Invest Wisely (Principle)

Continuous improvement requires investment. Think of it like a rental property. There is an upfront cost to buying it and ongoing maintenance costs. But as the mortgage is paid off, more and more of the rental revenue becomes profit.

If you think of the development of this business management system as a similar investment, you will also have to pay some up-front costs to get bigger future returns. The point of this principle is to make sure that investments align with your business management system. That means investing in people. It also means letting the systems you create drive your investments, not the other way around.

ABOUT CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TRANSFORMATION PRINCIPLES

CI Transformation Principles are the guiding rules that apply to all companies that are trying to make changes. They are similar to natural laws. Learn more about how principles guide your Lean journey in our entry on ‘Principles and Values.’