I am surprised that in the nine years since the book Shingijutsu-Kaizen was published, nobody has asked me what “∞,” means.
“∞,” was carried over from the book Kaizen Forever. It was part of the header for blank note pages 82 to 85 and was accompanied by the words “Your Infinite Possibilities.”
Chihiro Nakao asked that we add this combination of symbols to Kaizen Forever. But what does it mean?
Everyone knows that the infinity symbol ∞ represents something that is boundless, indefinite, or endless. It is both a philosophical and mathematical construct. At face value, in the context of kaizen, it means the infinite possibilities for finding solutions to problems, enabled by the infinite intelligence and creative capabilities of human beings.
So it reflects both the endless nature of problems and the abilities of humans to solve them in a never-ending way — not a fixed way, such as “I made an improvement and now I am done.” The ∞ symbol means infinite sources of wisdom, teaching, or learning.
Putting a comma after ∞ seems to be unnecessary because what comes after infinity? Nothing. But in the thinking of Chihiro Nakao, the comma has great significance. His philosophical view means the great number of possibilities or breakthroughs that exist, even if one has (or thinks they have) exhausted all possibilities or breakthroughs. There is still more, even after infinity.
It is important to understand that kaizen is ∞, while so-called “Lean tools” are not. And that is the problem with Lean tools. They are finite, while kaizen is infinite; ∞, — infinite and more.