Getting Personal About Success Through Continuous Improvement

Personal success isn’t about pursuing perfection, it’s a process of continuous improvement that yields unexpected rewards. 

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Written in partnership with Toyota and #TheToyotaEffect.

I was a young consultant, delivering my first full-day presentation to a room full of potential clients, and I was beyond nervous. I wanted to be perfect, and I knew I was a long way from it.

I had prepared, and I had practiced. I’d grown tired of the sound of my voice and didn’t care if I never saw another mirror in my life because every time I caught sight of my reflection the opening line of my script started playing in my head – rather like one of those annoying Halloween decorations that starts moaning when its motion detector senses someone approaching.

But I wasn’t perfect. And I was fully convinced that if I wasn’t perfect I wouldn’t end up with a single client.

Knowledge Doesn’t Make a Difference, People with Knowledge Do

I got through the first two hours, internally wincing at every flubbed word and every forgotten phrase, and then I announced we were going to take a break but that I would be happy to answer any questions from the audience. Instantly a hand shot up in the front row.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been in that spot. But usually when someone is that eager to ask a question it’s a good bet that they think they’ve got you. They’re going to stump you, they’re going to debate you, or they’re just going to make a fool of you and enjoy every second of your mortification. So it took all of my acting ability to smile and nod as I acknowledged the man attached to the waving hand.

The first words out of his mouth were, “Where did you learn all that stuff?”

I laughed out loud with relief and delight and he must have sensed I wasn’t laughing at him because he laughed too. Then about half the room cracked up, and the other half was grinning and I didn’t care so much about being perfect.

I threw the script out the window for the rest of the day and focused on the audience. I asked them what they needed to know, even though I knew I might not have the answers. I invited them to answer questions for each other, and thanked them for teaching me a thing or two (or twenty.) We laughed together and learned together and when I went home my schedule was full of follow up appointments. But more than that, I had new friends, and a new-found understanding of what was more important than a “perfect” presentation.

Sharing is Caring

I became a better “speaker” when I realized that they weren’t really there to hear me speak. They were there to see what I could share. And the first thing I had to share was myself. My audience was full of doctors, and the ultimate truth about the patient/doctor relationship applies to all relationships – “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Once I let my caring show they could really take in what I had come to share.

That’s why the theme of Toyota’s series of films they call “The Toyota Effect” captured my attention. These are clips that document what happens when Toyota (yes the car manufacturer) brings their process for continuous improvement into other organizations. And it’s all about sharing ideas for the greater good rather than holding them as closely guarded, proprietary secrets.

When good ideas are shared, people return home faster.

When good ideas are shared, more manufacturing jobs stay in the U.S.

And the one that really grabbed at my heart — When good ideas are shared, more patients keep their sight.

“Saving Sight” is not only a story of a woman who can finally see her family again, but the story of doctors who can finally smile at the end of the day because they’ve provided excellent care for the long line of underserved patients who depend on them. These doctors could only provide services for so many patients each day, and they were working crazy hours to make the number of patients as high as possible, and yet people were literally going blind waiting for care. Now the doctors are able to care for more patients, provide even better care for the patients they see, and go home with energy left for their lives. All because of process, and the sharing of ideas. Watch “Saving Sight” here.

These documentaries not only made me more hopeful for our future, they also made me think about how improvement happens and how I can apply the lessons that are so subtly demonstrated in these films to my own personal improvement.

It’s Never About the Process, it’s Always About the People

The elusive perfection I thought would come from preparation and practice really came from a genuine connection. The skills mattered, but the “perfect” presentation had to be based on authenticity. If I wasn’t showing up as me then it really didn’t matter how perfect my information or presentation were. Because you cannot serve your audience until you connect with them.

Reaching any goal you set takes ten percent specific knowledge or technical skills – ten percent, max. The other ninety-plus percent is people skills.  — Bob Burg in The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea

Remembering that connection is more important than perfection served me well as a coach and consultant. As outsiders charged with helping to improve a business, and more than that, helping to improve its people, consultants walk a bit of a tightrope. Improvement means change, change creates uncertainty, and uncertainty usually inspires some fear. Even more than engaging an audience from the stage, I had to learn to engage people in change.

Shared Ideas Create Shared Results

My lesson from that perfectly not-perfect day became part of my process. I learned, finally, how to let go of the notion that I had to have the answers. I encouraged people to share their experience and ideas with me and each other so that we could find the answers together. It not only worked, it turned out to be a lot more fun than being the know-it-all in the suit.

The first thing I noticed in each of the clips in The Toyota Effect is that all of Toyota’s people are genuinely connected with the people they’re helping and with their mission. They bring authenticity and collaboration to each project. But although they’re improving external processes, you’ll also find the principles of individual continuous improvement at work in each highlighted story.

Keep it Simple Sweetheart

You can’t help but notice how simple a lot of the solutions in these films are. Taped off areas that measure a “truck full” so that the team knows exactly when to back the rig in and load it up, white boards that track the whereabouts of ladders, color-coded systems for patient charts that shave precious minutes off of every procedure.

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. — Albert Einstein

Systems don’t have to be high-tech or complicated. And neither does a system for personal continuous improvement. My journal and pen are the most important tools I own.

Leaders are Learners

These leaders were humble enough and smart enough to know they didn’t have the answers. As the Chief Improvement Officer at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center says, “Sometimes when you work in chaos you don’t know how to get out of it.”

We’re never given more than we can handle, just sometimes more than we can handle alone. — Dixie Gillaspie in Just Blow It Up: Firepower for Living an Unlimited Life

We can always improve, creating organization and efficiency from the chaos. But we’ll probably need help. I’ve worked with many coaches, consultants, and mentors. Without any one of them I wouldn’t be the person I am today, and without the advisors I’m working with today I couldn’t become the person I want to be tomorrow. Our ability to serve at a higher level depends on our ability to learn and grow to that higher level.

No One Is Perfect, and Even Greatness Requires Growth

No matter how ideal a system seems to be, the whole premise of continuous improvement is that it is a process, not an event with a beginning and an end. The same is true of our personal growth.

There is no such thing as a great executive. There is only a great executive for a specific company at a specific point in time. — Ben Horowitz in The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

Perfection is a moving target, and no one can agree on the bulls-eye. As The Toyota Effect demonstrates; pursue excellence, honor progress, and focus on service rather than reward and you’ll find yourself hitting the stars more often than the fencepost.

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Photo: Flickr/Made It Series