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Title: One Small Step Can Change Your Life
Subtitle: The Kaizen Way.
Author: Robert Maurer, Ph.D.
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company, New York.
Format: 181 pages in hardcover.

As I sat down to write this review I noticed a headline in the paper referring to a recent summit of world leaders: “Modest steps, not grand gestures”. It was a small coincidence. This surprising little book is about just that. It’s ‘size does matter’ but in reverse. Small is beautiful.

The book reveals in simple terms a process for change called “The Kaizen Way”. It’s a gentle technique long

used by Japanese corporations to achieve their business goals. But here Dr. Maurer ably adapts the process to our personal lives. It’s fascinating.

The trick is, he says, to make changes in such small steps that they sneak under the radar of our flight or fight alarm in the brain. Rapid or big changes often scare us and trigger the usual fear response. Thus we procrastinate indefinitely or simply flee the change altogether.

The author explains that people who struggle with change do so because they perceive it to be too scary. The Kaizen Way says the best change comes about through steps that are so small you could describe them as ‘trivial’. This way, your brain offers no resistance.

The prevailing attitude has always been that change requires a steely self-discipline, unfailing willpower and unflinching persistence. The Kaizen Way is a kinder, gentler way. It invites us to place our faith in tiny steps knowing they will lead to big results. (And faster because our brain is not putting up resistance.)

I once had a client who employed about 20 staff. He was concerned at the poor quality relationship he had with his team. I suggested he begin by saying “Thank you” to one staff member every day. The following week I eagerly awaited his report. “I couldn’t do it” he announced. He then explained he wouldn’t be coming back to see me because I wasn’t ‘scientific’ enough. At the time I was disappointed. Now, understanding how Kaizen works I realise my error. My client’s relationship with his staff was so fractured that to suddenly start thanking them every day would have seemed quite weird I guess.

What I would do now is to ask him to say ‘thank you’ to just one employee before his next appointment in a week’s time. That would have been a ’trivial’ step and wouldn’t have set off his fight or flight alarm thus blocking further action.

Years ago I remember smiling when I heard Robert Kiyosaki (“Rich Dad, Poor Dad”) come out with the phrase ‘baby steps’. He used it a lot and it made an impression on me. Perhaps he had studied the Kaizen Way. It’s the old ‘divide and conquer’ thing all over again.