Jonny Wilkinson and Kaizen!

As an avid reader of fitness and adventure magazines, I actually couldn’t believe what I was reading the other day. Jonny Wilkinson writes a column in ‘Outdoor Fitness’ and in a recent edition he give his opinion on the appeal of sport. This is what he said:

‘One of the most appealing things about sport is the way it fulfils your natural desire to get better. For me, sport has always been about a search for more. The day I stop improving I might as well pack it in.’

One of the ways I achieve the mindset is to follow the Japanese concept of Kaizen, which is about making a change for the better every single day. It might be a small change, like a choice of meal, or something bigger, like the commitment to new training methods. But in effect it is about a process of continual improvement, which makes you commit to bettering yourself. When you think of life in that way, it provides the purpose and motivation you need every day to ensure you never lack the desire to train or improve.

Jonny goes on to discuss how he was introduced to the concept and his coach told him to imagine that you are being videoed every day and to ask yourself these things: Are you happy with what you see? How does it make you feel? Can you see where improvements could be made with only small adjustments?

I have been working with Kaizen for over 20 years.  I started in Toyota over in Japan.  I thought this was a great piece by Jonny and, as an aspiring triathelete, found it really inspirational.

What if all employees and leaders of industry had this same mindset? We would be world-beaters in our manufacturing and other business sectors just like Jonny was in the rugby world cup a few years ago.

I would be interested any views anyone has.