By: Bob Emiliani

Bob Emiliani — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 16:48:07 +0000

Dr. Liker writes: “So the question is: What will be the social contract of the 21st century? We hope it is more than everyone for themselves.” Overall, likely not. As sociologist Douglas F. Dowd said: “What’s next is most likely to be determined by what is.” Despite what Toyota has taught the world for some 50 years, the new social contract in the 21st century will be very similar to the old contract of the 20th, 19th, 18th… centuries. Dr. Dowd also said: “History is strewn with the wreckage left by well-motivated individuals and groups, shattered by forces they did not comprehend and could not control.” Classical management is far more formidable than Lean (or Toyota) promoters, past and present, ever imagined. Classical management remains the favored form of organizational control because it maximizes leaders’ rights and privileges. The Lean community would be better off focusing on what classical management is — especially the preconceptions that inform it — than continuing to focus on Toyota’s employee development practices. The unfortunate reality is that Toyota is an outlier that most CEOs have and will likely continue to ignore.

Dr. Liker also writes: “But we can do better than the short-term transactional model?” Overall, likely not. Why? the Lean movement’s situation is analogous to what Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, in that the Lean community, overall, knows neither Classical management nor itself: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”– Translated by Thomas Cleary.

All of this is to say, learning more about Toyota and Lean won’t product the desired result. Folks have to learn new things.

Comments on: What Will Be the New Social Contract for the 21st Century?

By: Bob Emiliani