Part I — The story
The story
Akio Morita co-founded Sony in the rubble of postwar Japan and turned it into a global byword for innovative, well-designed electronics — transforming 'Made in Japan' from a synonym for cheap goods into a mark of quality. He paired an engineer's product instinct with a marketer's global vision, insisting Sony build its own brand worldwide rather than manufacture anonymously for others.
Morita championed products the market hadn't asked for but came to love: the pocket transistor radio, the Trinitron television, and above all the Walkman, which created the entire category of personal portable music. He understood, like Steve Jobs after him, that customers can't always tell you what they want — sometimes you must show them.
Morita's global outlook — living in America to understand its market, building Sony into a truly international company — made him one of the most influential businessmen of the twentieth century and a bridge between Japanese manufacturing and Western consumers.
Part II — The playbook
The playbook
Build your own brand
Morita refused to be an anonymous manufacturer, investing in the Sony name globally.
Lead demand, don't just follow it
The Walkman created a market no survey predicted.
Think globally from the start
Morita immersed himself in foreign markets to build a world company.
In their words
Curiosity is the key to creativity.
You can be totally rational with a machine. But if you work with people, logic often has to take a back seat to understanding.
Never follow the others.
What to read next
- Made in Japan — Akio Morita
Why this matters
The thinking behind these decisions connects to models you can study directly:
Frequently asked questions
What was Akio Morita's biggest contribution?
Building Sony into a global brand and pioneering products like the Walkman — and, in doing so, transforming the world's perception of Japanese manufacturing into a mark of quality.
How did Morita view customer research?
Like Jobs, he believed customers can't always articulate what they want, so a great company must sometimes lead demand by showing them something new.