Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning
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.
-- With a Foreword by John Shook, Chairman, Lean Global Network --
“If you are seeking the next step on your own journey of leadership transformation, reading this book and living its lessons will help you become the leader you always knew you could be.” -- Richard Sheridan, CEO, Menlo Innovations and Author of Joy, Inc. and Chief Joy Officer
“I encourage anyone who influences people in cultural change to embrace the shared wisdom in this book.” -- Tracey Richardson, Author of The Toyota Engagement Equation
“If you’re interested in lean and learning, this is an absolute must-read!” -- Michael Ballé, Co-author of The Gold Mine Trilogy and The Lean Strategy
“If you want to really understand continuous improvement … read this book.” -- Jeffrey Liker, Author of The Toyota Way
“This captivating read will make you stop and consider your own untapped reservoirs of influence, generosity of spirit, and humble leadership.” -- Elisabeth Swan, Chief Learning Experience Officer at GoLeanSixSigma and Co-author of The Problem-Solver’s Toolkit
Reviews (77)
We are at our best when we are learning and helping others do the same
Lean enthusiasts know about Taiichi Ohno's decades-long contributions that advanced production thinking. Katie Anderson introduces us to Isao Yoshino who had a big impact on the people side of Lean. Her writing style matches the title "Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn." Katie tells a story of Yoshino-san moving back and forth between learning for the sake of performing and leading others that results in learning for those he coaches and himself. I was fascinated by Toyota's remake of leadership development about 35 years ago. The case study on Kan-Pro is a model for how to take a longterm view for changing not just the practices of leadership but the thinking that supports the practices. Yoshino-san was in his 30's when he was a coach for during Kan-Pro. That prepared him for his later role in training the supervisors and managers who started NUMMI along with the plants in Georgetown and Ontario. Check out "The Toyota Way - Lost in Translation" at the end of the book. We know from Toyota's 2001 development of the guide "The Toyota Way" that respect for people and continuous improvement are the two pillars for Toyota's approach. Katie shares Yoshino-san's explanation that the Japanese text is more nuanced. Rather than respect "people," Yoshino-san says the principle is to respect humanness and the greater diversity of perspectives. And continuous improvement - the Japanese version is "Chie" and "Kaizen" or wisdom and improvement of oneself.
A few rich hours with two good people
Lean is an English word used to describe a Japanese model of production and change. Katie Anderson's new book, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, reminds me of how shallow my understanding of the Toyota culture was. Not anymore. I have gained a much deeper appreciation for the humane genius of the Toyota Production System. I now know more about the cultural place where Toyota grew, I learned about Mr. Masao Nemoto, and I understand that Hoshin Kanri is a conversation. There are pages devoted to Toyota's KAN-PRO and the development of leaders at Toyota. In all cases, Isao Yoshino shares his modest views and brings history to life. He was there at NUMMI, and he shares a story of a foreman that exclaimed, "It works!" (p. 187). But his recurring message is that leaders must keep learning, and he lives his heartwarming message. The 10 Principles of Mr. Yoshino's Leadership Credo will challenge us all to live and work better. Every chapter of this warm and rich book concludes with a list of reflection questions called Practicing Hansei. I found these helpful in anchoring the content of the section. As others have said, this is a book for everyone. I read it with substantial pleasure. I bet you will, too.
Not Everyone Can Have a Toyota Sensei, but Everyone Can Have This Book
This book is an endearing work based on mutual respect and appreciation between the author and her subject, Isao Yoshino. Isao Yoshino's experiences and lessons learned are easily outlined in the book, making it easy to navigate. There is much humility in the writing of this book, making it both an enjoyable read and a valuable tool to help the reader self-reflect. I personally enjoyed his perspectives with John Shook, another person I admire greatly. Isao Yoshino's reflection on what was titled a 'failure' is a must read. A wonderful addition to any professional's library. I expect that a worn out, heavily tabbed and marked copy of this book will be among many of the most personable organizational leaders throughout the globe.
A must read book for lean enthusiasts and leaders at any stage of their journey!
