Unlike most other consultants, we take a strategic approach to change. That is, rather than implementing tools, we first seek to understand what are the key issues confronting an organization. Once these issues are understood, we then begin to help the organization formulate and implement an appropriate strategy for change, leading to a use of suitable tools to drive the needed changes at the process level in support of the overall strategy.

A company can outperform rivals only if it can establish a difference it can preserve. It must deliver greater value to customers or create comparable value at a lower cost, or do both. The arithmetic of greater profitability then follows: delivering greater value allows a company to charge higher average unit prices while greater efficiency results in lower average unit costs. Ultimately, all differences between companies in cost or price derive from the hundreds of activities required to create, produce, sell, and deliver their products or services. Cost is generated by performing activities, and cost advantage arises from performing particular activities more efficiently and effectively than competitors.

Operational Effectiveness means performing similar activities better than rivals perform them. In contrast, positioning through an effective business Strategy means performing different activities from competitors, or performing similar activities in different ways. Strategy rests on unique activities and the essence of strategy is choosing to perform activities differently than rivals do. At Kaizen, we recognize that to be fully effective, change needs to placed and managed within a strategic context. In addition, our approach recognizes the fundamental dualistic nature of change: achieving a unique difference through Strategy, and achieving greater efficiency through Operational Effectiveness. Our methodology for helping our clients to transform their organizations is based on the following model:

 Kaizen Solutions Inc. Change Model

What is your business doing now? How do you compete? How do you make money? What is happening now in your internal and external environment? What should your business be doing to succeed?	Is your business organized as a system of processes or as a set of departments? What processes make up your management system and how effectively do they work together? What capabilities must your organization’s processes possess in order for you to achieve your business goals? How do you measure and review the performance of your processes and drive continuous improvement?	Dual focus on revenue generation and cost management. An organization built to change. An orientation for interaction and collaboration. Systems thinking and management. Process-based structures and overlays. Right measures and incentives.	Committed leadership. Vision and urgency for action. Management of employees’ emotions. Aligned infrastructure. Rigorous program management. Required capabilities and culture shaped by the right values.

To secure real and lasting change, we believe it is first necessary to understand an organization’s critical business issues, its current strategy, and how that strategy needs to be modified to secure and maintain a sustainable strategic position in the marketplace. Then, we determine to what extent the needed processes and operations are effectively in place to support that strategy, and where there are performance gaps are within the operational system that must be addressed.

Finally, we examine to what extent the organization exhibits the characteristics and attributes necessary to enable and support the desired change. The outcome of our methodology is a well-defined path forward, with the goals, strategies and actions needed to transform the organization.