Made in Japan : Akio Morita and SONY

 

This is not a book on rags to riches. This is not a book on becoming unbeatable. This is not a book on becoming the richest company in the world. This is not even a book on how to become a successful businessman. This is a book on human innovation and creativity and shows how great products can be innovated for human consumption.

Made in Japan: Akio Morita and SONY is the story of SONY narrated from point of view of Akio Morita, and has been put together by Edwin M Reingold and Mitsuko Shimomura and it is one of the most recommended business books for young minds to read.

Published in the year 1988, Made in Japan, remains one of the best business books on human creativity and innovation in the field of electronic products. The first ten lines of the book makes an immediate impact with the readers gives a promising glimpse to an epic narrative about one of the great electronics Companies that the world has seen.

The Story of SONY starts soon after the end of second world war. Japan, as a country was rebuilding itself from the destruction it had suffered from the war and the nuclear bombings on the twin cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Reading through the first parts of the book will make the reader understand about the challenges the country and industrial environment was suffering from during the last stages of the War. In between all this, The Morita Family, affluent and one of Japan’s finest and oldest Sake (National drink of Japan) brewing Companies. It would interesting to note that at this point of time, there was no connection in between electronics manufacturing and the Morita Family.

 This first part of the book goes in-depth in to the family history of the Morita family. Th readers get an insightful detailing into the Japanese business family culture in this section. It is during the end part of the first section that we are introduced to an event that makes Akio Morita curious about electronics and particularly the concept of magnetic recording.  How a young and curious Akio takes forward his interest will be good insightful reading experience for all.

This part will showcase how in spite of all economic challenges the country was facing and in spite of the social disturbance due to the war, a young mind went about exploring his curiosity about electronics that would later on give the world one of the finest electronics companies. The first part ends with Second World War coming to an end with the country of Japan left with a grim future to think about. But young Akio Morita had altogether some different ideas.

The second part of the book where in Japan was rebuilding from the devastation of the war, the book show cases how Akio Morita, a young engineer, along with Masaru Ibuka, founder of SONY, went about exploring various curious and experimental electronic innovations.

What enlightens the readers in this part is the business and economical insights of those years in Japan. Reading through the eyes of someone who was physically and mentally present during those years gives the readers a detailed account of the ground level realities. This section will also show how the name SONY was born after the Company changed its English name of Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company.

The next parts of the book concentrate on how the Company decided to export its initial products out of Japan, stories on how the Company invented some of its flagship products. The story of innovation and production of transistors and the innovation of the Walkman are a must read for anyone interested in innovating products.

 What enlightens the mind is the process and events that led to the innovation of these products. Imagine yourself that in nineties you were using the Walkman, but you only came to understand the story behind its innovation and production only in the late 2000’s.

Another interesting part of the book the reader will surely enjoy is the detailing and narration on the Japanese culture of running a Company and a business and its respectable treatment of its employees. The amount of effort put in by the Companies in training its staff in management and technology is almost like a management case study. Readers who are interested in business management will find this part insightful.

The section that showcases the events how SONY as a company entered the American market is interesting to read. The Challenges that Japanese Companies were facing to crack the American market are described in detail. The solution that SONY and Akio Morita in person bring out is a case study for those days when digital communication and video conferencing wasn’t available. This section will also place the important role that Akio Morita’s wife played in his success.

The book also has a collection of some nostalgic old images of the Company including that of Akio Morita and his family, SONY company, employees and other images of key events for the Company. These images give the reader a glimpse into those eventful years.

The later chapters deal with the success the Company found all over the world including other Asian countries. The technology developments the Company invested in was unmatchable with any other of that time. These chapters will put focus on how SONY as Company became one of the most- finest and sought after electronics company of the world. The readers will surely enjoy a lot of unknown behind the scene facts and detailing in these chapters.

 For a reader who was born in the nineties and has been using SONY products for his life, this book will almost be like an insightful trip down the innovation and production of their favourite electronic devices. For other readers, who have lived there lives along with the growth of the SONY Company, this book will almost be like a nostalgic trip down memory.

The narrative of the book ends in the year around 1986, forty years since its inception. It would be an interesting prospect to explore if there could a sequel follow up to this masterpiece narrating the journey of the Company since then up into the new world of digital technology and AI.

Made in Japan : Akio Morita and SONY is a highly recommended book for anyone who wants to dive deep into the world of business, management, leadership, innovation and creativity and nostalgia.