#76: Kaizen Basking

I read this blog a few days ago, and then again today before taking the GRE exam. I thankfully got the scores I needed to after a long trauma-inducing five hours. And so... Sasha - I was sure to, simply in honor of the sincerity of your blog, whip open a pint of Haagen-Dazs ice-cream afterwards for the sole reason of basking in this academic leap I made after quite some dedicated studying. That was really the only reason I ate it! Ok but really, this blog really speaks to me, and it reminds me to keep on loving and accepting the ups and downs of this crazy journey, rather than seeking out the destinations. Thank you Sasha... what a gracious and memorable perspective you share. 

- Amanda

Sasha Dichter      sdichter@acumen.org 

Kaizen Basking

Rowers talk about how, when the whole crew is in sync, the boat somehow lifts a few inches out of the water and magically seems to glide.

That moment is the payoff from the accumulated effort of years of training, focus and discipline, the prerequisites to that moment of synchronicity.

This can happen in our day-to-day as well. We put in analytical, emotional and financial effort to make something work just right, but still it’s not quite there yet.

And then we see something new. It’s something that had been there all along, hidden in plain sight. Then things just click, and something that was almost-there is suddenly there. What a great feeling that is.

Kaizen is the Japanese word for continuous improvement. It’s based on the principle that we never arrive because we are always on the journey.

We are.

But, thankfully, we sometimes get to experience those moments of discontinuous leaps, where something comes together and we perform at another level.

Don’t forget to bask in those moments before resuming your journey.

Sasha's first-person bio:

As Acumen’s Chief Innovation Officer, I oversee Acumen’s three fastest-growing verticals: Lean Data, which brings customer voice into impact measurement; the Acumen Fellows Programs, with more than 400 Fellows globally; and +Acumen, the World’s School for Social change. I’ve also been blogging since 2008 and have written more than 1,000 blog posts on generosity, philanthropy and social change. I was the instigator behind Generosity Day and, frustrated with how nonprofits approach fundraising, I wrote the Manifesto for Nonprofit CEOs, a free resource that has been shared with thousands of nonprofit CEOs and Boards who care about making a difference.  I find I get the most joy from my work when I see someone around me change and grow.