Big goals sound impressive, and they get people’s attention. But here’s the truth: the thrill of hitting a big goal fades fast. Just ask golf champ Scottie Scheffler, who admitted recently after a major win, “It only lasts a few minutes.” The real driver of motivation is ongoing progress that delivers the frequent dopamine hits from lots of small gains along the path to sustained high performance.

That’s why smart companies don’t just set goals—they build systems and processes that get everyone involved in making things better every day. When you engage employees in systematic continuous improvement (SCI), something essential happens: people shift their mindset from finite goals to ongoing potential. It’s not about focusing on occasional big wins—it’s about getting small highs from ongoing progress over and over again over time.

Take Menlo Innovations, a Michigan software firm where SCI isn’t just an extra program—it’s built into how they work. Every week, employees meet to pitch small ideas and see them implemented to improve their workflow and workspace, streamline processes, enhance the customer experience and more. Ideas are tested fast and implemented quickly without dreary delays or lengthy approvals.

They define success in terms of their ability to improve processes week after week, not just big project wins. The payoff is recurring reinforcement when people see their ideas put into action. That keeps energy high, engagement strong, and improvement constant. It also delivers huge business gains – 50% year-over-year reduction in defects for seven years, along with deep improvement in productivity, engagement, and cost control.

Goals still matter—they point the way. But it’s the routine, repeatable processes for improvement that keep momentum alive. They make progress part of the culture, not just a passing moment.

Click on the link below if you’d like to learn the keys to making success a journey of continuous improvement instead of reaching a finish line.

BONUS: When you sign-up for a call, you’ll get a step-by-step description of the Continuous Improvement Team Huddle.

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