Israeli Chutzpah and Japanese Kaizen Make an Israeli

Surprisingly, my choice of coming to ISRAEL was moderately received by my peers and family. The word "Israel" makes everyone think of wars, blasts and unrest. However, living here in Israel for last one year has given me an insider’s perspective which is in contrast to the image the world media gifted to Israel. The disputes at the borders is more of a daily report. I would rather choose to stay away from discussing the unrest as my exposure to unrest is only through media like each one of you!! On a personal note, I have been experiencing a warm and a secure feeling living in Israel. I feel it is one of the secure countries to live in.  

Israel is a small country on the world map. So small that, it’s total population is less than any metropolitan city in India! Yet, people live a happy and contained life just because of the Israeli “chutzpah”. Chutzpah is seemingly shameless audacity and arrogance with good intentions. That’s right, Israelis mean business. They are very professional in their domains setting the right values for almost everything! They know to take ‘No’ for a ‘NO’ and also say ‘NO’ for a ‘No’! There is very less scope for ego clashes, and more opportunities for constructive criticism bringing in positive changes at every level resulting in enhanced happiness index! They stick on to their word, if, they give one. Through my personal interactions, I have seen similar honest attitude and level of professionalism among a few Indian communities too (Parsi, Irani, Sindhi); but not with that chutzpah. In addition to chutzpah, they also have “kaizen”!

A few innovations change the perspective of an era totally! The best-known innovation dates a little more than 100 years. It was the moving assembly line at Ford motor company innovated by Henry Ford. It was applauded then and is customized till today for every industrial need! A detailed discussion of this isn’t today’s topic and therefore, ‘period’!

Kaizen is a Japanese innovative concept. the word kaizen in Japanese means improvement or a change towards the better. Implemented at the Toyota motor company by it’s founder, Mr. Kiichiro Toyoda, today, kaizen can be seen evolved and applied in many of the industrial processes such as manufacturing, production, engineering, management and also support procedures. In 2006, under the leadership of Allen Mullaly, the then CEO; Ford Motor Company, the competitor for Toyota, since it’s inception adopted Kaizen! Hero Motor Corporation is producing 9.2 million units of motorcycles per annum implementing Kaizen at its production plants. Kaizen is so adaptable that it can be applied to almost any type of industry including banking, government, healthcare, retail, and transportation (Nestle, Mayo Clinic, Lockheed Martin are a few more examples) but the benefits of this amazing methodology are not limited to the world of commerce!

At Israel, the essence of Kaizen is used successfully by people. Not with any additional training, but as a part of life. Chutzpah with Kaizen, has helped Israelis in making improvements in their personal lives and also achieve development.