Tokyo in 1946 was full of ruins after World War II, devastated and desolate. On May 7 of this year, on the upper floor of a bombed department store called "Shirokiya" in downtown Tokyo, two young men, Akio Morita and Dai Ibuka, who had experienced the flames of war, relied on a borrowed US$527. As capital, he hired 20 helpers and established Tokyo Communications Industry Company. This is the predecessor of Sony Corporation, Japan's largest electronics company today. Now, the company has more than 1.4 million employees, 72 subsidiaries and 37 factories around the world. It sells more than 10,000 different types of electronic products to more than 170 countries and regions, with annual sales of more than 50 billion. billion, becoming a large multinational company that produces electronic equipment, electronic instruments and electronic devices. Sony started with more than 500 US dollars. After more than 40 years of development, it finally jumped to the top of Japan's electronics manufacturing industry. This is undoubtedly a miracle. The number one contributor to this miracle is the company’s founder and current chairman, Mr. Akio Morita.
Akio Morita was born in Aichi Prefecture on January 26, 1921, into a brewing family. The Morita family is Japan's oldest and most prestigious family engaged in the brewing industry. Its famous rice wine "Nenjitsu" has a history of more than 300 years. As the eldest son in the family, Akio Morita should inherit the family business. Therefore, when he was in elementary school, his father took him to the brewing company's office to attend business meetings, trying to teach him how to operate a brewing company. But Morita was more interested in modern science and technology. When he was in middle school, he was fascinated by new inventions such as record players and radios, and spent almost all his time after school decorating these electronic gadgets. He built a record player and a radio receiver, made a record of his own voice, and played it on his record player. By the time he was in his junior year of high school, he chose physics as a major without hesitation. Later, despite his father's wish for him to major in economics to inherit his ancestral business, he was admitted to the physics major at Osaka Imperial University. Four years of university study laid a solid foundation for his future career in the electronics industry.
After graduating from college in 1944, Morita was drafted into the army and served as a technical lieutenant in the Navy. Soon he was working as a technical engineer at the Naval Research Center, engaged in the research of heat-tracing weapons. At this time, he met Mr. Ibuka, the chief engineer of Japan Precision Instruments Co., Ltd., who was 13 years older than him. The two established a 40-year partnership and jointly founded Sony.
After the war ended in 1945, Akio Morita returned to his hometown and soon taught at Tokyo Institute of Technology. One day, he accidentally read in the newspaper that his old friend Jing Shenda was preparing to set up a telecommunications company, and he immediately got in touch with Jing Shenda. After many discussions, they decided to jointly establish a new company. As the eldest son of the family, it is a treasonous act in Japan to not inherit the family business but to start a company in partnership with others. Therefore, Ibuka and his father-in-law, Mr. Maeda, who was once the Minister of Education, went to his house with Akio Morita to discuss the matter with his father.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they explained their intention to come, their father, who had been mentally prepared for it, said readily: "I really hope that Akio can take over my job and take charge of the family business. But if the children are interested in their career, If he wants to develop and develop his talents and is determined to engage in other jobs, I also think he should do it." Then he smiled and said to Akio Morita, "You can just go and do your favorite career." It turns out that he has an open mind. His father had long seen through his eldest son's thoughts, and had arranged for his third son, He Zhaolai, who was studying at Waseda University in Tokyo, to inherit his family's rice wine brewing business. The matter was settled satisfactorily.
Back in Tokyo, Morita Akio and Ibuka raised more than 500 US dollars and founded Tokyo Communication Industry Co., Ltd. on the upper floor of the bombed department store. The establishment work is very difficult, there are few manpower, and wages cannot be paid. Fortunately, Akio Morita's father often borrowed money to support them, which strengthened their determination to start a business.
At that time, there was a shortage of new motors and electromagnetic amplifiers in the Japanese market. Akio Morita and others rushed to develop and soon produced high-quality new phono motors and amplifiers, which met the market needs and ensured It has improved the company's financial turnover and allowed this small company to gain a firm foothold in the electronics industry where there are many strong players.
However, Morita and Ibuka’s real goal is to create high-tech electronic products, not just accessories business.
