Sony

Founders · May 5

The Life Story of Akio Morita: Founder of Sony

Founded by Morita and Ibuka in a bombed-out Tokyo, it aimed at premium quality and led the public with new products. The Walkman sold about 400 million units, and Sony was the first Japanese company to sell stock in the US.

Tips

• Akio Morita pushed through the Walkman against his own company's objections and took personal responsibility▶ 43:45The Walkman became a runaway success and sold over 400 million units.
• Morita turned down a 100,000-unit order because it required Bulova's name on the radios▶ 49:35The order was worth several times the total capital of the young company, and he still said no.
• Morita rejected market research and led the public with new products instead▶ 43:45Sony often held new markets alone for a year or more and made a lot of money doing so.
• Morita aimed at the affluent export market so Sony could earn a premium for quality▶ 40:00Sony became the first Japanese company to sell its stock in the United States.
• Morita chose a mission bigger than Sony: making Japan known for quality▶ 2:00Jeff Bezos said it shaped how Amazon frames being the most customer-centric company.
• Morita insisted on direct contact with customers instead of relying on distributors▶ 41:30He said the advertising value of the Ginza showroom was enormous.
• Morita learned that unique technology alone does not sell, and found buyers who needed a tool▶ 34:25Sony sold 20 machines to the Japanese Supreme Court right away.
• Morita fought his own president to fund a product launch, treating marketing as a five to ten year investment▶ 1:00:00He threatened to fire the president if the campaign was not funded in two months.
• Morita moved his family to the United States to learn how Americans lived▶ 52:00Sony later became the first Japanese company to sell its stock in the United States.
• Morita hired a harsh critic, Norio Ohga, who later became Sony's president▶ 55:50By the time the book was published, the paid critic Ohga was president of Sony.
• Morita used confidential internal transfers to spot bad managers▶ 59:00They found inadequate managers because many people working under them asked to be transferred.
• Morita and Ibuka built the first customer trust by delivering quality from a leaky, primitive shop▶ 32:40Sony won further jobs because of the trust earned on that first job.
• Morita chose to work with Ibuka, the best engineer he knew, and left a safe path to do it▶ 29:00Without Ibuka, Morita said, there would be no Sony, and his father's loans were converted to equity.
• Morita and Ibuka started with an add-on to radios people already owned while aiming higher▶ 26:00The adapter became very popular right away.
• Morita found that a competitor lost the pocket radio market by not marketing it▶ 37:40Regency quit despite being first in the field, and Sony built the market instead.
• Morita put money into products before offices and treated waste as a sin▶ 1:02:55He told the Soviets Sony studied even the exact soldering iron temperature for each application, while no one there seemed to care.

David Senra · Sep 28

Daniel Ek, Spotify | David Senra

Morita started it in burned-out, occupied Tokyo, where staff kept umbrellas on their desks for the leaky roof. It hired Norio Ohga as a paid critic, and he was president by 1986.

Lenny's Podcast · Jul 21

What most people miss about marketing | Rory Sutherland (Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK, author)

Akio Morita refused to add recording to the Walkman, though it would have cost about 50 cents, so the device had one clear purpose. The Walkman grew from the Talkman dictating machine and recording came much later.

Tips

• Give your product one clear function instead of adding features▶ 1:07:05Sony built the Walkman from the Talkman dictating machine and deliberately left out recording, only adding it much later.