The document provides 4 suggestions for organizations to focus on continuous improvement rather than suffer from lack of progress. It suggests that continuous improvement is a process, not results, and organizations should nurture the process to reduce variation. It also advises having courage to take risks from failures and learn from mistakes. Continuous improvement requires viewing it as an ongoing process with owners empowered to improve their areas. Finally, the document states that daily small improvements will achieve more than sporadic large projects and are easier to sustain.

1. Suggestions for Continuous
Improvement Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

2. Is your organization focused on continuous improvement
or suffering from continuous pain because of a lack of a
process for generating progress and improvement?Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

3. Here are 4 suggestions to help you understand whether your organization
is focused on continuous improvement or suffering from continuous pain
because of a lack of a process for generating progress and improvement

4. 1. Continuous improvement is the process, NOT the
results Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

5. If you concentrate on nurturing the process, the results
will come as a natural consequence. Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

6. Everyone has processes and every process can be improved. Unintended
variation in our processes leads to undesirable variation in the outcomes
of our processes. Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

7. The proper continuous improvement focus is to simplify
our processes to reduce or eliminate these potential
variations. Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

8. This is what makes lean manufacturing and 5-S
successful—the elimination of unwanted variation.Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

9. 2. Have the courage to take risks.
Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

10. Thomas Edison had countless failures in his work to find the ideal filament
material for the incandescent light. Yet, he looked at each of those failures
as “lessons that taught us what won’t work” rather than as failed
experiments. Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

11. There will always be risks associated with change. There are no guarantees.
But there are inevitable long-term risks to avoiding change as well. One can
intelligently manage risk through the use of facts & data.
Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

12. An organization that is truly committed to continuous improvement is
filled with people who are comfortable with learning from what doesn’t
work Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

13. An organization where people are afraid of consequences
will never be successful at continuous improvement
Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

14. 3. Continuous improvement is a process
Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

15. Processes have owners. Owners are empowered to maintain and
improve that which they own Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

16. 4. Every day, some kind of improvement should be made
somewhere in your company Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

17. Many small, incremental improvements over time will out-
achieve a few large “breakthrough” projects over the long runAntonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

18. They will also be easier to sustain and will probably cost
less, too Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

19. Continuous improvement is synonymous with progress. Without continuous
improvement, there can be no progress, only decline as the rest of the world
continues its drive to better/faster/cheaper Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

20. Continuous improvement is the engine that drives our economy through
improved customer satisfaction, reduced variability, reduced waste and higher
profits Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com

21. Antonius P. Bramono – pbramono@gmail.com