Continuous Improvement Changes Worth Being Proud Of

Small changes, made consistently, can completely shift outcomes over time.

That same idea applies directly to process improvement.

Two recent changes stand out because they are already reshaping how the team thinks, collaborates, and improves.

The One Percent Project Improvement Mindset

The first change is the one percent project process improvement plan. Every time a video or deliverable is submitted, the editor includes at least one sentence explaining how it is one percent better than the last version created for that client.

Instead of finishing a task and moving on, we stop and ask what actually improved. Was it pacing? Clarity. Visual storytelling. Communication? These small reflections add up. Over time, they shift how editors and animators define quality.

This approach is rooted in continuous improvement principles. Research from the Kaizen Institute shows that incremental improvement methods lead to stronger long term performance than large, infrequent change initiatives.

The real value is not the single improvement. It is how people begin to think differently about their work.

Check my original post here.

Replacing Throw It Over the Wall with Collaboration

The second change focuses on collaboration. Inspired by just in time delivery principles and the Toyota Production System, the team moved away from a handoff based approach.

Instead of completing work and passing it along without context, every submission now includes a sentence explaining the creator’s thought process or asking for specific feedback.

This prevents the classic throw it over the wall problem where each department works in isolation. Cross functional awareness increases. Feedback becomes clearer. Problems surface earlier.

Who else uses CI?

• Netflix's Culture of "Context, Not Control" (Real-world Business):

  • Netflix's famous culture deck talks a lot about giving employees context rather than rigid rules. This fosters an environment where teams are expected to collaborate and constantly seek feedback, rather than simply "throwing work over the wall." They encourage employees to act like owners, making small, informed improvements and collaborating cross-functionally, which helps them adapt rapidly and stay ahead in the highly competitive streaming market. It directly tackles the "throw it over the wall" problem by pushing for transparency and shared understanding.

• Amazon’s Culture of Small Experiments

  • Amazon rarely bets everything on one sweeping change. Instead, it runs constant small experiments, optimizes incrementally, and compounds those gains. Many of its biggest growth drivers began as minor process tweaks, not grand strategic overhauls.

• Virginia Mason Medical Center's Kaizen in Healthcare (Service/Process Example)

  • Virginia Mason (a U.S. hospital) adopted Toyota-style Kaizen in the early 2000s to fix long waits, errors, and inefficiency. Staff at every level were trained to spot small problems daily and suggest fixes (e.g., reorganize supply carts by 1–2 inches for faster access, add a quick "thought process" note on patient handoffs). No massive reorg—just daily reflection and early communication.

  • Result: Wait times dropped dramatically, patient safety soared, costs fell, and they became a model for lean healthcare.

If you haven't considered becoming a CI organization, it's well worth the effort. Small changes add up overtime to make huge gains.