People, not Ideas, are a Company's Greatest Asset

 Employee involvement has repeatedly proven itself to be the key to any successful continuous improvement program. But getting that involvement requires careful planning, management, training, guidance, and documentation. Improvement Engine: Creativity and Innovation – The Kaizen Teian Approachexplores and melds two essential aspects of successful programs: Kaizen, the goal of continuous incremental improvement, and Teian, the process of involving employees in reaching that goal.

Moving beyond a traditional suggestion system

The text outlines a workable approach that every company, division, unit, manager, kaizen promoter, or team leader can take to establish and utilize a kaizen teian program. Originated in Japan and based on years of evolving practices within numerous companies, this tested program provides a practical and proven framework for understanding and implementing kaizen, including—

A model "kaizen sheet" tool for documenting improvements

Actual examples of how to best promote, educate, and establish a kaizen teian system.

With in-depth discussion that discerns between what should and should not be done, the authors highlight how this simple, disciplined philosophy quickly gets to the core of a problem.