何为改善？为何改善？

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Kaizen，对各位来说究竟意味着什么？仅仅是日本管理上的一个管理概念吗？指逐渐、连续地增加改善？

改善家曾多次组织学员参访日本制造型企业，对其中一个名为未来工业的企业印象极深。该企业780名员工在一年之间能提出10000到15000件提案，每人每年能提20条建议，而且这些点子和建议并不是根本无法付诸实践的、不是打着创新的旗号去对公司评头论足,员工“真正的时常在思考”。这背后的缘由是什么？其实很简单，这是一个从剧团开始的企业，创始人创造性极强，独特而有趣，对于员工给予了充分的尊重并信任，通过文化激励员工。在这样的文化中，员工才会真正发自内心挑战自我，不断提升,体现自我价值。

然而在国内，鲜少能遇上这样的企业，比较多的做法是一些成熟的流程和系统去激发员工产生好的想法和体案，还没有落到文化上。有的企业管理人员可能还会在一些会议上对于某个员工的建议进行嘲笑和蔑视。这里给各位改善同仁们分享一个关于好的想法是如何激发诞生的双语小故事，希望给大家有所启迪。

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A number of years ago, Pacific Power and Light (PP&L), which serves many customers in the Cascade Mountains, was faced with solving an on-going problem that resulted in both an undesirable and unsafe job situation for the PP&L linemen.

数年前，太平洋电力公司（PP&L公司）为喀斯喀特山脉众多的客户而服务。他们面临着一个长久以来难以解决的问题：线务员不愿面对危险的工作。

In the Pacific Northwest, there are a number of ice storms in the fall and spring. These storms result in the accumulation of a significant ice load accumulating on the power transmission lines. If not removed, this ice will accumulate to the point that the lines will be over-stressed and break. The method used to remove the ice was to send linemen out into the field, have them climb the icy poles and towers and shake the lines with long poles hooked at one end. The linemen hated this job because it meant they would have to go into the woods, climb poles and towers, and shake the lines under extremely unpleasant conditions. A number of them were hurt when they fell from the icy poles and towers.

在太平洋西北部，秋季和春季有许多暴风雪。这些风暴导致在输电线路上积累了大量的冰负荷。如果不移除，冰会累积到一定程度使得线路过度紧张而破裂。以前解决这个问题的方法通常是，派线务员去现场，让他们爬上冰冷的杆塔和用长杆钩的一端摇线。线务员讨厌这份工作因为这意味着他们要走进树林，爬上电线杆、塔并在极其不好的情况下摇线。很多人因此从冰冷的柱子和塔上摔下来，受伤了。

PP&L had, in the past, conducted a number of "brainstorming" sessions with no positive results. They then turned to a professional resource to organize still another session. He suggested that a diverse group be assembled to look at this problem. Rather than assembling just linemen and their supervisors, the resource insisted that people with a large variety of job functions be convened to look for a more creative way to get the ice off the power lines. In the "brainstorming" session that followed, were linemen, supervisors, accountants, secretaries, and people from the mail room.

PP&L公司曾举办过多次“头脑风暴”的会议希望来解决这个问题，但成效并不乐观。然后他们转向专业资源组织另一届会议。这个专业机构建议聚集一个来自不同背景的小组来研究这个问题，而不是只召集线务员和他们的上司，机构坚持大量的工作职能不同的人在一起可以寻找一个更有创意的方式来解决问题。在之后的“头脑风暴”会议上，线务员，主管、会计、秘书甚至收发室的人都来参加了。

Several hours into the meeting the professional resource was beginning to become concerned that this effort would be as unproductive as previous ones. Then, during one of the coffee breaks, he overheard two of the linemen talking.

会议几小时后，专业人士开始担心这项工作和以前的一样没有效率。然后，在一个咖啡休息，他无意中听到两个接线员说话。

"I hope we can finally figure out a better way to skin this cat." said one. "I really hate this job. Why, just last week, I was coming down from a pole, and, when I hit the ground, I was looking eye to eye at one of the biggest, meanest black bears I've ever seen. That bear, apparently, was not happy that I had invaded his territory, and chased me for well over a mile before he was satisfied that I would not return."

