KAIZEN 10 SMALL STEPS ebook

KAIZEN - 10 SMALL STEPS TO SUCCESS IN LIFE AND BUSINESS

Aneta Wątor

I dedicate this book to you, dear Reader.

I wish that the knowledge, tools and rules it contains will help you improve your life and develop your business! With a special sentiment I dedicate this book to all these people who, just like me, weren’t afraid of dreaming and were able to roll up the sleeves to let their dreams come true. Reading this book is just one small step towards a better life. The next one would be the performance of the tasks described in it. The third one - coming back to the book at least once in a month and reminding yourself of the rules that it contains. Further steps will take care of themselves. Just go ahead and act - don’t postpone it. I keep my fingers crossed and wait for your success! Now it’s your turn to be effective!

THANKS

I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for the people I meet. If it wasn’t for the people who made me fall, I wouldn't be so strong today. If it wasn't for the people who believed in me and helped me, I wouldn’t be where I am. If it weren't for diligence, kindness of heart and values brought from home, I would not be who I am. First of all, I want to thank my parents. Thank you for the wonderful upbringing, for the most important values that you shared with me, for your unconditional love, protectiveness, humility, kindness, naturalness and loyalty. Thank you for always being there for me. I also want to thank my brother. Tomek, I admire you for your diligence and keeping your feet on the ground. Thank you for your valuable advice and tips. I learn a lot from you :) I love our family gatherings, thank you for being there!

PREFACE

The book

KAIZEN - 10 small steps to success in life and business

teaches how, with the help of the efficiency Bible, that is, 10 KAIZEN principles, you can achieve your goals faster and more effectively. It shows how to act despite adversities and how to face situations that seem unbearable in our lives. It is a simple and effective recipe for success meant for people at any stage of career because it shows how, by asking yourself the right questions and looking inside yourself, you can achieve better results.

By reading this book:

You will learn a simple way to effectiveness. KAIZEN philosophy is to improve private life and work in small steps.

You will overcome your weaknesses every day.

You will stop comparing yourself to others and competing with them.

Every day you will take small steps that will lead you to your goal.

You will stop putting your life off until later.

You will start doing whatever you can do with what you have now and stop procrastinating. You will learn the best management strategy.

You will learn an effective method of solving problems, rather than finding someone to blame for them.

You will learn some surprising mechanisms of extraordinary achievements.

Do you know what one little thing you can do for yourself today to achieve your goal?

WHO HAVE I WRITTEN THIS BOOK FOR?

I don’t believe in coincidences. The fact that you are holding this book in your hands and reading it right now means that this is time in your life to make changes. I simply don’t believe that after reading my book you won't get anything out of it for yourself. I don’t believe that you have already known everything it contains about business, people, maybe even yourself. In this book you will find the truest image of yourself. It will show you what you can become and what your business might be like if you apply the most effective business method. Do you know companies such as Toyota, Mazda, Sony? Do you know what they owe their success to? Precisely to the KAIZEN method. I wrote this book for you, to support you in your development, so please appreciate it and use the knowledge it contains in your life. My intention is to spread soft skills education and show you how to achieve the intended goal in small steps. The full profit from the sale of the book KAIZEN - 10 small steps to success in life and business will be donated to the statutory activities of the Motiwator Foundation so that we can develop and keep promoting our knowledge.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE AUTHOR - ANETA WĄTOR

I am a KAIZEN practitioner, a person full of humility towards life and passion for improving, a great believer in wise diligence on the way to achieving goals. In this book, I share my experience and know-how that I have been gaining for over 10 years of work. Currently, I am professionally focused on working in the real estate field and spreading knowledge about the practical application of KAIZEN so that others can achieve above-average results in the areas in which they specialize and be successful and happy. I set up the Motiwator1 Foundation to support and educate mostly young people in development of their emotional and financial intelligence. I did it because both me and the foundation’s team members witnessed several tragic events (suicides of young people) caused by the inability to cope with emotional problems. We want people to be able to solve their problems and to admit to them. What we do not want is for the young people to struggle internally with their dilemmas, unable to deal with them and, consequently, to commit suicide. There are already too many bad things in the world for us to look indifferently at. The KAIZEN method claims that every problem has, statistically, seven possible solutions. The book presents practical ways to solve any problem and it shows how to look for solutions within yourself.

The KAIZEN philosophy and its application

What does the word KAIZEN mean?

Japan is known and admired for a perfectly organized society that has changed its philosophy completely after the war. Products of the Japanese industry have conquered almost the whole world. What is the secret of their success?

There are many components of such success: diligence, striving for perfection and the ability to work in a team. There is also something that drives all these processes - that is KAIZEN, the philosophy to which Japanese manufacturers owe their triumph. It is used by the largest automotive companies from the Land of the Rising Sun, such as Toyota, Honda or Mazda, as well as by the well-known electronics manufacturers, such as Sony.

The KAIZEN’s keynote is to constantly improve life in all its aspects. Above all, it is a continuous efficiency improvement, the maximum elimination of waste and the effective troubleshooting. It is not only a way of thinking and managing, but also an appropriate method of communication. After all, it is not possible to make any improvements if there is no chance for a mutual understanding.

WHY CAN KAIZEN HELP YOU?

The brain is designed to resist every change. Changes are associated with something new and unknown, so they generate fear which very often paralyzes action.

By taking small steps, we change our nervous system so that:

it removes blockages and enables creative thinking

it creates new connections between neurons, so that your brain willingly initiates the process of change what effectively brings you closer to your goal.

It’s the little changes that lead to a real, permanent revolution. By acting daily, making small progress every single day with consistency, patience and self-confidence, you will achieve success.

Above all, KAIZEN teaches to improve every day, at least a little. So think about your goal and use the tools discussed in this book to achieve it. REMEMBER! Only consistent acting will ensure your success.

THEKAIZEN PHILOSOPHY - TOOLS

KAIZEN isn’t just a philosophy - first and foremost, it’s the tools. A methodology whose effects of application can be measured. Its great advantage is that even if you use only one of the following methods, you can still achieve the desired success. What’s important is to begin with defining what our goal is and what results we want to get. Without this, taking any effective action is out of the question. The tool must be properly adapted to the problem. I want to show you how KAIZEN can cause changes in both your personal life and your business. That’s why each tool is described in a way that not only clearly shows the steps to be taken, but also give you a hint on what to use them for. You have reached for this book for a reason… so the truth is, you already have some goal. Now you only have to choose a method from the range offered by KAIZEN that will support you in your actions. So read, implement and achieve the above-average results.

10KAIZENPRINCIPLES

1. Problems create opportunities. Look for them. What problems have I faced recently and what opportunities have I gained thanks to them?

2. Get ideas from everyone. What can I learn from the person I am talking to?

3. Think about the feasible solutions, not about the problem. What could be the best possible solution to this situation for me?

4. Reject the established state of affairs. How can it be improved?

5. There is no need to make excuses that something cannot be done. If you think something cannot be done, ask yourself if this is an excuse?

6. Ask 5 times: “WHY…”. The so-called 5WHY. Keep asking. How can it be improved?

7. Choose simple solutions, do not wait for the perfect ones. What can I do to reach my goal even though I am lacking the resources / team / skills?

8. Use your wits instead of money. How can you get the thing you want to buy without spending money on it?

9. Correct mistakes on a regular basis. What corrections you put off until later and correct them today. What can I imporve in my action today?

10. Improvement is endless - KAIZEN never ends. Try to be a better version of yesterday’s yourself every day. Think about what new or good you did yesterday and do it better today. What one little thing I can do today to impove my work?

PRINCIPLE no. 1

Problems create opportunities.

Look for them.

We cannot solve our problems with the same way of thinking we used to create them.

Albert Einstein

Have you ever wondered what a problem is? Please write down your definition of this word. What do you associate it with?

Problem - definition:

And now, by looking at the definition above, you are able to easily define your assumptions about problems. A lot of people fear problems and try to escape from them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t lead to anything good because the problems swept under the rug tend to grow into larger ones that are even harder to resolve. For me, a problem is a challenge, an opportunity, a possibility. If you start looking at the difficulties in a positive way and realize that the further you go, the more problems you face, you will start to focus only on solving them and looking for the answer to the following question: What could be the easiest solution to this situation?

When you face a problem, don’t focus on it - focus on the solution. Ask those who might help you with your situation what possibilities of a simple way out of it they see. The KAIZEN method is largely a way of communicating. Therefore, while using it, we consider the opinions of all people. Both at work and in personal life we should listen to those with completely different experiences, who look at the same matter from various perspectives. Knowing the opinions of many people, we are able to find the best solution very quickly.

Quoting the Cambridge Dictionary2 definition, a problem is “a situation, person, or thing that needs attention and needs to be dealt with or solved”. The last part of this term perfectly reflects the nature of KAIZEN's approach to problems. The solution is what really interests us.

Statistically, one problem has seven possible solutions. If you adopt this point of view, you can write down everything that comes to your mind and later choose the option that will be the easiest, the cheapest and the fastest to implement (you’ll find more on this subject in the chapter on brainstorming).

Now think about a problem that you have faced recently or the one you are dealing with right now and write down all the possible ways of solving it, without limiting yourself with money or time. Write down at least seven possible solutions below:

My problem:

At least seven possible solutions to my problem:

Can you think of any other ideas on resolving this problem?

Who else but you could suggest other solutions to this problem?

Write the names of these people here:

Now call each of these people and ask what in their opinion might be the best solution to this situation? When someone uses the objection “I don’t know”, remember to ask: “And if you knew, what would you advise me?”.

Remember also that every problem is an opportunity in disguise, a possibility that only makes us stronger, thanks to which we adapt to changes faster and we become better people. Looking back at my failures and problems with a broken heart, when I could not accept the loss of a loved person, I remember thinking that the world had come to an end and nothing worse could ever happen to me. Obviously, the scenario could have been much worse, tragic even, but after a few days of despair, I pulled myself together and asked myself: And what if it was the best thing that could have happened to me then? What if, in a few years, I will be in the arms of a person who best suits me, with whom I feel fulfilled and worthy and who makes me feel stronger? All that things considered, wouldn't I like to thank the person who hurt me so much for leaving me then? What if I were still with this old partner, unhappy together, frustrated with each other and dissatisfied with the fact that we are together only for fear of loneliness? The truth is, life always writes the best script for us. It’s only important that we look for opportunities that it is giving.

LOOK FOR NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN EVERY SITUATION

Have you read the book Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson? It’s a publication that for many weeks did not leave the top places on the bestseller lists of such widely read newspapers as: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today. The book tells a story of two mice that lived in a labyrinth. Every day, they would wake up and go out in search of cheese. One day all the cheese was gone. The first mouse started to mourn and it remained motionless willing to starve to death because of the lack of cheese. The second mouse, on the other hand, didn’t want to sit still so it hit the road and started looking for other possibilities. This book has a particularly important message because it reveals the deepest truths about the changes occurring in our lives. Some people are terribly afraid of changes, and this fear paralyzes their action, making them unable to take any new step. Meanwhile, the others set off to achieve new goals with pride and energy. The book encourages us to be open to changes, not to fight them. I also, through the book you are reading right now, want to encourage you to stop fighting and go with the flow of change.

Let the river flow and go with this flow yourself. Don’t fight the changes - you won’t win anyway.

What wins, however, is flexibility, the ability to adapt to changes and act in a fast-moving environment. There is a new opportunity hidden behind each failure. Think how beautiful your life would be if you were looking at challenges exactly this way?

A failure? It's just a sign from God that says: “Sorry, but you're going in the wrong direction”. Turn around, change something, look what gift is hidden in this situation. Five years from now, you’ll be thankful that things went this way.

Man doesn’t live by success alone…

Make friends with your failures and problems, there is a lot of good hidden behind them.

Alright, now I will confess to my failures. As you know perfectly well, they are the ones to teach us the most.

1. The belief that I'm not good enough to deserve love

A few years ago, for the first time in my life, I felt the pain of a breakup. It was a real death of something that in my expectations was meant to last forever… Something that was there, but it’s not anymore. My love has been rejected. Why did it happen to me? How do I go on living? What should I do with myself right now? I managed to convince myself that I am not good enough for anybody to ever love me again. That I have to achieve a lot in my life to deserve love. It took me a few years to work over this relationship destroyer - my own beliefs.

What good did I get out of this situation?

I realized that my sense of happiness doesn’t depend on the other person - it depends on me. That I cannot expect anyone to love me and be with me. I can, however, love myself and make my life as good as possible every day so that other people want to be part of it and so we can support each other in making our dreams come true. Thanks to this situation, I stopped making others responsible for my own prosperity and happiness because it all depends on me.

2. Giving responsibility for my life to others

What to do if you don't know? You ask others, obviously! After all, they know best what is good for us! And so unconscious Aneta, instead of calming down, reflecting and looking for the answer inside of her, preferred to ask other people. At work, I followed my dad's opinion. I was always very concerned about his praise, probably because he only saw the mistakes I made. A safe, stable job - that's what my parents wanted. But me, I don't need a sense of security, I was always appealed by risk. I wanted to work in a dynamic, constantly changing environment. That’s when I started to discover the KAIZEN small steps philosophy. Although I could have done it earlier…

What good did I get out of this situation?

The fact that I can be writing this book for you and pursue my greatest passion, which is to support enterprising women in the development of their businesses and contribute to other people’s lives.

I interact with you on Facebook, Instagram and other social media.

I am being invited to give interviews in magazines I have never even dreamed of before. I am fulfilling my potential and I live the life of my dreams. Every day I visualise more and more interesting perspectives that I can implement to create a better future. I'm not writing this to brag about it, but to show you that you can do it too and you deserve to reach for your dreams.

I’ve taken full responsibility for myself. For my happiness, finances, my inner peace and my self-esteem. I realized that I am the creator and that I bring to life everything that is best for me. I understood that each failure is only an opportunity in disguise.

A failure is an opportunity in disguise

I love reading success stories and interviews with entrepreneurs. Many of them became famous because they were able to take advantage of their failures and toils, transforming them into a huge success.

Let's start with my favorite Joe Girard, from whom I pleasingly learned relationship selling.

JOE GIRARD - THE BEST SALESMAN IN THE WORLD

He was a Chevrolet car seller. He broke the Guinness record by selling 1,425 vehicles in a year. His daily record was 18 cars.

What caused such an exceptional success of his? Above all, a unique approach to the client. Girard assumed that the most important thing is to talk to a client, learn about his life and gain his trust. That’s why he carefully analyzed the cars driven by his potential clients. He noticed stickers and other signs thanks to which he could find out that, for example, the client liked to fish or came from California. He never assumed a client would enter the dealership just to look at the cars. He approached everyone as if he were his friend.

Every client who had bought a car from Girard received a card from him. They contained various kinds of wishes, such as birthday or Christmas ones. Throughout his entire salesman career he sent about 16,000 cards. That made the clients remember him and recommend his services to their friends. To each car he sold, he attached a pack of business cards with a letter in which he asked a client to pass these cards on to his friends, and if one of them buys a car from Girard, the client will get $25. Joe knew this would be an impulse to act or his clients. And he preferred to earn $150 on two transactions rather than $100 on one.

We have to admit that Joe Girard knew how to read people and was able to convince them of anything. Today he is a world-renowned lecturer who taught seminars for car sellers of various companies until the end of his life.

He used to say that the sale is always an individual process. In addition to birthday cards addressed to his clients, Joe also sent them monthly postcards with views and sayings. He did not let himself be forgotten.

Girard's sales results speak for themselves. He was so busy that when his clients wanted to buy another car from him, they had to make an appointment in advance.

Joe ended up in the Chevrolet dealership by accident. His family was in trouble, they had no money, not even for basic necessities. Girard decided to take matters into his own hands, got on the bus and went looking for a job. He got out in front of the car dealership. He entered there and stayed for the next several years.

The important thing is to dare to dream big, then take action to make it come true.

Joe Girard

Now look at your current problems and imagine the best scenario for you in five years. Even if it might be overwhelming right now, try to create a quite detailed image: how do you look, how much do you weigh, what do you eat, who are you hanging out with, what is your day like, what is your professional situation? Who do you have to become to get there? Imagine that this person from your imagination supports you, cheers you on, believes in you and encourages you to get closer to this image every day. How would this future self of yours respond to your today’s problems?