One day in 1949, Ibuka went to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation for work, and accidentally saw an American-made tape recorder there. He couldn't help but feel excited, and immediately realized the huge potential of this high-tech product. After he returned, he discussed with Moritaichi and decided to buy its production patent. Thanks to the early experience in manufacturing wire machines, it was not difficult to prototype a tape recorder, but magnetic tape was a big problem because it was not available in Japan at the time. Morita and Ibuka took matters into their own hands and developed a recording powder tape based on traditional Japanese "washi" paper and coated with magnetic powder. After a year of struggle, the first cassette recorder finally came out in Japan. However, this type of recorder was too bulky, weighing 35 kilograms, and expensive, costing about US$500 each. It was difficult to sell in Japan at the time. Therefore, the company convened relevant personnel and held a think tank battle for 10 consecutive days, and finally found various ways to reduce costs and reduce size. The company's first generation electronic product, the tape recorder, began to hit the market.
They went to great lengths to sell the tape recorder. It was difficult to open the situation at first. They realize that just having unique technology and producing unique products does not mean that the business will be successful. They must also pay attention to the promotion of goods. As a result, Akio Morita shifted from focusing on technology to focusing on sales. By chance, he learned that there was a shortage of court clerks and had to work overload. Akio Morita immediately brought his products door-to-door to sell them. The High Court of Japan alone purchased 20 units. Other courts also followed suit, and the products he brought were quickly sold out. The first battle was won.
Next, Morita developed an H-type recorder, which was only slightly larger than a briefcase. This H-type recorder is very suitable for use as a teaching tool in schools. Morita used it to quickly open up sales in schools and spread throughout the country.
Morita and Ibuka were not satisfied and further developed more attractive new products. At this moment, a message came from the other side of the Pacific: Bell Labs in the United States invented the transistor, and Western Electronics Company only used this transistor for the production of hearing aids. After hearing the news, Ibuka and Morita, who were highly educated and had specialized knowledge, were sensitively aware that this great invention had good development prospects. In 1952, Yamato Ibuka flew to the United States for on-site inspection and bought the patent from Western Electronics Company for US$25,000. Engineers from Western companies diligently suggested to them that the stuff could and could only be used to make hearing aids. Of course, Morita and Ibuka are not interested in hearing aids, but want to use them to produce electrical products that everyone can use.
After returning to China, they were delighted to find that transistors can amplify signals just like the 40-year-old vacuum tubes. They also have fast response times, are small in size, consume less power, and are highly reliable. They are very likely to replace vacuum tubes. After countless trials and failures, Morita and Ibuka finally produced the world's first pocket transistor radio in 1957. In the ads, they emphasized that the radio was small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. In fact, the world's smallest radio at the time was still slightly larger than a standard men's shirt pocket. To this end, Morita required all the company's salesmen to wear special shirts with pockets slightly larger than ordinary shirts, just enough to hold the radio.
In order to give their upcoming "eldest son" a resounding name, Morita and Ibuka thought hard and finally decided to use a name that could be used in any country in the world. The name "SONY" is unmistakable and easy to remember for people of any nationality. Its meaning is a combination of the Latin word "SONUS" (sound) and the English word "SONNY" (smart and lovely child), which means "a sound-making electrical appliance company composed of smart and lovely children".
Since then, the "Tokyo Communications Industry Corporation" founded by Morita and Ibuka has officially changed its name to "SONY Corporation", that is, "Sony Corporation".
As soon as the first batch of 2 million pocket-sized transistor radios produced with the "SONY" trademark were put on the market, they were favored by consumers and there was an explosive sales boom. Sales reached $2.5 million, exactly 100 times the amount spent to purchase the patent. The name "Sony" is also known all over the world. In January 1958, Sony's shares were officially named "Sony Co., Ltd." and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The adoption of transistors became a springboard for Sony to develop a range of electronic products. The company launched the first FM transistor radio in 1958, the first all-transistor television in 1959, the transistor video recorder in 1960, and the first small-screen transistor television in 1961. Sony thus gained the reputation of a "pioneer" in the world's electronics industry.
