Change Management in Practice:
The motiv™ Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) – Approach

Our CIP- approach represents best practice. It is based on the sustainable change processes which we have experienced with our long-term customers, in particular, Toyota, TRW, Hyundai, Visteon, Otto Chemistry, Swiss Federal Railways and Globus.

I.   The CIP Power Cells and their DNA 

Teams which in their meetings process problems and come to decisions systematically and effectively are the power cells of CIP. Each and every meeting is a step in developing the team´s internal approach towards interaction and collaboration. All the team members need to be skilled in facilitation and further teamwork techniques. At the end of every meeting they dedicate 10 minutes to performing the core and yet simple CIP technique: the Process Analysis (PA), the results of which are visualized on flipchart and displayed again at the next meeting. This is self-reflection at its best.  Process Analysis is an essential element of Kaizen (which literally means: `”improvement by little steps”), CIP`s close Japanese relative.

II.  The Breeding Ground for Teams

“A fish rots from the head down!” This literal translation of a German saying teaches us that managers, supervisors and team leaders must be
the inhouse multiplicators, change agents, entrepreneurs of CIP. To achieve this, they need to be skilled in the critical competencies.

  • If so, CIP will be successful. The corporate culture will increasingly change towards one based on mutually appreciative communication, a sense of responsibility, trust and development.
  • If not, CIP will fail and those in power will produce all kinds of Muda (Japanese for “waste”) of resources: e.g. unproductive and demotivating meetings characterized by endless “Yes, but…!” discussions. Fight Muda all the time is Kaizen`s core principle.
    Teams which work continuously by using the TIGSA structure (see below) in increasingly effective meetings develop themselves. They are the power house of CIP.

III.  Implementing CIP successfully and sustainably

CIP will only prosper from the inside. Therefore the main task of inhouse CIP entrepreneurs is to support teams and team members on their path to self-sufficiency in solving their issues in increasingly responsible and motivating ways. CIP entrepreneurs and team members have internalized the Plan-Do-Check-Act circle and understand the importance of “C” – permanently Checking work done will provide continuous improvement. Disregarding “C” will cause stagnation. Stagnation leads to doing things for the sake of doing things and to demotivation…always.