture monster." Ultimately, the message is clear: there's no simple checklist, but the path involves embracing core beliefs, facing cultural challenges head-on, and relentlessly applying the PDCA cycle.
Be prepared for a challenging read, though, as the language is dense and incorporates terminology from systemic engineering beyond typical Kaizen jargon. Fundamentally, the book makes a strong case that Kaizen Culture isn't a Japanese or automotive artifact, but a universal approach built on deep-seated beliefs and a profound valuing of people. It pushes the idea beyond simply improving processes to improving how we improve, acknowledging cultural contexts and the transfer of knowledge. The "true meaning" isn't just projects, but daily, company-wide engagement across three distinct levels.
A key takeaway lies in the exploration of 10 core beliefs that form the culture's bedrock, drawing fascinating parallels with foundational principles like Deming's and The Toyota Way. Practical chapters delve into adaptive decision-making, integrating Kaizen into strategy (Hoshin Kanri), and emphasizing the leader's vital, visible role in daily practice. The book doesn't shy away from the tough stuff either, discussing the emotional hurdles of change, the challenge of sustainability, and confronting the formidable "culture monster." Ultimately, the message is clear: there's no simple checklist, but the path involves embracing core beliefs, facing cultural challenges head-on, and relentlessly applying the PDCA cycle.
May 6, 2015
Must read
If you want to implement a culture of continuous improvement at your organization, this book is in the "must read" category.
If you want to implement a culture of continuous improvement at your organization, this book is in the "must read" category.
September 27, 2016
The information here is excellent but there were a lot of areas that slowed me down. I didn't "consume" this book rapidly, I read it in pages, sometimes in paragraphs and indexed several pages for easy reference. I expect I will get even more out of it the next time I read it. Unlike some dryer lean books, this one seems very worthwhile and did captivate me at various points. If you are on a lean journey I would recommend this book.
May 30, 2025
I heard one of the authors speak a few years ago and I've been reading to prep for a process improvement class I teach. it's definitely a book to tackle in small chunks but thought it had a lot of great ideas in it!
February 6, 2020
Borrowed from Molly CWT.
December 8, 2021
I was expecting to find more [useful] ideas. Instead is a long plead for practicing kaizen. And it's a book that doesn't come cheap.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews