Kaizen and the Art of Continuous Improvement Drive CEO Brandon Frere

News provided by

Jul 04, 2018, 08:00 ET

PETALUMA, Calif., July 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Japanese word kaizen can be translated as "change for better" and can mean any improvement, one-time or continuous, large or small. But, due to its implementation as a business practice, the term has come to be associated with continuous improvement, a steady constant updating and reorganizing of skills and processes to improve quality and flow. In kaizen, all workers, from the CEO to the janitor, take responsibility for finding and implementing even the smallest improvements. Brandon Frere, CEO of Frere Enterprises and a successful entrepreneur, admires the personal responsibility and organizational dynamism that kaizen encourages.

"When the input of every member of the organization is valued and the status quo is under constant pressure, every member of the team feels energized and connected which ultimately brings more value to customers," said Frere.

Kaizen includes making changes, monitoring results and then adjusting processes based on those observations. Large-scale pre-planning and extensive project scheduling are replaced by smaller experiments, which are quickly modified as new improvements are suggested by empowered employees.

"NUMMI," an episode of "This American Life," recounts the introduction of kaizen to an American automobile production facility in 1984. The plant had been low-achieving, even by 1980s American car standards, and the production workers were discouraged and disconnected. As these workers began to feel valued and responsible, the plant began to produce cars of higher quality at lower cost than any other GM plant in the nation. Still, top-heavy GM was slow to learn the lesson of NUMMI, and the giant went bankrupt and closed its doors in 2010. What are the lessons for today?

"Organizations are built with people, for people," said Frere. "It's common to see organizations permeated with pessimism and disillusionment. This results in not only poor job and life quality, but also unfavorable outcomes for customers. Empowering every employee at each of my organizations and remaining alert and open to change to improve customer outcomes is what drives me every single day."

About Frere Enterprises
Brandon Frere is an entrepreneur and businessman who lives in Sonoma County, California. He has designed and created multiple companies to meet the ever-demanding needs of businesses and consumers alike. His company website, www.FrereEnterprises.com, is used as a means to communicate many of the lessons, fundamentals and information he has learned throughout his extensive business and personal endeavors, most recently in advocating on behalf of student loan borrowers nationwide.

As experienced during his own student loan repayment, Mr. Frere found out how difficult it can be to work with federally contracted student loan servicers and the repayment programs designed to help borrowers. Through those efforts, he gained an insider's look into the repayment process and the motivations behind the inflating student loan debt bubble. His knowledge of the confusing landscape of student loan repayment became a vital theme in his future endeavors, and he now uses those experiences to help guide others through the daunting process of applying for available federal repayment and loan forgiveness programs.

FrereEnterprises.com

Related Images

image1.png

word-map-kaizen.jpg
Word Map Kaizen
dizainstock/Bigstock.com

Related Links

Frere Enterprises

SOURCE Frere Enterprises