Learning to Lead - Katie Anderson

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“The only secret to Toyota is its attitude towards learning. We don’t even notice and take it for granted.”

– Isao Yoshino

About the Book

Refreshing, Timeless Lessons for Those Who Care to Lead

In Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, leadership coach Katie Anderson and Toyota leader Isao Yoshino bring you a remarkable book about what it means to learn, to lead, and to care. Created through years of collaboration, this book offers their shared reflections on leadership and learning, providing readers an inspirational experience that defies generational and cultural divides.

“The only secret to Toyota is its attitude towards learning.” –- Isao Yoshino

With a career that spanned nearly four decades at Toyota Motor Corporation, Isao Yoshino’s stories help us understand how Toyota intentionally developed the culture of excellence for which it is renowned today, and how one person learned to lead so that he could lead to learn. Katie Anderson weaves together these heartwarming stories of personal discovery, and offers her own unique perspective on them, with the intention of helping you learn to lead and lead to learn.

Reflection is the Key to Learning

Dive into Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn to discover the power of reflection as a source for learning. Uncover never-before-published “insider stories” from pivotal moments in Toyota’s history and fascinating nuances that inspired the Toyota Way. And walk away with fresh insights and excitement about people-centered leadership, organizational excellence, and yourself.

If you’ve ever been mentored — in business or in life — by someone whose words, experiences, and perspectives changed you for the better, you know that an entire book of honest reflection and deep wisdom can have a profound impact on the world. For today’s business professionals — dedicated to continuous learning and people-centered leadership — this is that book.

Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind tapestry that will inspire both veteran and aspiring leaders to reflect and learn. It’s a book for leaders of all levels, in any industry, anywhere in the world, who strive to create a culture of continuous learning and to lead with intention — by helping others discover their best selves, while also developing themselves.

Praise

“Into the global gloom of this strange moment in history, Katie Anderson brings a bright light — Isao Yoshino’s story of becoming a manager at Toyota and learning while leading for 40 years. … Read this book. It will make you feel better. And, if you reflect on and heed its wisdom, you will become a better person and a better coach and manager as well. A gift to treasure in a dark time.”

Jim Womack Founder, Lean Enterprise Institute, Co-author of The Machine That Changed the World and Lean Thinking

“Katie Anderson has crafted a personal, lean learning journey from her conversations with Toyota leader Isao Yoshino that we all can savor. Out of their friendship comes a moving testament to the power of humanity, risk, failure, and reflection to positively impact the lives around us. It’s a joy to soak up the reflections that culminated from Mr. Yoshino’s decades of business leadership and Ms. Anderson’s brilliant questions about what he learned during his career. Throughout the book, reflection questions invite the reader into the conversation. These serve as sparks to help us understand our own visions of who and what we can be, if we dare to weave our core purpose with our other passions. This captivating read will make you stop and consider your own untapped reservoirs of influence, generosity of spirit, and humble leadership.”

Elisabeth SwanChief Learning Officer at GoLeanSixSigma.com and Co-author of The Problem-Solver’s Toolkit: A Surprisingly Simple Guide to Your Lean Six Sigma Journey

“Those who are lean practitioners always know that the best way to understand is to ‘go and see!’ In this wonderful book of stories and reflections about Mr. Yoshino’s tenure at Toyota, Katie Anderson beautifully captures and helps us ‘see’ Mr. Yoshino’s lessons on Leading to Learn and Learning to Lead. I know you will enjoy, learn and grow from this book as much as I have!”

Karyn RossCo-author of The Toyota Way to Service Excellence and Author of How to Coach for Creativity and Service Excellence

“One of the most valuable takeaways from my experience inside the Toyota organization — which in many ways coincides with that of Isao Yoshino’s — is the simple but profound insight that learning and leadership go hand in hand, but learning comes first. This book plumbs the depths of this often-overlooked element of not only the success of Toyota, but also the successes of those who inhabit the company, often gleaned from hard-earned lessons and failure. The stories are rewarding, which is a testament to the obviously trustful relationship between the author and her subject. Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn may be the only book you’ll ever need to read if you want to truly understand what makes Toyota tick.”

Matthew E. MayAuthor of The Elegant Solution and Winning the Brain Game

“If you’re interested in lean and learning, this is an absolute must-read! Katie Anderson’s brilliant and original concept of warp (our deeper interests and goals) and weft (what we discover and learn in our journey) — illustrated through the real-life experience of Isao Yoshino, one of Toyota’s great sensei — makes a unique, pleasant and illuminating read. Don’t miss it.”

