YouSaid · the spoken record

Soichiro Honda

lines on the record
6
first
2026-06-28
most recent
2026-06-28
sittings or episodes
1
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podcast

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  1. “organization is for the individual to seek assistance from others for what is missing in him and what he cannot do, and at the same time spare no effort for maximum utilization of what he has. And this is what Honda said when he retired, looking back in my work, I feel that I have made nothing but mistakes, a series of failures, a series of regrets, although I made one mistake after another, my mistakes of failures were never due to the same reason. I never made the same mistake, and I always tried my hardest and succeeded in improving my efforts. When he was asked what is he doing in retirement, he answered Fumbling with machines.”

    2026-06-28 · Founders · #423 Soichiro Honda · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  2. “feels is essential to progress. Honda has put the emphasis on the recruitment of young people. R and D system is such that each individual is given an opportunity to do whatever he would like to do. He is free to make any proposal and take responsibility for any research he wants to do. If you only have older, experienced engineers, you are not going to get anywhere. Young engineers must be given more opportunity. Honda added in his usual mixture of bravado and frankness keep in mind he's in his sixties when he says this. I regard myself as still being young mentally and physically, and I don't think you can beat me. Realistically, however, I must admit that nowadays I often envy young people and feel I can no longer keep up with them. I now feel more keenly than ever how wonderful it is to be young. Nobody in the world is perfect. An important thing in any way.”

    2026-06-28 · Founders · #423 Soichiro Honda · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  3. “A man who is a transportation maniac. Honda is an engineer. He is a man who only knows how to make things. He is talented at What is important to remember is that Honda was not the only company founded in those days, so post World War two destruction. There were many, many other companies seeking to make their way. Of all these companies, only a handful have survived. The others were blown away by storms like pebbles on a roof, and there are some traits common to those companies which survived. The men who founded them were all innovators, and one way that Honda ensured that his company continued to innovate was by he was obsessed with staffing his company with young people and then giving them the ability to change the company, which goes against human nature. Youthfulness is mentioned in the company management policy. Youngsters will think that things must be changed. This is a quote from Honda, and the older generation will be critical of the young. It is natural that there exists insurmountable differences between these two. Honda accepts this as not only an inevitable conflict, but one which he approves of.”

    2026-06-28 · Founders · #423 Soichiro Honda · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  4. “And I love that he stayed focused that excellence in our product is our North Star. Go back to what he said. He's like, I don't want this protectionism, this government protectionism. If I build the best product, the best product knows no national boundaries. And so he says, we sometimes say that it's nice that there are companies which are interested only in seeking profits because thanks to such companies, a small company like Honda will have a chance to do great work. And so in that pursuit of excellence and achieving a great product, he is also very extreme. And so he says, do not accept any easygoing technological compromise. If there is a possibility, then we should pursue it to the extreme. That is the essence of our research staff. And then the book ends describing what makes Honda special, why there is genius in the company needs to be preserved, and why he had to retire. It is a company founded by a man who is fond of the smell of gasoline.”

    2026-06-28 · Founders · #423 Soichiro Honda · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  5. “And so he talks more about this peculiar approach to research that they had when he was running the company. The basic principle of our R&D program is that our R&D work is respect for humanity. Men desire something, technology is something to achieve that goal. It's not that technology is there and that's why we make this. It's the other way around. There is a need, hence the technology. The technology is simply a means. This is our fundamental philosophy. The quality of our development is not solely dependent on the amount of money that we devote to RD and the number of people we have. In RD we believe that what is important is what is in our people's brains. We manage RD in such a way that everybody in there enjoys working and that they are enthusiastic. Their brains are on strike then nothing is going to work no matter how much money you put into it. With our technology we can create the demand.”

    2026-06-28 · Founders · #423 Soichiro Honda · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

  6. “The delivery mechanism for the motor. The motor was the center of gravity for his entire enterprise, just like it is for Honda. And so then Honda goes back to talking about the importance of racing his R&D. He actually calls entering a race floating research. This was fascinating. We are not just out to win a race, Honda said. We want to apply the knowledge we gain in the race to production by improving the technical qualities of our engines for racing, we are able to improve our standard cars. Honda also feels his company's unique and should go it alone, so most of his competitors at the time are merging or doing joint ventures with larger American car manufacturers. So like Mitsubishi goes and partners with Chrysler, Isuzu partners with General Motors, and Honda did not. And this is why Honda thought that he should go it alone, that there was a special genius in the company that must be preserved. And he thinks the center of that genius is their resource.”

    2026-06-28 · Founders · #423 Soichiro Honda · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT