Choose a shared purpose
Write one sentence explaining why the group exists. For example: ‘We are three Nairobi graduates who want to finish our portfolio projects and review progress every week.’ Members do not need identical goals, but they should understand the kind of support they can offer.
Invite people who can realistically participate. Explain that members will see shared commitments, evidence and membership information. Let them decide whether the arrangement suits them before sharing their information.
Agree on a few expectations
Discuss the routine before collecting commitments. Keep the agreement short enough for a new member to read and understand.
- What work will members commit to, and how often?
- What evidence is useful and appropriate to share?
- When will members review one another’s work?
- How should someone explain a change of plan or an obstacle?
- Will the group use fines? Keeping them off is a complete way to use Kaizen.
Create the room
In Kaizen, create a group, choose its timezone and set an invitation code. Leave fines off unless the group has agreed to use them. If enabled, choose amounts the members understand; any payments happen outside Kaizen.
Share the invitation code privately. Review membership requests before approving access, because an active member can see the group’s shared history.
Run a first-week experiment
Ask each person to choose one manageable daily outcome. For a portfolio project, that might be writing one case-study introduction instead of promising to finish an entire website.
At the end of the week, review how the routine felt. Were the commitments specific? Was the evidence useful? Could everyone make time for feedback? Adjust the agreement before expanding the group.
Keep the group useful
Address missed commitments with curiosity before making assumptions. A repeated obstacle may mean the task is too large or the routine needs to change. Use Kaizen’s record as a starting point for that conversation, and avoid sharing someone’s work outside the group without permission.