Michael BalléCo-author of The Gold Mine Trilogy and The Lean Strategy

“Of the thousands of books available about TPS, lean and continuous improvement, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn is one worthy of your investment.”

Helen ZakSenior Advisor, Value Capture LLC/Value Capture Policy Institute

“In Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, Katie Anderson invites us into conversations with Mr. Isao Yoshino about his nearly five decades of learnings at Toyota Motor Corporation. Together, book author and book subject extrapolate valuable lessons and insights from the fabric of The Toyota Way. The reader will walk along a distinctive journey of self-discoveries, experiments, failures and successes in Toyota’s and Mr. Yoshino’s growth. These lessons can be translated to any level leader and in any industry. I encourage anyone who influences people in cultural change to embrace the shared wisdom in this book.”

Tracey RichardsonFounder of Teaching Lean Inc. and Author of The Toyota Engagement Equation

“The real essence of the Toyota Way is learning your way to a dream — as individuals and organizations. Through the life and learning of Yoshino-san, Katie Anderson gives us a glimpse into this deep level of learning and teaching and sense of purpose. If you want to really understand continuous improvement, lean, and other derivatives, read this book.”

Jeffrey LikerAuthor of The Toyota Way, Second Edition

“Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn is a fascinating story of the long career of Isao Yoshino, a consummate Toyota leader. Katie Anderson has woven Mr. Yoshino’s own words into a fabric that reveals insights into the experience, reflection, and learning that help provide different and deeper views of the human underpinnings of Toyota. A terrific book on leadership and culture.”

Peter WardChairman of the Board, Lean Enterprise Institute; Richard M. Ross Emeritus Chair in Management and Founding Director, Master of Business Operational Excellence Program, Ohio State University

“I highly recommend Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn for anyone who is interested in Japanese business, Toyota’s unique corporate culture, and leadership. Full of fascinating stories and wisdom, the book is also a wonderful example of cross-cultural and cross-generational collaboration and friendship.”

Rochelle KoppManaging Principal, Japan Intercultural Consulting

“The ability to learn — and then distill, leverage, and teach that knowledge — is a critical component of both individual and organizational success. In Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, Katie Anderson memorializes her discussions with her sensei, Isao Yoshino, a manager at Toyota for nearly four decades. Mr. Yoshino describes how the company’s culture of supporting learning at all levels, driven by people that lead to learn, is the underlying catalyst for their ongoing success. In addition to giving you suggestions on how to improve learning in your own organization, you will find the first-hand account of life inside Toyota to be intriguing, eye-opening, and highly engaging in its own right.”

Kevin MeyerCo-Founder of Gemba Academy

“Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn is a beautiful book! Katie Anderson has woven together Isao Yoshino’s stories of learning and leading in a way that helps us all better understand the learning culture within Toyota. In this book, the reader gets to ‘go to the gemba’ at Toyota and observe how one individual learner became a teacher and leader (and continues to remain a learner). You will discover how all managers can be learners who are focused on the learning of his/her co-workers. And you will find valuable lessons on people-centric leaders — about the importance of seeing each worker as a human being with his or her own history, purpose and dreams.”

Dr. Jannes SlompProfessor, World Class Performance, HAN University (Arnhem/Nijmegen), The Netherlands

“The stories in this book — like Mr. Yoshino’s first-hand accounts of implementing process changes on the Toyota assembly line or of starting up NUMMI — are must-reads for anyone with an interest in TPS or the Toyota Way. And Katie Anderson brings her contagious enthusiasm, sincerity, and great writing skills to the task of shaping and organizing this information for English speakers.”

Michel Baudin

“Lean can be a very nuanced study. On the surface, you see the tools that people use but as you learn and grow, you begin to see the thinking that truly drives the improvement process. Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn is a book about that learning and growth, and about how we can all embrace the opportunities before us. Katie has done a great job of capturing the thinking and rich experiences of Isao Yoshino, who I had the privilege of meeting on one of our ‘Lean Learning Trips’ to Japan. For those who may never meet him, this book is your opportunity to learn directly from a truly remarkable man whose unique experiences can inspire your own leadership journey. Books like this are rare and you are bound to find the insights invaluable.”

Steve WattsChief Operating Officer, Walters & Wolf Glass

“Humans are hardwired to remember and learn from stories. Katie Anderson does the lean community a huge service by bringing storytelling to fundamental lean ideas through her interviews with Mr. Yoshino. Everyone will benefit from the depth and color that the book brings to otherwise dry disquisitions of the Toyota Way.”

