Stop Wandering, Start Improving
Using the Improvement Kata to make progress when the way forward isn’t clear.
Improvement Kata helps you find what works by trying small steps and seeing what actually happens. It’s improvement built on scientific thinking, not guesswork or big plans.
Big goals stay vague because the next step isn’t clear.
Plans collapse the moment reality disagrees, and there’s no routine to adapt.
You’re pushed to create big predictive plans, even though you can’t actually see the future.
Improvement turns into guessing because you’re expected to predict outcomes instead of discovering them.
It’s hard to see the current condition clearly enough to know what’s really happening.
Improvement conversations stay abstract because nothing anchors them to daily action.
Here's why I rely on this routine instead of big plans.
I've spent years helping people and teams improve. I tried planning frameworks and change models that looked solid on paper, but they all had the same problem. They required big upfront plans. They expected you to predict the path in advance. They were slow to build, fragile in practice, and expensive to change.
Real work does not operate that way. You invest heavily before you learn anything. When reality shifts, the plan falls apart and you're left staring at rework you didn't ask for.
The Improvement Kata removed that burden. It gave me a routine that builds progress through learning, not prediction. Small steps. Real evidence. One useful discovery at a time. The first time I used it, I saw impact faster than any plan I had ever tried. I wish I had found it fifteen years ago.
If you want improvement without the overhead, without the wasted effort, and without gambling everything on a plan you secretly know won't survive first contact, this routine is the way forward.
This is how you stop wandering and start improving in 3 steps
Challenge
A Challenge describes the destination you care about.
It anchors your effort so each small step moves you toward something meaningful.
Target Condition
The Target Condition is the next version of “better” you can realistically reach soon.
Instead of mapping the whole path, you define what good looks like next based on your current reality.
Experiments
Experiments are quick, simple tests you run to learn your way toward the Target Condition..
You make a small prediction, try something safe, see what actually happened, and adjust based on real evidence.
1 Guide | 3 Canvases |+ Examples
The Stop Wandering, Start Improving Guide
A clear, practical guide that helps you start improving with intention.
It explains the Improvement Kata routine in everyday language, shows what each step looks like in real situations, and gives you a structure you can actually use to begin making steady progress.
The full guide is included as a downloadable PDF in the Starter Bundle, and you can also read it online anytime here.
The Three Improvement Kata Canvases
These canvases make the routine easy to begin and stick with:
The Challenge Canvas
Target Condition Canvas
Experiment Canvas
With Improvement Kata, these things become easier:
Improvement based on learning, not prediction.
Most improvement approaches expect you to act like a fortune-teller — guessing the right plan, mapping everything upfront, and hoping reality cooperates.
Improvement Kata treats you like a scientist instead.
You start from what’s true today, define what “better” looks like next, and run small tests to see what actually works.
Each test gives you real feedback so you can adjust quickly, long before the cost of being wrong grows.
This routine helps you make steady progress, even when the path forward isn’t clear.
Anywhere That Wants To Improve
An approach that fits education, business, operations, nonprofits, and even personal growth.
Improvement Kata works anywhere people want steady, meaningful progress.
It helps you choose a direction you can actually act on, see what’s really happening, focus on one reachable next step, learn what works through small tests, and build a sustaining habit of continuous improvement.
If something matters enough to improve, Improvement Kata gives you a practical way to move toward it.
Turning retrospectives into progress instead of noise. Retrospectives
Agile teams often feel the pain of unclear improvement more sharply.
Retrospectives surface dozens of ideas, but without a routine, improvements become scattered, short-lived, or aimed at symptoms instead of real causes.
Improvement Kata helps Agile teams turn retrospectives into real progress, avoid sprinting to nowhere, choose one meaningful improvement goal, understand what’s causing the problem, take small steps that build on each other, and build a continuous improvement habit instead of one-off fixes.
If you want retros that lead somewhere, IK provides the structure your team has been missing.
You've got Quick answers to help you get started with confidence.. We've got answers.
Yes. Everything is broken down into simple steps with clear examples.
The Stop Wandering, Start Improving guide teaches you each part of the routine step by step, and the canvases make it easy to follow along.
It is designed with the beginner in mind so you can get started fast.
Improvement Kata works anywhere progress feels uncertain.
If you have something important to improve and you are not sure how to move forward, this routine gives you a clear way to start, learn, and adjust with confidence.
Coaches and training would be helpful, but, this Starter Bundle is designed so anyone can begin on their own.
You get clear guidance, simple examples, and canvases that make the routine easy to follow.
If you want guided practice later, the Improvement Kata Practitioner course is the next step.
No. You can use any of the three parts on its own — the Challenge, the Target Condition, or the Experiments. Many people start with just one.
They do work best together, though.
The Challenge gives you a meaningful longer-term direction, the Target Condition gives you the next reachable milestone, and the Experiments help you learn your way forward with fast feedback.
Using all three creates steady, intentional progress without needing a big plan.
Go deeper with guided practice and build real confidence using the routine.
The Improvement Kata Practitioner course gives you something the guide alone cannot provide. You get expert guidance and deliberate practice using the Improvement Kata routine in real situations.
You will learn how to apply each step with clarity, coach others through simple and effective moves, use the Improvement Kata with confidence in your real work instead of theory, work through common obstacles, and build steady competence through supported practice.
Get The Improvement Kata Starter Bundle