What is CANI?
00
Constant And Never-ending Improvement
Continuous improvement means always striving to be the best you can be. It means you cultivate a growth mindset – you’re always identifying areas for improvement, developing and implementing solutions, and then making those solutions part of your everyday processes. It can apply to everything from losing weight to improving your relationships or accelerating your career. The continuous improvement definition is often used in reference to growing a business – there’s even a term for it. Kaizen continuous improvement, in general, can refer to a culture of progress in a company, but it’s also a specific set of business processes. It involves holding “events” at which specific business goals are discussed and all employees participate in suggesting improvements and developing a plan. Kaizen aims to make all employees feel valued in order to develop a culture of continuous improvement – and it’s what every business owner should strive for. Here we’ll cover what happens in your mind when you face a setback and how you can keep making your organization – and yourself – the best it can be.
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THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROCESS
If you’ve ever decided to take on a new endeavor, you know that progress isn’t linear. When you start learning or doing something new, you see major results in little time. You’re growing and growing and then, suddenly – BAM – you plateau. What happens after that is where the real continuous improvement begins. Many of us give up, but if you understand the continuous improvement process, you’ll know how to channel setbacks to push you further along.
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A STRONG START
When you start something new, it feels exciting. Sure, you’re working long hours, but you’re gaining customers, improving efficiencies and learning the lay of the business land. You’re even having fun! Everything you do feels like continuous improvement. You’ve shot up in capacity and can’t wait to scale your business or improve your skills, right?
In relationships, this is the “honeymoon phase.” If you’re learning a new skill, this is when you go from beginner to intermediate. At this point in the continuous improvement process, your brain is running on adrenaline. It’s an exciting time, and you feel like you’re invincible.
In relationships, this is the “honeymoon phase.” If you’re learning a new skill, this is when you go from beginner to intermediate. At this point in the continuous improvement process, your brain is running on adrenaline. It’s an exciting time, and you feel like you’re invincible.
03
PLATEAUS AND SETBACKS
But then comes a plateau. Instead of rapid progress, it feels like you’ll never get better. You might even start getting worse. You dropped 15 pounds but can’t get rid of the next 10. You’ve got a solid forehand on the tennis court, but you can never get your backhand to work quite right. Frustrating, right? You can’t help but wonder what happened to those early, exciting feelings. What’s happening in your brain now?
Humans tend toward dichotomous thinking. It’s an “all or nothing” way of looking at the world. When we succeed, we often celebrate; when we fail, we start to question everything.
This type of thinking gets us in trouble. Instead of quitting, remember that plateaus are part of the training process. Do you think that professional athletes or the top entrepreneurs have never had this happen to them? Of course, they have. But they recognize this stage as just another stop along their upward trajectory – and they keep going.
When you hit a plateau, always remember:
“No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.”
Recognize that success isn’t a place at which we arrive; it is an ongoing process and we must embrace every stage of the journey, not just the peaks.
Humans tend toward dichotomous thinking. It’s an “all or nothing” way of looking at the world. When we succeed, we often celebrate; when we fail, we start to question everything.
This type of thinking gets us in trouble. Instead of quitting, remember that plateaus are part of the training process. Do you think that professional athletes or the top entrepreneurs have never had this happen to them? Of course, they have. But they recognize this stage as just another stop along their upward trajectory – and they keep going.
When you hit a plateau, always remember:
“No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.”
Recognize that success isn’t a place at which we arrive; it is an ongoing process and we must embrace every stage of the journey, not just the peaks.
04
RECOMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
A setback can be the stimulus to re-energize your commitment to your ultimate goal. It can be what helps you identify a new opportunity or a new area for improvement. But you must be able to leverage the pain and frustration to make you work harder. Setting a goal and navigating your path to obtain it are two different things, and you need to be prepared for unexpected bumps in the road along the way.
But getting back on track is tough. That’s why you need something or someone to break your pattern and get you back on track.
In personal development, continuous improvement might mean you need to switch up your weight loss strategy with a new workout routine. Enhance your relationship by ensuring you’re putting your partner’s needs first and that you’re keeping the spark alive. Learning a new skill will require you to have the resilience to push through the plateau and train even harder.
But getting back on track is tough. That’s why you need something or someone to break your pattern and get you back on track.
In personal development, continuous improvement might mean you need to switch up your weight loss strategy with a new workout routine. Enhance your relationship by ensuring you’re putting your partner’s needs first and that you’re keeping the spark alive. Learning a new skill will require you to have the resilience to push through the plateau and train even harder.
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STUDY THE RESULTS
Learning a new skill will require you to have the resilience to push through the plateau and train even harder. Now, recommitted to your goal, you can once again become immersed and dedicated. You’ll experience renewed energy because you’ve learned to see plateaus as a kind of resting point. As you learn to rest at the plateau before using it as a catapult for continued progress, your new surge will once again cultivate huge growth. Those pounds fall away, that backhand now surpasses your forehand shot and your business is growing like crazy.
But now is not the time to get complacent. Studying your results to see what works best is an essential part of the continuous improvement process.
At Perfect Smile Doc we are committed to continuously improving how we do things every day to deliver the best outcome for patient care, team satisfaction, fulfillment and retention. Come join us and achieve your fullest potential by being part of Perfect Smile Doc and contributing to our mission of creating Unique Smiles for our patients.
