How to Implement a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Ever feel like you're rowing a boat solo when you should be captaining a ship?

Well, buckle up, because we're about to dive into the world of lean business practices that'll turn your one-man show into a well-oiled machine.

Getting Your Team on Board

Let's kick things off with the question that's probably been bouncing around in your head:

"How do I get my team to be productive and understand true productivity?”

Bingo!

You're asking the right question.

And guess what?

I've got some simple steps you can take—right now—to start building a culture of continuous improvement in your small business.

But before we jump in, let's get one thing straight:

The Great Divide: Uptime vs. Downtime

In business, there are two states of being:

1. Uptime: When your "machine is running" and pumping out quality outputs.

2. Downtime: When the machine's not running. For whatever reason.

Now, here's where things get interesting. The practices we're about to dive into? They might feel unproductive at first.

But here's the kicker: they're actually an investment in daily continuous improvement.

I can already hear the objections: "But that's time we're not spending actually getting work done!"

Here's the deal, though. Planned downtime for improvements?

It compounds. Like crazy.

Stick with me, implement these practices, and I promise you'll be looking at a completely different (read: more productive and profitable) business in a year.

Maybe even sooner.

So, let's dig in, shall we?

The Holy Trinity of Lean Business Practices

We're going to tackle three game-changing practices:

1. Daily Gemba Walks

2. Daily Team Huddles

3. Daily 3S

Implement them in this order, and by the end, I'll give you a "prescription" for actually making these standards stick.

Daily Gemba Walks: Where the Magic Happens

First up: Daily Gemba Walks.

"Gemba" is Japanese for "where the work happens."

And that's exactly where you're heading.

Here's the lowdown:

• Take a 15-minute walk (to start) to your business's "gemba."

• It could be the production floor, an employee's laptop, or a construction site.

• Wherever value creation happens for your customers—that's your gemba.

As a leader, you want to rub elbows with the folks doing the actual value creation.

Why? Because that's the only thing your customers care about.

So it should be your primary focus too.

The point of a gemba walk isn't to crack the whip.

It's to learn. Gather info. Spot the waste. And get a feel for the daily grind your team goes through.

What you do with what you learn?

That'll change day to day.

One day, you might help a team member make a 2-second improvement to boost their efficiency. The next? You could spot a major bottleneck that needs some serious management intervention.

The function of a gemba walk is to spend time with the operator and with the work.

You don’t want to only rely on reports of outcomes.

You want to get familiar with how the outcomes get produced.

Every single day. Because every single day produces new challenges, problems, and opportunities.

The purpose of a gemba walk is to learn.

Gather information. Identify the waste. And become accustom to the burden (waste) that the people doing the work experiences every single day.

They’re used to it. But your presence will help them see that waste shouldn’t be normalized in our business.

And it’ll help you see the reality of production inside of your business.

Daily Team Huddle

Picture this: 15 minutes every morning. The whole team. On the same page.

Use this time to efficiently communicate what's important.

When everyone's hearing the same message, they can riff on it throughout the day as they interact with their teammates.

So, what's on the agenda?

1. Yesterday's production (real vs. planned)

2. Yesterday's problems (what happened, what we did about it, and what we learned)

3. Yesterday's improvements

4. Today's production goals and schedule

5. Review one company core value

6. Learn something new (this can be about anything as it highlights the importance of growth: lean business practices, a new team member, or about the U.S. Constitution)

We're talking 60-90 seconds per topic.

Maybe 2-3 minutes for the learning bit.

Start on time, end on time. No exceptions.

Daily 3S: Small Changes, Big Impact

Once you've got two weeks of huddles under your belt, it's time to implement daily 3S—for everyone.

The 3 S's? Sort, Sweep, and Standardize.

Here's the deal: Dedicate 30 minutes every day for every team member to make improvements.

And I mean every team member, from the CEO to the frontline.

Break it down like this:

• 80% should be 2-second improvements. Small tweaks that don't need approval and primarily affect the person making the change. Fixing something that bugs them about their daily work is a great place to start. And usually a great direction for the majority of days. These small improvements will compound each day.

• 15% can be slightly larger in scope, maybe affecting a whole team or needing a bit more time to implement—maybe over the course of a week during the Daily 3S time.

• 5% are the big ones. These are the game-changers that might only happen a couple times a year. They require significant resource (time, money, and energy) expenditure. Like planning, researching, purchasing, and installing new equipment to increase the flow of work through production. This requires the leadership team’s involvement. And should absolutely be prioritized. After all, if leadership is doing their job during the gemba walks, they’re going to listen to and prioritize the production floor’s ideas for increasing productivity. Making business-wide improvements that are spurred by Daily 3S’ing can be one of the quarterly strategic priorities (or rocks) for the leadership team to focus on.

The Prescription for Success

Alright, so you're sold (maybe) on these practices.

But how do you actually make them stick?

Here's your prescription:

1. Start with Daily Gemba Walks for the leaders. 15 minutes, every day.

2. After a week, introduce the Daily Team Huddle. 15 minutes, every morning, sharp. If work starts at 8:00 AM — make this happen at 8:30 AM.

3. Two weeks later, roll out Daily 3S. 30 minutes, every day, for everyone. Start this promptly at 8:00 AM – so that some of today’s improvements can be highlighted during the huddle for everyone to learn from.

Pro-tip: use a Commitment Kanban board to visualize Daily 3S improvements.

Remember, consistency is key.

It's not about perfection; it's about progress.

The Payoff: A Business Transformed

Look, I get it. These practices might feel like a time sink at first.

But trust me, the payoff is huge.

Imagine a business where:

• Everyone's aligned on goals and priorities

• Problems are caught and solved quickly

• Continuous improvement is just part of the daily routine

• Productivity (and profits) are on an upward trajectory

That's the power of these 3 lean business practices.

Your Call to Action

So, here's my challenge to you:

1. Leaders: start your Daily Gemba Walks. Immediately. No excuses.

2. Schedule your first Daily Team Huddle for next week.

3. Mark your calendar for Daily 3S implementation two weeks after that.

Remember, you can't build a lean and productive business by yourself.

But with these practices? You'll be well on your way to creating a culture of continuous improvement that'll transform your business from the inside out.

It's time to stop rowing alone and start captaining a real ship.

Your team's ready. Are you?

Let's get lean, mean, and insanely productive. Together.

P.S. Shouldn’t productivity result in profit? Don’t rely on the fuzzy feeling of flow to be your indicator for a good day (or year) of work. My team of process engineers helps small business owners and operators to make the most out of their existing workforce. Schedule a 15-minute call to learn more!