With the development of its business, Sony has turned its attention to overseas markets. As early as 1953, Morita visited Europe and visited world-famous large enterprises. In the Netherlands, he visited the Philips Electric Company. On the one hand, he was amazed by its great achievements. On the other hand, he was also puzzled: in the Netherlands, which has a population of only about 10 million and an area smaller than Kyushu Island in Japan, How did a large-scale electrical appliance manufacturing company like Philips develop from a small factory manufacturing light bulbs? After in-depth investigation, he understood that Philips is an international enterprise. Although its headquarters is in the Netherlands, its product production and Sales have already expanded to countries around the world. He suddenly realized that the relationship between the market and enterprises is like the relationship between a pond and fish. Only in a big pond can big fish be raised. Since then, Sony's business strategy has undergone fundamental changes and it has embarked on the road of international enterprise. Morita and Ibuka conducted a division of labor. Ibuka devoted himself to research domestically and continuously introduced new inventions, while Morita investigated the international market conditions in Europe and North America, promoted new products, and established foreign branches.
The late 1950s was a period of economic upsurge in the United States. The employment rate was very high, and the people were enterprising and advocating new things and products. Sony began to enter the U.S. market, and the first trump product launched by Morita was the transistor radio.
Morita took several dozen samples of pocket transistor radios to retail stores in New York to sell them on a door-to-door basis. "Only if everyone has one, they can listen to their favorite programs in their own rooms without interfering with each other." Morita's convincing persuasion caused orders to pour in one after another. This is how Sony's products entered the US market.
Although Sony was not well-known in the United States at the time, Morita cherished his brand very much. During the sales promotion, a large company was particularly optimistic about pocket radios and said, "If you let us distribute them, we will order 100,000 units first." 100,000 units, this is simply an incredible number. After further discussing the details, Morita unexpectedly rejected the order. It turns out that the company has an additional condition as usual: they must put their OEM trademark on the pocket radio and cannot use the Sony trademark. Because their company's name is a golden sign with a long history of more than 50 years, while Sony's name is almost unheard of in Americans.
In this regard, the person in charge of this American company was puzzled: "Why don't you use our good name to make a lot of money?" Morita had his own opinion: "100,000 units The order quantity is indeed very tempting. If we accept this business, Sony's business situation will be greatly improved, but I refuse because the new products I bring today are just for our company's SONY trademark to be popular in 50 years. If I use the OEM trademark according to your conditions, my dream will never be realized."
A few years later, when the brand name "SONY" appears, "When radios, televisions, and video recorders with the trademark flooded the American market, people had to admire Morita's approach.
John Niven, chairman of the American company "Augment Your Wisdom", was full of praise for this: "If he accepted that condition, no one would know the name Sony in the United States."
With the development of the company in the United States, With the development of business, Morita officially founded "Sony Corporation of America" ??in February 1960. In June 1961, Sony issued 2 million shares in the U.S. market, becoming the first Japanese company to be listed on the U.S. stock market.
One night in October 1967, Sony’s Akio Morita, Dai Ibuka and other principals sat in the laboratory with technicians. After six years of hard work, the world’s first single-unit The Gunsanbeam color television was finally born here. After Morita recognized that there was a broad market for this new product, he decided to immediately produce it locally in the United States. In 1972, the Sony TV factory was officially put into production in San Diego, California, USA. "Made in the United States" Sony color power supplies have continuously entered the United States and Central and South American markets.
A few years later, some other Japanese companies dumped a large number of products into the United States, causing serious trade frictions between Japan and the United States. The United States took measures to restrict the import of Japanese goods. Since Sony already has a factory in the United States, it has managed to survive this trade war without incident, which fully proves the correctness of Morita's original decision.
In 1974, Sony opened a color TV factory in Bridgend, England. Then, an audio and video tape factory was opened in Dothan, Alabama. In 1981, a tape factory was founded in Bethny, France. In 1988, Sony made another astonishing move by acquiring Columbia Pictures for US$3.4 billion, thus entering Hollywood aggressively.
"If Philips can do it, we can do it too!" The heroic words of Akio Morita when he visited Philips Company in the Netherlands more than 30 years ago have finally been confirmed. Today, Sony has opened up broad markets in Western Europe, the United States, Eastern Europe, Brazil, China and other places. The company's exports account for more than 60% of the total turnover. Its business projects have also changed from a single electrical appliance to a diversified one, becoming a company with General Motors, Siemens, Philips and other first-class multinational companies are famous all over the world.