“我希望我们能最终找到一个更好的方法来找到解决方案。”一个说。“我真的讨厌这份工作。为什么，就在上周，我从一个顶点下来，当我撞到地面时，我和一只最大的的最卑鄙的黑熊眼对眼地对视了。那只熊显然不高兴，因为我入侵了他的领地，在我还没有回来之前，他追了我一英里多。”

Trying to stimulate the group, the resource retold this tale to the rest of the session.

为了试图激活头脑风暴会议、专业机构对其余人员重复了这个故事。

"Why don't we train the bears to climb the poles. They are so big and so heavy that their weight would probably be enough to shake the wires and knock the ice off." quipped one of the linemen.

“为什么我们不训练熊爬杆。他们是太大、太重，他们的体重可能足以撼动电线摇落冰块了。”另一个线务员说到。

After the laughter died down, the group thought of hundreds of reasons why that was a silly idea (some of the comments referred to the character or parentage of the person suggesting the idea, and will not be repeated here).

大家大笑，笑声平息后，这个小组想到了数百个理由，认为这是一个愚蠢的想法。（其中一些评论还提到的是这个提建议的人物的性格或出身，这里就不列举了。）。

Then another of the linemen suggested that although training the bears seemed foolish, perhaps by placing honey pots on top of the poles, the bears would naturally climb the poles to get the honey and, in the process, shake the poles sufficiently to knock the ice off the lines.

然后另一个线务员建议虽然训练熊似乎是愚蠢的，也许在电线杆的顶部放上蜂蜜罐子，熊会爬电线杆取蜂蜜，在这个过程中，充分摇动电线杆使冰块脱离电线。

After another period of laughter followed by more objections generally centered around the fact that the bears might chose to empty the honey pots in fair not foul weather, one of the more senior, more sarcastic linemen said, "You know all those fancy helicopters those fat cats in the front office fly around in all the time? Why don't we grab one of those and fly from pole to pole placing the honey pots on top just after an ice storm. That way the honey will be there when we need it, and, besides, it will do those fat executives some good to walk for a change."

大家又哄堂大笑。笑声更猛烈并有更多的反对意见。一般集中在事实上的反驳，熊可能尽量在天气好的情况下而不是恶劣天气下选择去取蜂蜜罐。一个更资深、更讽刺的线务员说，“你知道那些有钱人的漂亮的直升机呢？我们为什么不抓一个，从极地飞到南极，就等在暴风雪过后让他们把蜂蜜罐放在电线杆顶部呢？。这样，蜂蜜会在我们需要的时候出现，而且，对那些胖管理人员来说，改变一下也不错。

Still another period of laughter followed. Then one of the secretaries spoke for the first time. "I was a nurse's aide in Vietnam. I saw many injured soldiers arrive at the field hospital by helicopter. The down wash from the helicopter blades was amazing. Dust would fly everywhere. It was almost blinding. I wonder if we just flew the helicopter over the power lines a low altitude, would the down wash from those blades be sufficient to shake the lines and knock the ice off?"

又是一阵笑声。然后一个秘书第一次说话了。“我是越南的一名护士助理。我看见许多受伤的士兵乘直升机到达战地医院。直升机下降时机桨产生的冲击力的是惊人的，尘土到处飞扬，当时我几乎失明了。我不知道我们是不是把直升机停在了一个低海拔的电力线上空，这些叶片的产生的冲力是否足以把电线上的冰震碎？”

This time there was no laughter - just silence. She had come up with an answer. By valuing diversity and by encouraging divergent thinking, the resource had enabled the group to come up with a possible solution to a problem all wanted solved.

这一次大家都没有笑，只是沉默。她想出了一个答案。通过重视多样性和鼓励发散思维，机构使该小组能够想出一个可能解决所有想要解决的问题的办法。

By the way, ever since that meeting, PP&L uses helicopters to fly over the power transmission lines after ice storms. It works beautifully. Linemen are no longer required to climb up ice covered poles to shake the lines. The brainstorming session was a success. But remember, if they hadn't found the bear, they may never have found the helicopter.

顺便说一下，自从那次会议以来，PP&L公司在暴风雪后使用直升机飞越电线杆。它的效果很美。线务员不再需要爬冰雪覆盖的电线杆。头脑风暴会议取得了成功。但是要记住，

1.如果他们没有找到熊，他们可能永远也找不到直升机了。

2.来自不同背景人的发声告诉我们要突破既有价值观的思维能力。

3.要学会思考，当今世界是一个没有答案，不需要工作手册的世界