Modern Social Imaginaries is another Charles Taylor book worth reading to help understand Lean as a social phenomenon in a historical context. Taylor’s hypothesis is that western modernity needs to be understood in the context of changes to the social imaginary – a shared understanding about how a society imagines their collective life based on common understandings of law, social norms, practices and morality.
As part of Taylor’s narration of how the social imaginary has changed, he makes the point that we can have trouble seeing how our present set of social forms is only one possible conception among many others. This may in part explain the challenge we have in helping people ensconced in traditional enterprise practices to understand how Lean is different, and why that difference is important. It is very difficult for many people, especially those who have been successful in the current system of work, to conceive of a different way of working.
Taylor does shed some light on how broad social transformations do occur. Rather than make revolutionary breaks with tradition, it is important that some elements of the social imaginary maintain a continuity with historically practiced norms. For example, while the late 18th Century U.S. revolution is marked by a seemingly radical shift from monarchial rule to self-rule, political forms of self-government had existed in the American colonies since the early 17th Century.
Perhaps that is why Lean tools and the Continuous Improvement side of Lean have been more widely accepted by contemporary enterprises. While the underlying thinking with Lean tools is different than Bulk tools, Bulk thinking (traditionally managed) enterprises can appreciate process improvements for the potential to create greater efficiencies.
On the other hand, the social discontinuity between the management approach of Bulk enterprises and the Respect for People principle make accepting the stark changes required by the principle difficult.
Books like Modern Social Imaginaries can be useful in thinking about the social improvements needed in any enterprise. This book is worth your attention.