Dan MarkovitzShingo Prize-winning Author of The Conclusion Trap and Building the Fit Organization

“In Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, Katie uses the power of storytelling to share the decades-long path of daily intention Mr. Yoshino took to move his people, himself, and his company forward. She skillfully offers Mr. Yoshino’s insights about how to humbly, respectfully, and deeply commit to creating the conditions for learning for those we lead — and for ourselves.”

Margie HageneLeadership and Continuous Improvement Coach

“Isao Yoshino has a life’s worth of wisdom to share and Katie Anderson does a fantastic job of bringing those lessons to us in Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn. Katie skillfully weaves together stories that share an insider’s perspective on Toyota, and life, in a conversational tone that will be insightful to readers from any industry. This book will be helpful for those who are new to lean or the Toyota Production System, and it will fill in key details for those who have been practicing lean for a long time.”

Mark GrabanAuthor of Measures of Success and Lean Hospitals

“Anderson is masterful at finding the nuggets in Yoshino’s experiences to help us become better leaders, and presenting those gems in ways that will inspire you as you strive to improve as a leader, and as you help your coworkers improve. Whether you are a newer or experienced manager, in a manufacturing environment or a business office, this book is for you. And if you have a passion for continuous improvement and leadership learning, the lessons in this book — from Yoshino and from Anderson both — will, without a doubt, help you become a better leader.”

Larry EhlExecutive Chief of Staff and Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, Port of Seattle

“As usual, Katie Anderson shares a fresh and energizing lean perspective in her debut book. Readers of Learning to Lean, Leading to Learn will appreciate and enjoy exploring the contributions of a new breed of lean thought leaders. As Katie shares and builds upon the lifework of her mentor Isao Yoshino, together the two take lean forward for next-generation lean leaders and those who came before them.”

Deborah SalimiCo-founder, Lean Gulf Institute

“Because this book covers nearly four decades of Mr. Yoshino’s life, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn is a must-read for anyone at any level of leadership and especially those who aspire to be in leadership. Katie Anderson expertly coaxed out Mr. Yoshino’s most priceless leadership lessons. The one that heads the top of my list is: The job of a leader is to provide team members with a mission and support while they figure it out. Not only does Katie get Mr. Yoshino to share his life stories, she gives you an opportunity to consider your own leadership journey through hansei no shitsumon or reflection questions. The answers to those questions will exponentially increase your leadership abilities.”

Daniel D. MatthewsPresident/CEO, Continue 2 Improve, Author of The Language of Leadership: Nicer Bark, No Bite and The A3 Workbook: Unlock Your Problem-Solving Mind

“This is a must-read for anyone who is embarking on the journey of leadership, coaching, or building a learning organization. In contrast to all the ‘how-to’ books, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn is constantly engaging: The reader is drawn into the story of an emerging leader, Isao Yoshino, who learned to lead, and then led to learn. In conversation and deep reflection with leadership coach Katie Anderson, Mr. Yoshino let us take part in his lessons of a lifetime.”

Sabrina MalterStrategy and Organizational Change Manager, Roche (Germany)

“This book is the perfect blending of business-leader memoir and management ‘how-to’ for those of us wanting to embrace the opportunity to become heart-centered, thoughtful, people-centered leaders. Isao Yoshino’s stories — presented to us and then expounded upon by leadership coach Katie Anderson — provide both a practical framework and a deeply personal source of inspiration for the reader’s professional growth. Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn reminds us that ‘organizational behavior’ is first individual behavior — that culture and corporate success come down to the personal behaviors and attitudes of employees … at every level. Just as Toyota believed it could not make cars without first making people, no organization can thrive without leaders who know how to lead and learn. With its fascinating sidebars on Japanese culture and Toyota philosophies, this book took me on a journey — across an ocean and back in time. The ‘Practicing Hansei’ questions throughout allowed me to pause, reflect and learn. Katie Anderson’s Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn should be required reading in MBA programs and corporate leadership programs for high-potentials and executives alike.”

Kate ColbertAuthor of Think Like a Marketer: How a Shift in Mindset Can Change Everything for Your Business

“This promises to be a superb book! Its author, Katie Anderson, is one of the few Westerners (not living in Japan) who — in my view — grasps the essence of Toyota, partly thanks to her friendship and collaboration with one of its early leaders, Isao Yoshino.

From the author’s blogs about her experiences in Japan and at Toyota and its subsidiaries, and from her conversations with her Sensei, Mr. Yoshino, I can vouch that she brings to life some of the essential features of Toyota. In particular, she describes vividly through examples what has largely been missed by the Western ‘lean’ extended community — that the bottom line is not about lean and nimble techniques and tools (or the agile and responsive development of reliable cars), but it’s ultimately about the empowerment and development of its total workforce, the people actually doing the work on the shop floor.

