The concept was popularized in Japan where it is known as kaizen. Many of Japan's economic advances over the past 20 years have been attributed to kaizen.
Continuous improvement creates steady growth and improvement.
It does this by keeping a business focused on its goals and priorities. Although continuous improvement is steady, it can produce 'quantum leaps' when cumulative improvements 'synergize'. This simply means that the sum of all the small improvements can cause a profound net effect greater than the sum of all the small improvements. The process never stops. Once a year, have an outsider review your business.