Sony's rapid development is closely related to Akio Morita's consistent emphasis on talent development and the eclectic use of talented people. He once wrote a very best-selling book - "The Uselessness of Educational Qualifications". He believes that the uselessness of academic qualifications does not mean that he looks down upon academic qualifications, but that he cannot evaluate a person's value solely based on academic qualifications. The emphasis on qualifications and academic qualifications is a major obstacle that prevents many young and promising staff from developing their abilities. Therefore, Sony must use the guiding ideology of "making the best use of people's talents and arranging talents according to actual performance and work ability" in order to keep Sony in an invincible position.
Morita himself took the lead in practicing this idea. In 1971, he succeeded Ibuka as president of Sony Corporation. In 1979, he publicly stated: I don't want to stay in love for too long, as this will damage the aspirations of the next generation. I don't care if the heir is my son or daughter, I just need a capable person to lead Sony.
Three years later, a baritone actor unexpectedly sat on the throne of Sony's president.
His name is Norio Ohga. His acquaintance with Morita was purely accidental. In 1950, Morita produced the first tape recorder. At that time, Ohga was still a student in the Vocal Music Department of Tokyo University of the Arts. He wrote to Morita from the perspective of a singer, telling him in unconsidered sentences that the performance of this machine was not good and the sound distortion was too severe. What the singer needed was a mirror - a mirror that could hear his voice. , therefore, he believed that this tape recorder was nothing more than a pile of rubbish. Far from being angry at his sharp criticism, Morita thought his so-called mirror idea was very pertinent, appropriate and challenging, so he wrote back to Dahe and hired him as a part-time consultant for the company.
In 1954, after graduating from University, Dahe went to Berlin to study, received three years of further music studies, and participated in touring performances in Europe. During this period, Morita still actively contacted Dahe, insisted on sending his salary to Dahe, and asked him to continue working for Sony after studying abroad and returning to China.
Dahe was deeply moved by what Morita did. In 1959, the two of them traveled to Europe together. Morita wanted to use this trip to promote FM transistor radios and other products for Sony. Finally, they took a boat from England to New York to return home. During the long journey of four days and ten hours, the two of them had nothing to do but sit down and talk. Akio Morita found that Norio Ohga's musical attainments were very useful to Sony, which focused on sound and imaging, and Ohga also knew some business methods, so he said to him: "You are first-class as a vocalist. But, I think your talent as an industrialist will be more prominent.” In this way, with Morita’s encouragement, the baritone singer gave up his art and entered the business world.
Norio Ohga initially served as general manager of Sony's tape recorder production division. In 1961, Morita promoted him to head of the product design department. A few years later, he became the president of Columbia-Sony Records, a joint venture between Sony and American businessmen. Dahe lived up to Morita's expectations, worked very diligently, and was very knowledgeable in business strategies. He also used his expertise in vocal music and was very good at selecting recording tracks and keeping the sound pure. In order to develop the emerging record industry, in the early 1980s, Dahe focused on developing laser discs that could reproduce music in a digitally controlled state. He successively collaborated with famous conductors Seiji Ozawa and Karajan to launch the world's earliest laser records and laser record players. The record company he led has gradually developed into Japan's first-class record company.
In September 1982, Sony Chairman Akio Morita officially announced the appointment of Norio Ohga as the company's new president at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. This wise and correct decision made by "Bole" Morita has been unanimously praised by shareholders.
With the joint efforts of Morita and Dahe, Sony has achieved rapid development. Portable CD player, walkman, 3.5-inch compact floppy disk, super speed video recorder system, 8mm "Walking with You" 55 ??camera, home stereo combination, electronic video camera, high-definition television camera... one This world-leading new product has spread throughout the world along with Sony's reputation.
Although Akio Morita is now in his seventies, his ambition for his career is still as strong as before, and he is running around to realize his "Sony Company of the World". For more than 40 years, he has been like a tireless bee, flying around the world to understand the market conditions and promote products of various countries. He has flown more than 50 million kilometers in total, which is equivalent to circling the earth 130 times. Now, as always, he has visited five continents and is working hard all day long to draw Sony's grand blueprint for the 21st century.