“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.”

“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.”

“In 2014, I was seated with Katie Anderson at a conference when we heard Isao Yoshino and John Shook talk about their work together at Toyota Motor Company. Mr. Yoshino made a particularly insightful comment (which you will learn more about in Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn) and we immediately turned to each and silently exchanged a look of strong appreciation for what we’d just heard. Katie used that moment as the first of many stepping stones to learn from and partner with Mr. Yoshino. 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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“At the Lean Enterprise Institute, I had heard about the legend Isao Yoshino for years from John Shook and also from reading Shook’s book, Managing to Learn, in which Yoshino inspired the character Sanderson. In 2017, I finally had the opportunity to meet Isao at an Educators Conference in the Netherlands. I was blown away with his humility and rich learnings about the decades he spent at Toyota. I was ecstatic that Katie and Isao had developed a relationship and a plan to share his wisdom, and I invited them to join us at the Catalysis European Summit in 2018 to share with European leaders. Now, I am equally excited to have this learning resource available to the world, so that we all can learn from Isao Yoshino’s experience, learnings and wisdom. Of the thousands of books available about TPS, lean and continuous improvement, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn is one worthy of your investment.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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!”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”