Masaaki Imai Quotes

“It is impossible to improve any process until it is standardized. If the process is shifting from here to there, then any improvement will just be one more variation that is occasionally used and mostly ignored.”

“The Kaizen Philosophy assumes that our way of life - be it our working life, our social life, or our home life - deserves to be constantly improved.”

“Where there is no standard, there can be no improvement. For these reasons, standards are the basis for both maintenance and improvement.”

“The starting point for improvement is to recognize the need.”

“Don’t wait for the perfect solution.”

“When you solve one problem, you will see ten more.”

“Seek the wisdom of ten people rather than the knowledge of one.”

“Be present with your co-workers and staff.”

“All of management’s efforts for Kaizen boil down to two words: customer satisfaction.”

“Kaizen is everyday improvement, everybody improvement, everywhere improvement.”

“Japanese management practices succeed simply because they are good management practices.”

“Kaizen is like a hotbed that nurtures small and ongoing changes, while innovation is like magma that appears in abrupt eruptions from time to time.”

“Kaizen means ongoing improvement involving everybody, without spending much money.”

“One must standardize, and thus stabilize the process, before continuous improvement can be made.”

“Progress is impossible without the ability to admit mistakes.”

“This success has little to do with cultural factors. And the lack of cultural bias means that these practices can be – and are – just as successfully employed elsewhere.”

“You can’t do kaizen just once or twice and expect immediate results. You have to be in it for the long haul.”