S6 E9 - Katie Anderson, Rob Park & Glenn Wilson – Learning to See: Why We Went to Japan

I have a conversation with Katie Anderson, Rob Park, and Glenn Wilson in this episode as we reflect on an experience that is difficult to replicate from a book, conference, or classroom: going to Japan to see the principles behind Lean, continuous improvement, and Toyota firsthand.

Katie, author of Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, leads immersive learning experiences in Japan, and Rob, Glenn, and I have joined her on different cohorts. Together, we explore what happens when ideas from W. Edwards Deming, Lean, Toyota, DevOps, and continuous improvement move beyond concepts we understand intellectually and become something we can actually see, experience, and bring back into our own work.

Rob describes seeing an Andon in action and watching a team leader immediately work alongside an employee to solve a problem. Glenn connects that experience directly to DevOps and software security, asking what it would mean if technology organizations genuinely responded to problems rather than allowing defects and vulnerabilities to accumulate. However, some of the most lasting lessons came from places they didn't necessarily expect. From watching children take responsibility for cleaning their school to experiencing Japanese approaches to purpose, community, long-term thinking, and improvement, we discovered why simply copying Toyota's practices misses something important. Glenn returned more curious and less prescriptive with his clients. Rob similarly moved away from arriving as the expert with the answer and toward helping teams discover their own path to improvement.

We also explore the relationship between Deming and Japan. Rather than viewing Deming simply as someone who transformed Japanese management, I reflect on the possibility that Japan transformed Deming as well. Spending time with former Toyota leader Isao Yoshino, who began his Toyota career in 1967, makes that history especially tangible, including his perspective on Deming's influence and the importance of understanding data.

Throughout the conversation, stories from factories, an elementary school, the Toyota museum, the Shinkansen cleaning operation, the 100-Year Calendar, and Japanese daruma dolls reveal why Katie describes these experiences as moving our understanding “from the head to the heart.” The real lesson isn't to imitate Japan or collect another set of Lean tools. It's learning to see differently.

For anyone who has studied Deming, Lean, Agile, DevOps, or continuous improvement and wondered what changes when you experience these ideas where so much of their history was shaped, this conversation offers a glimpse. Katie's next Japan learning experience takes place this November, and enrollment is now in its final days. Details are available at kbjanderson.com/japantrip.