Kaizen is a topic near and dear to us here at SuccessFactors. You can even see it in our founding principles statement. What is it, you ask? Kaizen is most easily understood as a process of continuous improvement in everything one does. You can get the history of it at Wikipedia.What it means practically is that we’re always striving to do better. At a high level it means things like: to serve our customers better, to innovate better and to perform better – but it works its way down to even the most tactical of things (i.e. to write better). I personally like to use the phrase “Kaizen the heck out of it.”
It comes to mind because over at Lifehacker, they’ve got a great post up on how to use the concept of Kaizen in your personal life. A good Friday afternoon read.
October 15th, 2006 at 7:28 am
Max, most interesting. In the brouhaha of the Performance Management Technology Market, I have heard many stories that caught my attention re: SuccessFactors. That is why I first contacted Rob Bernshteyn a few years back.
It was my perception that somewhere within the hype when Lars first came on board was a CEO who directed with PURPOSE. It was not about where you next sale came from, it was about what customer worked with for SUCCESS.
The success story began to emerge about 2 years ago at the SF website when industry by industry, the visitors to your site could read the stories and reports on the measured impact, rather than the usually technology hype of features, benefits, upgrades and reports on sales. SF was the first to my knowledge to apply its technology with industry specific knowledge for customer success based on PURPOSE.
This book announcement from the editors list at http://www.strategy-business.com parallels your entry:
Subject: s+b Recommended Book: “Purpose: The Starting Point of Great
Companies”
From: “strategy+business.com editors”
Date: Wed, October 11, 2006 6:05
Just published — the first book that can help the CEO, and those who
want to be CEOs, see their strategic path from the perspective of
destiny.
Endorsed by more than 20 leading academics and CEOs
The single factor influencing the best strategic decisions is a solid
understanding of an organization’s Purpose.
What really drives corporate decision making? In his groundbreaking
book,
“Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies,” world-renowned
thought leader Nikos Mourkogiannis finds that the single factor
influencing the best strategic decisions is a solid understanding of
an organization’s Purpose.
http://www.purposethebook.com/
Conventional wisdom suggests that companies exist primarily to return
investment to shareholders. But, the author contends, running a
company with only that end in mind is a sure-fire way to kill it.
Mourkogiannis turns the idea of leadership on its head — and shows
that the choice between values and success is no choice at all. Rather
than organization or structure, he argues that ideas are what cause
companies to go from good to great. Drawing on examples from across
multiple industries, Mourkogiannis demonstrates how a strong Purpose
is the essential first step toward lasting success.
The author shows that Purpose not only provides the raw materials from
which competitive advantage is created, but also shapes the patterns
of behavior that enable these raw materials to fit together.
Mourkogiannis reveals how Purpose provides the CEO with direction and
focus, as well as acting as a consistent guide for everyone in the
organization to make the countless small decisions that add up to a
strategic position. “Purpose:
The Starting Point of Great Companies” provides a lens through which a
company’s strengths can be viewed, and concise guidance as to how best
these strengths can be leveraged.
“Enduring institutions — those that have stood the test of time –
create value for society and base their code of conduct on values. In
this context, Purpose is far more than the starting point of great
companies, it is the centerline that guides institutions to greatness
and significance over time. Nikos Mourkogiannis shows leaders the way
to set direction and navigate the tides of growth and change.”
Ralph W. Shrader, Ph.D., Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Booz
Allen Hamilton