This is the back story to the book Management Mysterium.
Management Mysterium is a follow-on to The Triumph of Classical Management Over Lean Management (2018) and Irrational Institutions (2020). It adds to this body of work by examining invisible aspects of leadership and management practice: the intangible spiritual, sacred, and the sometimes mysterious and mythical aspects of leading and managing organizations. Together, these books carefully examine the question of why most leaders resist or reject Lean management and other forms of progressive personal and organizational change.
Few people think about the secular spiritual aspects of management and leadership. Yet, it has a powerful influence on how leaders and managers think and what they do or do not do. Management Mysterium will substantially deepen your understanding of why top business leaders have little or no enthusiasm for Lean management — and why they instead prefer to maintain the status quo and continue to favor archaic classical management.
My goal in producing these three unique books is to help those who promote, practice, train, or educate people on Lean management to clearly understand what they are up against. It is more substantial than anyone ever imagined. So much effort has been expended in the last 30-plus years for too little result. You can continue reading the popular Lean books and try your best to make improvements. But at some point, you will realize that you are missing an essential body of knowledge — one that you will wish you explored much sooner. More knowledge means better decisions.
As a professor, a large part of my job is to do research and share the findings with others in thoughtful and complete ways. If you are committed to Lean management and creating a better future state, then you must also be committed to fully understanding the current state, classical management, and the many ways that top leaders act to obstruct progress.
I have made the problem more than just visible — it is now transparent. You might not be happy to learn the truth, but it could motivate you towards participating in a larger collaborative effort, one that is more carefully planned and better executed, to circumvent or overcome the many obstacles that exist.
Progress is made when minds are opened. Is your mind open?