He was the son of a sake brewer who wanted him to inherit the family business. Instead, he cofounded Sony and changed global electronics.
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Who Akio Morita was
Akio Morita co-founded Sony Corporation and helped transform Japan’s reputation from cheap manufacturer to high-quality innovator. He is known for the Walkman, Trinitron TVs, and the PlayStation’s early vision.
The struggle
Morita was born in 1921 in Nagoya, Japan, into a family that had brewed sake for fourteen generations. His family expected him to take over the business. He studied physics instead, serving in the Japanese Navy during World War II.
After the war, Japan was devastated. Morita partnered with Masaru Ibuka, an engineer he had met in the navy, and they started Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation in a bombed-out Tokyo shop. They had almost no capital and no reputation.
Early products failed. The company nearly collapsed. But Morita and Ibuka kept refining their work.
The turning point
In 1953 Sony licensed transistor technology from Bell Labs and produced the world’s first pocket-sized transistor radio. In 1957 came the TR-63, a shirt-pocket radio that made Sony famous. Morita chose the name “Sony” because it was short, memorable, and worked in any language.
He believed in premium quality, global branding, and direct distribution. The Walkman, launched in 1979, created the personal music market. Morita proved that Japanese companies could lead through innovation, not just price.
“Our plan is to lead the public with new products rather than ask them what kind of products they want.”
The principle
Customers often cannot ask for what does not exist yet. Morita’s success came from inventing the future and persuading people they wanted it. Innovation requires both technical skill and marketing courage.
Apply it today
Do not just respond to demand. Create new demand by solving problems people have not yet named. Build something so good that customers change their habits to use it.
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