I leave a blank space below for you to create this image of yourself

Me in five years in the possible best scenario:

Now focus on your health problem and think how you can solve it in seven different ways? Maybe you should start to eat healthy, do 10,000 steps a day or eliminate sugar and alcohol? You know perfectly well what is best for you. Write down seven indications for yourself below:

Now think about the reason for your financial problems. How can you solve them in seven different ways? Why are you not earning what you want to earn yet and how can you achieve it faster in seven different ways? Perhaps it will be saving and allowing yourself to spend only a certain amount of money every month? Write down your answers below and remember, it’s not just reading this book that will help you improve your life and business - it’s putting these tasks into practice:

Now think about why you have problems in relationships with other people. How can you improve them in seven different ways? Maybe you should ask yourself how to show your loved one that you truly care about them? You could for example organize weekly dates with your spouse, tell yourself compliments every day or send each other nice texts… you know the best solutions yourself:

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPLE No. 1:

Remember that every problem creates development possibilities and can be an opportunity in disguise.

Solve problems on a regular basis. When the new ones arise, you will deal with them calmly and that will help you grow.

Do whatever you can with everything that you have now. Just act, don’t put anything off for later.

Use the advice of people who have more experience than you.

Look for the simplest solutions to the situations you encounter.

Statistically, every problem has seven possible solutions.

Look for new opportunities in every situation.

Draw conclusions from every action and every problem.

Learn from your failures. If you fall, never get up empty-handed.

PRINCIPLE no. 2

Get ideas from everyone.

There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others.

George Shinn

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain

WHAT CAN I LEARN FROM THE PERSON I AM TALKING TO?

Have you ever heard of Napoleon Hill? I must admit that it was thanks to him that I started my adventure with personal development, exploring the secrets of the mind, the law of attraction and spirituality. According to Hill, human possibilities are enormous, and people are able to do everything they dream about. He did many years of research on human potential and had numerous conversations with successful people, the most significant of whom was Andrew Carnegie - an American steel and rail industry expert and Hill’s lifetime mentor. In a way, Napoleon owes his success to Carnegie, as he partially sponsored Hill’s scientific research. Author based his study on the experiences of the 500 richest people in America. They invited him to their houses and offices and let him watch a great fortune being made.

The Law of Success is this author's bestseller, which I read about ten years ago. I fell in love with this law and I started to put it into practice.

One of the 16 lessons included in this book concerns the significance of cooperation with others. The author emphasizes the importance of building alliances and looking for people to help us grow. He encourages the reader to talk to other people and ask them what their idea of solving our problem would be. This goes perfectly well with our second principle: get ideas from everyone. Hill mentions a really curious way to get use of our mentors’ and role models’ ideas. His suggestion is to organize roundtable meetings with our role models who do not necessarily have to be next to us when we do so. How is that possible? You are about to find out.

Imagine the people who inspire you a lot and who have achieved spectacular success in the field in which you want to stand out. For me it will be the late Jan Kulczyk - a famous Polish businessman, Oprah Winfrey, Anthony Robbins, William Edwards Deming - precursor of the KAIZEN method, Robert Maurer - a psychologist who has published many books on the KAIZEN small steps method, Jack Welch - the author of the book Winning who managed General Electric, Elon Musk - a visionary, genius, obnoxious boss, creator of PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX, Joe Girard - the most outstanding salesman in the world who I’ve already mentioned in this book, Richard Branson, who needs no introduction...

Before we go any further, list your authorities below. They don't have to be business related, just any of those who inspire you in life.

People who are my role models:

Great, now imagine that you are sitting with all of them at a round table. It doesn’t matter that they are not really there, just picture yourself talking to them about your business or possible solutions to your problems. What do you think they would advise you? What tips would they give you? If you cannot find an answer, take some time to do research on your role models; read their books or quotes from them, look for information online, etc. Get to know them so that you can get into their skin and look at the world through their eyes and, as a consequence of that, gain the knowledge they have. Sounds quite exciting, doesn’t it? This exercise helped me a lot, so I encourage you to try it. Think about what you want to talk to your role models about at the roundtable and write down some tips that each of these authorities would give you on this matter.

The topic of the meeting or a problem to be solved during a roundtable discussion with role models:

What tips would the role model number 1 have for me:

...

What tips would the role model number 2 have for me:

...

What tips would the role model number 3 have for me:

...

What tips would the role model number 4 have for me:

...

What tips would the role model number 5 have for me:

...

What tips would the role model number 6 have for me:

...

What tips would the role model number 7 have for me:

...