Many Western companies struggle to understand Toyota’s secret of ‘lean,’ still not getting it even though it’s no secret any more. But as Mr. Yoshino says, ‘The only secret to Toyota is its attitude toward learning.’ Many organizations could learn to learn if they have the right mindset; indeed, it’s about learning to lead in order to be able to lead to learn.”

François KnuchelParadigm-Shift Facilitator for Open 2 Flow

“I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Isao Yoshino in May of 2019 during dinner, the night before he led workshops in Ottawa. I was profoundly impacted by his humility and his willingness to not only share his story, but to learn about mine as well. I held on to his every word of wisdom, and I am convinced that you will do the same while reading this book. I have also gotten to know Katie Anderson through her coaching communities and Japan Study Trips. Katie’s approach of ‘leading with intention to connect profoundly with your purpose’ guided me in a powerful way. With an emphasis on listening and deep reflection, I continue to put these lessons into practice every day. My experiences with both Mr. Yoshino and Katie have deeply shaped my life, as a lean coach — and especially as a person. Having the two of them collaborating to bring these stories and lessons to life is something to be cherished. Enjoy this journey of reflection as you read, learn, and lead in a better way as a result!”

Stéfany OliverLean Coach, Statistics Canada

“People-centric systems are about learning to solve today’s challenges. Leaders have to steer and structure this learning. Yoshino’s invaluable reflections from Toyota will inspire leaders following this example.”

Daniel JonesFounder and Chairman, Lean Enterprise Academy, and Co-author of The Machine that Changed the World and The Lean Strategy

“Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn is an inspiring one-of-a-kind book for leaders at all levels, in any industry, and from any part of the world! This book describes the type of leader that every company would love to have and should strive to cultivate: humble, diligent, determined, and supportive of their team before their own interests. It is a book that teaches us how we can learn more deeply across our lifetime through purposeful reflection. I first met Katie Anderson and Isao Yoshino during Katie’s Japan Study Trip in 2018. I was amazed by Katie’s spirit, energy, enthusiasm, and her love for Japan’s culture and people-centered companies. And I was inspired by the life stories, knowledge, and wisdom that Mr. Yoshino shared with us throughout the week. Readers will love this book as now they, too, can learn from both Mr. Yoshino and Katie about the importance of hansei, leading with respect, caring for people, setting long-term goals, learning from success as well as failure, and how a person can accomplish a lifetime goal by helping others along the way. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to succeed in creating a working culture of respect, trust, and teamwork, based on people-centered leadership.”

Javier Sala Mercado, MD, PhDFounder of the Lean Institute Argentina; Vice CMO & COO, Instituto Modelo de Cardiologia Privado S.R.L., Cordoba, Argentina; Adjunct Assistant Professor, Wayne State University Physiology, Michigan USA.

“As I reflect on my career as a leader, I wish I would have been more consistent and passionate at helping people develop their capability. I didn’t have the benefit of insights like you will discover in Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn. In this important exploration of Mr. Yoshino’s experience, Katie Anderson reveals the characteristics and behaviors of a leader who truly makes everyone around them better. Based on Mr. Yoshino’s career insights and her own leadership coaching expertise, Katie outlines a vital leadership framework of “setting the direction,” “providing support,” and “developing yourself” — and challenges us to lead and learn differently and more meaningfully. This book is a very practical guide to understanding what unlocks the potential of collaborators in an organization to dream, and to achieve their dreams through alignment of intention; and it’s a practical guide for anyone who wants to develop themselves into a better leader and a contributor to the greater good.”

Jeff HunterFormer Senior VP of Strategy and Marketing, ThedaCare, and Author of Patient-Centered Strategy: A Learning System for Better Care

“Whether you are an old pro at lean or someone new to the game, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn is a worthy text. Learning at the feet of the master, you’ll explore Katie Anderson’s journey in working with Toyota’s Isao Yoshino and mastering the principles of people-centered leadership. The narrative offers a rich tapestry of truths about continuous learning and leadership.”

Cathy FyockAuthor, The Speaker Author: Sell More Books and Book More Speeches

From the Author

When I moved to Japan with my family in January. 2015, I I knew that our 18 month assignment would be an amazing experience, but I never anticipated the degree to which it would completely change my life. It changed how I view leadership. It changed how I engage with my clients. It changed how I live life. And it introduced me to daruma dolls (my obsession, if you don’t already know that about me!). The move forever incorporated Japan as an important part of my life fabric.

Yet, out of all the amazing changes and experiences from living in Japan, the relationship I have developed with Isao Yoshino, a 40 year Toyota leader and one of the most people-centered people I have ever met, is the most significant.

