I am recently read a book which was recommended by a good friend of mine called "The Monk who Sold his Ferrari", a book written by self help guru Robin S Sharma; for those who are unfamiliar with this little gem it is a book on personal self development, which aims to help its readers lead a fuller, more productive life.
It is well worth a read for those who have in interest in personal development; it is only about 200 pages long but is very hard to put down.
Some of you may be wandering what has this got to do with Lean, and I can assure you all that there is a very relevant connection; the main theme of the story is how a very successful and materialistic American Lawyer sells all of his possessions in search of deeper meaning for his life following a major health scare. He finds himself seeking ancient wisdom from sages living deep in the Himalayan Mountains.
Interestingly these Sages tell the traveller that in order to add purpose to his life he needs to practice 'daily Kaizen'. By identifying a personal long term goal (which could be translated to mapping a future state in lean lingua franca) and then working diligently towards continuous improvement efforts to achieving this goals the book states that individuals will not only be more effective in their personal goals, but lead happier and healthier lives.
We know that Kaizen is a powerful tool in business, so take time now to envisage what could achieve if you applied this ancient wisdom to your life? Feel free to contribute any personal examples you wish to share…….
Posts
