Six Habits For Driving More Successful Outcomes

Behavioural Science, Habits and Behaviours.

I am intrigued by the human habits that drive success in any endeavour.

Thinking “Outside – In”, breaking down silos, a focus on defects, the cadence of successive, small achievements that create the bigger outcome, as just four examples.

I saw a little video this week, entitled “6 Japanese Techniques to Overcome Laziness”.

It resonated on a few levels, but it wasn’t really about laziness or Japan, it was more a collection of related behaviours that we all recognise, but may not attribute to Shinto philosophy.

Six habits – the bit we all struggle with (I know I do) is to turn desirable behaviours into habits that last . .  

This relates closely to a collective determination to drive better business outcomes through “end to end” processes. So I thought this is worth sharing.

It also reinforces my appreciation for some of our world’s broader cultural heritage  . . .

Six Habits;

• Ikigai: This Japanese concept refers to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living. We hear a lot in business and personal development about “Finding your WHY” and WIIFM. Not just my “Why” or WIIFM but also those of my stakeholders . . 

• Harahachibu: Practicing moderation and sustainable effort, avoiding burnout. This aligns with broader cultural values of balance, simplicity, and respect for nature. 

• The Pomodoro Technique: Although not specifically Japanese, it recommends short, fixed time intervals for intense, focused work, followed by short breaks. Designed to keep the mind alert and engaged, significantly reducing the inclination to procrastinate and enabling a deeper focus on the task, avoiding burnout, as above.

• Wabi-Sabi: A Japanese aesthetic that embraces imperfection and transience instead of stressing over every detail. “Less is More”. A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.

• Shoshin: Embrace the curiosity and openness of a beginner for new information and learning. An attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions. Even if we are experts in our domain, asking “Five Whys” opens up a new appreciation for what we think we understand.

• Kaizen: Taking small, consistent steps toward improvement daily. Popularized in sport as the “aggregation of marginal gains”. It can lead to significant long-term benefits. More and more of us use Kaizen, Lean and Six Sigma techniques (all related) in our businesses. So, for completeness (and for my own sanity 😉 );
  
  • Lean
    • Focuses on reducing waste to improve process speed and quality 
    • Helps produce products or provide services faster and at lower costs 
    • Simplicity of principle allows everyone to collaborate on improvements 
  • Six Sigma
    • Focuses on improving the quality of the final product by finding and eliminating causes of defects
    • Strives for process excellence, no defects 99.99966% of the time 
    • Aims to lower costs, improve customer satisfaction, and facilitate continuous improvement 
  • Kaizen 
    • Focuses on standardizing processes and increasing efficiency
    • Promotes teamwork across people, functions, departments and silos. Helps develop confidence and innovative participation for all
    • Fosters collaboration. Sharing ideas and knowledge creates better solutions

Many of our challenges in delivering business results are human problems, at source. A focus on these habits and behaviours can help drive better business outcomes and financial performance. 

“We always hope for the easy fix: the one simple change that will erase a problem in a stroke. But few things in life work this way. Instead, success requires making a hundred small steps go right – one after the other, no slipups, no goofs, everyone pitching in.”

Atul Gawande: Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance

The little video that sparked me on this is on Youtube here . . . 

You can read “How To Find Your Ikigai” by Chris Myers in Forbes here . . .

And you can read “The Real Meaning of Kaizen” by Katie Anderson in Industry Week here . . . 

Six Habits For Driving More Successful Outcomes

Thanks for reading . . .