Dr. W. Edward Deming is thought of as the person most responsible for bringing the “quality” movement to Japan. He believed that the best way to move Japan toward becoming a global economic power in the future was to encourage each person, business, and organization to make a commitment to continually improve in small steps. Dr. Deming thought that small but steady improvements will eventually lead to big changes.
Tony Robbins was greatly influenced by Dr. Deming’s ideas, and years ago he developed a similar concept called “Constant And Never-ending Improvement”, better known as “CANI”.
In Japan, there is a term used to express the concept of “constant and never-ending improvement”
– Kaizen. The word Kaizen is actually a combination of two words: Kai, meaning change; and Zen, meaning good.. The idea is that improvements, no matter how small, will lead to great achievements.
In Tony Robbins’ “Lessons in Mastery” series, he determined that he didn’t want to use the word Kaizen. It was a Japanese word, and he felt it was necessary to come up with terminology that people in our culture could identify with. He thought it made sense to change the term, but still keep the same fundamental meaning as Kaizen. Tony wanted people in the West to benefit from the message that was developed for the Japanese culture.
Fundamentally, CANI is an attempt to deal with problem of people becoming so intent on the ultimate goals they want to achieve, that they become quite overwhelmed. CANI attempts to help people by giving them something easier to keep their attention on – namely, small daily improvements. People should try to improve a just a single small aspect of their lives each day. Eventually, this must lead to huge changes that they probably would never have thought possible.
How exactly does CANI offer people a way of achieving their goals?
First of all, you create momentum. Physics teaches us that it is difficult to start an object moving, but that once it begins to move it becomes difficult to stop. Once you begin to move your life in a certain direction, it will be easier to keep it going in that direction. In business, it will be difficult for others to catch up, since you have a head start and momentum that keeps you moving forward.
The principle of momentum applies to all aspects of your life. For example, if you begin moving towards happiness, it will be easier to become even happier.
Using the principles of CANI will also lead to innovation. You will learn that you must find new ways to accomplish your goals, and innovation will lead to greater improvement.
Tony Robbins has stated that, “We only learn our limits by going beyond them.” When you start by making small improvements and then see what big changes have occurred over time, you will understand that even greater things can by accomplished. This will help you understand that you can go beyond what you ever thought was possible. When you make this realization, you will understand the real power of CANI. Put your attention on the journey, and you will eventually get to your destination.
