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Changing When There’s Nothing Wrong: Benefits of Continuous Improvement in Business
Most companies only change when an issue surfaces, but people do not like to change when there is chaos. No one wants to deal with change when there are fire drills everywhere.
Don’t wait until something’s wrong to change.
Toyota is the number one car manufacturer selling nearly 10.5 million vehicles in 2021 because they change even when things are seemingly good and stable. Many companies around the world follow Toyota’s philosophy of continuous improvement and use their process-based culture to make their products faster, predominantly to drive down costs and increase profitability, and to achieve customer satisfaction.
Changing when things are going well is more effective than changing when there’s fire. It also prevents chaos from happening in the first place. Moreover, when you change when there is nothing wrong, you are not often forced to make drastic spur-of-the-moment changes. Instead, you are only making small changes and adjustments. Big changes can be overwhelming and often face resistance, while small changes are more achievable and sustainable. The power is in the accumulation of these tiny changes, instead of one big change.
