Lessons from the life of Soichiro Honda—-the man behind Honda motorcycles, cars, robots and the business jet!
Soichiro Honda, left the world on August 5, 1991. Time to pay a little tribute to him and the legendary company he created.
Soichiro Honda build motorcycles and cars from scratch when it was considered to be impossible. At that time Ford, Peugeot, and Daimler were already there. Then, there was a marine business tycoon who tried to break in by establishing his own automobile manufacturing business unit but it lasted only for a decade. Transportation was to some extent a mature industry, and the already established giants wanted no new competitors. And by mid-century, it was impossible for any single entrepreneur to create such a big manufacturing empire in the automobile segment, which Honda has built for itself as on today.
Soichiro Honda did it. He took his ideas forward. It's easy to say that post war Japan needed transportation, and that Honda seized the moment. But we should note that many others also did so but did not succeed. Can you name any such entity who built up such an empire facing so much competition and within such a short time? I don’t think if any such name will pop up in your mind, as no one could at that time.
Then, Japan had its own established giants. Toyota, Fuji Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi to name a few. Honda made himself their equal, despite stiff competition. He, despite being a results-oriented pragmatist was a person, in-fact, totally driven at the core by a dream. Yes, he had a dream and he was living by it. His philosophy was simple---convert thoughts into action. He was born at the junction of old and new era, as Japan swept from agriculture to manufacturing. No doubt, there were opportunities around, and Honda was one of the few, who transformed them into realities. Every-time this man gazed with wonder at the future's new machines, engines and airplanes, as if busy in his own calculations. As a young, Soichiro dreamed of transcending the dusty road with machines that moved, that multiplied human abilities. And machinery always made sense to him. At that point of time, he did not believe in book-learning. He did not wait for school diplomas to unlock his future. He simply plunged into practical work with cars and engines. He just believed in action.
However, Honda always sought in others the talents he himself did not have. He was not an isolated engineering nerd, sitting idle and day-dreaming. He believed in practical results, and he found a way of working that brought those results. He learned to regard failures as necessary steps toward understanding. He instilled in others the drive to learn without fear of failure. In his mind, this was the only way ahead and the road to success.
Honda, however, discovered in later years, with his several attempts to make piston rings, that the physical world doesn't yield its secrets to efforts alone. He found that engineering complexity requires study. Thus, Honda went back to school to add the insights of metallurgy to guide his hundreds of experiments. Work and study brought success, so that when he produced his first post war motorcycles, he knew the value of continuous investment of time in studies. For him, continuously enhancing the knowledge as well as putting in the efforts at the same time, in improving the current level of the technology, was the key. For him, it was not enough to have a good idea in mind and a strong unwavering willingness was also required to make the ideas click.
“If you made a product no better and no worse than your competitor's, the customer had no reason to prefer yours.”
But investment of undeterred personal time in enhancing the current level of technology offered something different---a way to grow ideas into useful new things that people would want. Japan's impressive heavy industries had emerged during Honda's youth, but he knew it would take something more to succeed in the turbulent 1950s driven at the core by a dream.
So, when the Honda Cub (motorcycle) was developed, a need was behind its introduction, which was highlighted through the market research. After numerous trials and errors, the trouble-free, easy-to-operate 50cc Cub was created. It is one of the easy-going product an automobile company has ever created. Honda’s marketing team targeted the public with good, clean two-wheeled fun, and introduced millions to motorcycling in the process. When the market was saturated, Honda had the vision to see that a similarly trouble-free kind of sports motorcycle could become equally popular, building on the proven reputation of the Cub.
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As the success expanded into other countries, Honda expanded its line, always offering customers a step-up to more sophisticated models. Soon thereafter came auto production, and the rest of the story is familiar recent history.
Strategically, the most difficult problems especially those shunned by competitors have been tackled by Honda engineers who know this is the best way to be prepared for the future. From the beginning, Honda sought the challenge of racing, and when his motorcycles won their first Grand Prix road racing title in 1961, the new company's engineering power was demonstrated to the world. Since then, racing has remained a valued element in Honda's development process. From Honda's continuing research and development, a long succession of technological triumphs has resulted.
To summarise, Honda’s philosophy was simple:
This pattern defined the Honda Way. If you look at the Honda's product portfolio you will definitely agree.
The low-emissions engines, continuous variable transmission (CVT), variable valve timing, the latest lean-burn combustion system and minimalist alloy chassis and Honda Jet are only but a few of its technical marvel examples.
Because of work of this kind, Honda products are not just commodities—-they are unique.
Lessons from his life:
If you have a dream, then, chase it. Take up the challenges. Don’t stop, learn and apply knowledge continuously. Don’t worry about the competition, you will succeed no matter what, if your efforts are genuine and logical. Be unique and customer centric. Bring joy to them with wonderful products.