Lean Learnings🌟Masterclass Series

Date: Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. ET
Location: Live via Zoom
💬 60-minute presentation + 30-minute Q&A
🎟 Free to attend – Space is limited

Session Two of Four: Masterclass Series with Isao Yoshino

• Session One – June 18: A Rare Conversation with Isao Yoshino – 40-Year Toyota Leader & Lean Pioneer
  (Completed – Thank you to all who attended!)

• Session Two – July 30: Characteristics of Successful Business Style – Japan and USA: The Case of NUMMI

• Session Three – August 27: Hoshin Kanri: Strategy Deployment the Toyota Way

• Session Four – October 1: Kan-Pro: Developing Leaders Inside Toyota

Session Two Overview

Topic: Characteristics of Successful Business Style – Japan and USA: The Case of NUMMI

In 1983, Isao Yoshino was appointed training manager of a newly formed section responsible for preparing NUMMI’s shop-floor leaders—a key part of Toyota's joint venture with GM. This came after the Fremont plant (1962–1982) had closed due to poor performance in quality, productivity, absenteeism, and safety. The partnership’s condition: Toyota must hire back the same workforce.

What followed was one of the most remarkable turnarounds in automotive history. Under Yoshino-san’s leadership, Toyota built a cross-cultural, hands-on training program that helped transform this workforce into one of the best-performing teams in the industry. He recruited both internal talent and external leaders—like John Shook—to support this mission. Yoshino met personally with every trainee, helping to foster a culture of respect and learning that defined NUMMI’s success.

Most people don’t realize that the success of NUMMI was heavily dependent on the voluntary and deeply personal commitment of Yoshino and his team.

The last Toyota Corolla rolled off the NUMMI line on April 2, 2010—but its legacy lives on.

About the Speaker

Isao Yoshino
Former Toyota Leader | International Lean Thought Leader | Shingo Prize-Winning Author

Over his 40-year career with Toyota (1966–2006), Yoshino-san held leadership roles across 12 departments, including corporate planning, research, HR, and production control. He spent 14 years working in the U.S. and played a central role in training Toyota leaders globally, including directing the Manager-Development Program ("Kan-Pro") and contributing to Toyota’s Hoshin Kanri initiatives.

Since his retirement, he has become a sought-after speaker, consultant, and educator—most recently serving as an adjunct professor at HEC Montréal (since 2021).

Yoshino-san is the co-author of the Shingo Prize-winning book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, based on his experiences in Toyota’s Marine Division. He also contributed to Lean Leadership BASICS, published by the Business Improvement Group.

Registration

Thanks to the generosity of our consulting partners at the Business Improvement Group—and especially Charlie Protzman—this event is offered free of charge.

🔗 Once registered, you’ll receive a Zoom link via email.
📌 Space is limited, so reserve your spot today!