Pursuit of Perfection

Many definitions of LEAN thinking include the concept of relentless pursuit of perfection.  In a recent LEAN class that I taught, one of the students shared an excellent quote attributed to Vince Lombardi:

"...we will chase perfection, and we will chase it relentlessly, knowing all the while we can never attain it.  But along the way, we catch excellence..."

I think this sums up the intent behind continuous improvement - it helps us move towards excellence while acknowledging that excellence is a transitory state.  If one doesn't keep improving, today's excellence becomes tomorrow's mediocrity.   

As an example of the changing state of "excellence", I share the story of Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps, two of the greatest competitive swimmers of all times.  Until Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in the 2008 Olympics, Mark Spitz held the record for most gold medals won in a single Olympic Games - seven gold medals in 1972.  However, none of the times achieved by Spitz in 1972, many of which were world records, would have earned him qualification to compete for the United States team in 2008.  As an example, Spitz would have finished 55th of 58 swimmers in the 200-meter freestyle and 33rd of 44 swimmers in the 200-meter butterfly.  

We can  argue about what was the root cause of the dramatic improvement in athletic performance - was it the athletes, their equipment, their training routines, etc. However, what is clear is the "bar" was raised over the 30+ years between Spitz and Phelps.  Just as in athletics, continuous improvement is necessary to maintain a standard of excellence.