For years, Mr. Yoshino, as I call him publicly, or Isao, as I call him personally, and I have met, collaborated and connected on many topics, including what makes the “Toyota Way” unique and something other organizations strive to emulate. Our initial meetings in his office in Nagoya turned into collaboration and visits around the world in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Two years ago, the idea for this book was formed. Started initially as the concept of “booklet” in which to share a leadership lessons from us both anchored by both stories from Mr. Yoshino’s 40 years at Toyota and my career, as we dove in deeper to Mr. Yoshino’s memories – many of which he hadn’t recalled in years –it became clear to me that it needed to be much more. The richness of Mr. Yoshino’s powerful lessons and stories needed to be told!

In collaboration with Mr. Yoshino, I have captured his experiences, his successes and failures, and his inspirational leadership insights, and have framed them in context for your learning today, in the forthcoming book, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning.

April 2015
First meeting in Japan. Katie and husband John with Mr Yoshino outside of Nagoya train station.
Fall 2015
Lunch near Mr. Yoshino’s university office in Nagoya.
April 2016
Mr. Yoshino, Katie, and Margie Hagene in Kyoto, Japan.
2016
Visiting Toyota Memorial Hospital in Toyota City, Japan.
June 2016
Making pottery outside of Nagoya for a final visit while Katie was still living in Japan.
September 2016
Mr. Yoshino visiting Katie’s house for the first time.
April 2017
Carlsbad, California at the Lean Summit.
2017
Visiting Mr. Yoshino’s university office on a trip back to Japan. Replicating a “selfie” Mr. Yoshino and John Shook had taken a few months earlier.
2017
Printout of the selfie of Isao Yoshino and John Shook that Mr. Yoshino had on his office door in Nagoya.
May 2017
Isao Yoshino in his office in Nagoya with a daruma Katie brought from the daruma temple in Takasaki, Japan.
May 2017
Isao Yoshino and Ichiro Yanai, one of Yoshino and Shook’s colleagues from the NUMMI training department, reunited in Nagoya.
May 2018
Visiting Toyota’s Takaoka Plant in Toyota City as part of Katie’s Japan Study Trip.
May 2018
At the entrance of the Toyota Museum of Technology and Innovation in Nagoya, Japan
October 2018
Amsterdam, the Netherlands. On stage together at the Cataysis European Lean Healthcare Summit.
October 2018
Sightseeing in Amsterdam after the European Lean Healthcare Conference
October 2018
With Jannes Slomp presenting at a conference hosted by HAN University in Nijegen, the Netherlands
April 2019
Co-presenting a workshop together for the AME San Francisco Consortium in California.
April 2019
Selfie during a joint workshop for AME in Chicago, Illinois
May 2019
Mr. Yoshino speaking to participants in Katie’s Japan Study Trip in Toyota City, Japan.
May 2019
Mr. Yoshino and Katie on the bus with Katie’s Japan Study Trip participants.
May 2019
At Ina Foods in Nagano Prefecture as part of Katie’s Japan Study Trip.
May 2019
Group portrait in Tokyo with participants of Katie’s Japan Study Trip.
May 2019
Isao Yoshino teaching fundamentals of Toyota management and history to Katie’s Japan Study Trip participants.
May 2019
Talking in a garden in Nagoya, Japan before the start of Katie’s Japan Study Trip
Fall 2019
Another late night Skype conversations preparing for the book.
October 2019
Yoshino joining in remotely at a conference in the Netherlands hosted with Katie Anderson and Jannes Slomp.
November 2019
Reflecting on the process of reflection and book writing together.
January 2020
Dinner in together in Nagoya
March 2020
Mr. Yoshino showing Katie one of his new wooden coasters that he was making with both of their logos.

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Excerpt from John Shook’s Foreword

“In her debut book, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, Katie Anderson has distilled countless hours of interviews, lecture transcripts, and conversation (and ample debate, too, I am sure) into a cohesive whole that’s informative, inspiring, and entertaining. Katie shares with the reader her joys in learning from Toyota leader Isao Yoshino about the art of learning, the privilege of leading, and the secret to crafting a life worth living.

I am grateful to Katie for capturing Isao Yoshino’s story … and for going beyond just documenting history but weaving it all into a rich tapestry that readers of many interests will find compelling and useful.”

– John Shook, Chairman of Lean Global Network

Go Beyond the Book

Are you inspired by the messages and key learnings found within Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn? Go beyond the book and engage Katie Anderson to meet the needs of your organization and your team. Let this be the beginning of your continuous learning journey.

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