I went for a run this morning. I felt good. I had a good nights sleep last night for the first time in awhile, I had my coffee so the energy was flowing through my body and I hadn’t eaten yet so I felt light. Usually all of this means I have a great run and my last run was pretty good so I was feeling confidant.
Welp…
The run was not a great run. I struggled out of the gate. My legs couldn’t get moving. They finally loosened a bit about a half of mile in and I thought “here I go!” but my wind was having a hard time getting going. After a mile I stopped and walked. Then throughout the rest of the run I would run some…walk some…run some…walk more. I even lost my way! Somewhere in the run I turned down a street mindlessly and when I finished my 5k I looked around and wondered, “where am I…that’s not my house!”
In my own neighborhood, on a course I run 4-5 times a week I messed up!
Not nearly as good of a run as the one two days ago. No continuous improvement here…
or maybe there was…
It seems like a set back. I didn’t run the same or better my time from my previous run. I didn’t run as much, taking many walking breaks. My wind wasn’t there as it was in the previous run. By all measurements it was a step backward.
But can improvement come even when you’re stepping backward?
I am experienced enough with running and how I respond to know that this is not a big step backward. In fact it’s not backward at all if I keep tying up my running shoes and getting out of the house. Many times a run today will absolutely suck but tomorrow’s run will be the best one yet. I think your body needs the bad runs sometimes. I think it’s part of the development process. I believe it is continuous improvement in the long run to have the bad days.
Another example is in your relationship with God. You get excited and are rolling along doing great. You feel you’re getting closer and closer to that relationship you desire and then
Bam
You make a “mistake”. You take a seemingly backward step in your relationship with Jesus. You recognize it and work to get back to where you were. No continuous improvement in your faith? But what if this “step back” is what you needed to think deeper about the relationship you desire? What if this step back is what you needed for your faith to grow stronger? Isn’t that continuous improvement?
If you’re a leader in your business and you are constantly talking about the need for continuous improvement – believe me, I heard it quite often from the many bosses I had in my career – remember that continuous improvement could be occurring during the step backward. Perhaps your team recognized something is not working out as planned and the best step to take is a backward one to rethink, replan and relaunch on a different track. While it might seem like continuous improvement isn’t happening as you visit the operation – in fact it could seem like chaos – take a step back yourself and fully analyze what is really happening. Perhaps the perceived step backward is actually the continuous improvement that pushes the project, the product line, the business forward.
Continuous Improvement…it can have many faces
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