In Japan they have a word for which we do not have a good equivalent. The word is kaizen. Loosely translated, it means constant improvement. They speak of the kaizen of their business, the kaizen of their trade deficit, the kaizen of their skills; in other words, anything they feel is important enough in which to be involved, is important enough to constantly improve. We do not have a simple word to encapsulate everything that kaizen means, but we do have actions.

I want to introduce you to something I call "The Principle of 1 Percent." Simply stated, any endeavor to which you apply yourself, you can improve your abilities in that area 100% in 100 days by simply becoming 1% better every day. Now before anyone emails me about my math being wrong due to compounding, I already know this; we are just keeping things simple here!

Now, the principle of 1 percent is best applied to one area of your life at a time. It is also very important to write down your actions for the next 100 days, otherwise you will find yourself trying to get 7% better in a single day at the end of the week, and that simply does not work. We are targeting very small improvements on a daily basis here, so keep that in mind as you create your action plan.

Let's say you are a sales person, and thus have chosen to improve your sales skill 100% in 100 days. You would start by defining your "Why." It is important that you know exactly why you want this improvement, not why others want it. This why will drive you to follow through on a daily 1% improvement.

After you have determined your why, you must prepare your action plan. First you would visit the book store and get books and CDs on the subject of selling. You need to get enough to last at least the first 30 days of the program. You can go restock after that, but 30 days is enough to firmly establish a good habit. These books and CDs will replace TV when you are at home, and the radio when you are driving. Over the 100 days, your time will be used effectively, and it is important to remove these other distractions.

Now that you have your books and CDs, choose a successful person in your organization. Write that person an email and ask if it is ok to call for some tips and tricks. If they say no (which almost never happens) find another one. On the phone call, also establish a relationship that will allow you to be in contact with this person on a regular basis, either face to face or over the phone. Maintain this relationship throughout the 100 days and beyond.

Additional activities you may schedule yourself could include some visits to Toastmasters, a chamber of commerce event, a local professionals event, or a seminar or workshop, just to name a few.

This is just a preliminary outline, but think of how much can be accomplished in 100 days! One of the easiest ways to stay on track the whole time is to start the day, right when you wake up reading something positive. You don't need to read much, just 2-4 pages, but it will start you off great (you can find suggested reading in several of my blog entries). Follow that up with reading something in your field, then review your schedule for the day.

By writing out your plan, and having a great "Why" to drive it, you are well on your way to having and incredible experience in only 100 days. Whatever you choose to improve, you will be thankful you did. If anyone tries this out, and has great success, please email me your story. I would love to feature you in a future article.