Once upon a time, there was a manager named Sarah who led a hardworking team. Every day, they focused on getting the job done—meeting deadlines, filling orders, and staying busy.

Sarah always believed the best way to deliver great results was simply to keep the team’s nose to grindstone and not let them get distracted. She couldn’t fathom how time spent by the team contributing ideas about improvements could be of any real value.

But then one day, a new hire named Jake asked a simple question: “Why do we walk across the room every time we need to print a label? Couldn’t we move the printer closer?” Everyone froze for a moment, looking for Sarah’s reaction. After a momentary silence, she said let’s try it. After all, it was a small change, cutting out wasted steps. No big meetings, no complex project—just a quick adjustment.

Then, something happened. Seeing how easy that was, others started suggesting small improvements. A checklist to prevent errors. A better way to sort materials. A tweak to scheduling that reduced last-minute rushes.

Sarah’s skepticism started to fade. These weren’t big, game-changing ideas—just tiny tweaks. But together, they saved time, reduced stress, and made work smoother.  Finally, she realized that continuous improvement wasn’t about stepping away from work—it was a valuable part of the work. It was about letting the team make the work better than before.

A simple fable – somewhat silly – but getting your team engaged in processes for systematic continuous improvement is no laughing matter.

If you want to learn how to leverage the insights and ideas of your team to make lots of marginal gains that add up to big-time impact, click on the link below.

6-Week Program for Systematic Continuous Improvement

“Great is the enemy of better”

Tell Us Your Stories!

If you have a story that illustrates the power and potential of employees engaged in continuous improvement, we’d love to hear it – and share it with our readers.