Inspiring leadership stories from a lifelong learner, developed through thoughtful conversations between Katie Anderson and her mentor Isao Yoshino. Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn is a must read for anyone who has a passion for people-centered leadership and people development or anyone who has a desire to become a better coach, learner, and leader. Katie does a wonderful job of blending the stories of the rich history and culture that shaped the Toyota Production System within Toyota (known as the original gold standard for culture and practices in the lean/continuous improvement community) with the journey of Isao Yoshino as he strives to achieve his lifelong goals and purpose through his career at Toyota. Along the way, as he is shaped by the leaders who coached him throughout his career he realizes the important lessons of always leading with the intention to help others learn. Through the stories that Katie shares, you will learn the importance of Purpose and Discovery as you pursue your own dreams. I really appreciate her ability to draw out these stories from Mr. Yoshino in a way that helps the reader connect and reflect on their own leadership journey. I'll be re-opening the pages of this book for years to come.
This will prepare you for even greater wisdom
This book and story line solidifies how a life setup right with learning changes the soul dramatically. It also shows how fragile or fleeting learning can be without the right mindset of interdependent interplay of one's own warp and weft of life. As the son of a master seamstress, the way Katie Anderson and Mr. Isao Yoshino called to the warp and weft of one's life resonated deeply. There is so much of the learning process at Toyota cleared or made clearer from Mr. Yoshino's deep experience and service to his customers, employees and company. Katie was wise to go deeper into reflection hansei questions and give better translations of common phrases such as 'continuous improvement' which would be more appropriately wisdom improvement. Wisdom has to be the sustaining competitive edge of Toyota and similar companies and Mr. Yoshino is the product of applied wisdom. We all benefit!
Deep insights into the thinking mind and principles of leadership and Toyota
"our fabric of purpose is shaped by the relationship between the known and the discovered". Katie Anderson writes of her relationship with Isao Yoshino, but for me it represents the bigger purpose and principles we have come to call lean manufacturing. Most books on the lean subject are filled with tools, the simple artifacts that can easily be observed, however in this book Katie Anderson and Mr Yoshino explore deeper into the principles that are harder to see but more important for each of us on our leadership journey. I myself have reflected and practiced how I can best lead my teams through setting direction (without telling), providing support (through coaching) and thus developing myself, something that Katie and Mr Yoshino quickly identify as a leader's role. I would highly recommend this book for all aspiring and improving leaders whether you're into lean or not.
A Must Read by Katie Anderson
“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 leader- ship 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.”
A moving testament to the power of humanity, risk, failure and reflection
Katie Anderson has crafted a personal, lean learning journey from her conversations with Toyota leaders 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.
Well written history and insights of TPS
I am thoroughly enjoying this book. Rather than emphasizing the tools of TPS such as kanban, JIT, heijunka, etc. Katie and Mr. Yoshino address the more important issues of implementation and leadership. The key is the development of people (not cars and stuff). Through a history of Mr. Yoshino's journey through Toyota, highlighted by many stories and quotes, we learn about the importance and interdependence of learning and leading. The book contains a plethora of practical advice on communication, coaching, gemba walks and a myriad of other leadership techniques. I highly recommend this book as an essential addition to any Lean library. It will surely contribute to your own personal leadership and learning development.
Fascinating insight into Toyota leadership style as a foundation for Lean thinking and learning
I bought this book to learn more about the people side of Lean. Boy, I was not disappointed. Wonderful stories of success, but also of failure and continuous learning from both. Reading this book will make you understand why Toyota has been so successful and so hard to copy. The stories in this book really drive home the message that it is all about personal leading and learning. I have a far better understanding now of the well-known phrase: "We make people before we make cars". But how will I start developing myself as a people-centered leader? At the end of every section in the book the author provides thought provoking reflecting questions. I will re-read the book and start with answering these questions honestly to support my own journey. Plus, I will probably use the questions to guide conversations on leadership development in the organizations I work with. The eight lessons, 4 case studies and the story about the biggest failure in the career of Mr. Yoshino provide helpful guides for our own and organizational development. At first, I found the waterski boat (failure) story discouraging. Here you have someone that masters the Toyota leadership style, has trained and developed other leaders and still falls prey to abandoning it when conditions are not supportive, stakes are high and the pressure is rising. If even someone like Yoshino has had trouble sticking to the leadership standards, what has to become of organizations just starting their Lean journey? It is all so fragile. But does that mean that we shouldn't pursue Lean and people-centered leadership? After reflecting on this point, I realize that the leadership culture should be considered a North Star goal, just like zero harm, we will never fully get there, but pursuing the goal leads to steps in the right direction. People will thank you for doing it, it simply feels like the right thing to do.
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