[Founder Notes] Akio Morita

Steve Jobs was inspired by Akio and wanted Apple to be more like Sony. The trait that sticks with me most: relentlessly resourceful.

Building a great product isn't enough. You must also go and find the customers that see the value in what you're building.

Vision: Simplify decision making and build boldly. If you don't care about the tiniest details of your product, then you don't care about your product.

People: Spend on HR and performance. Don't let loners break the whole.

Akio studied American industry so thoroughly that he took the good aspects and challenged the bad ones. Japan optimizes for long-term, not short-term. Japanese believe all work is honorable. Americans feel some work is honorable. Japanese air-condition the factories before the offices. No mandatory retirement age.

Mottainai

An expression that everything in the world is a gift from the creator and we should be grateful for it and never waste anything. All things are provided as a sacred trust and it is our responsibility to make the very best use of them. To waste is a kind of sin. Conservation = survival. Low-power consumption is a competition of pride.

Don't rest on laurels. Make a business of improving your business.

— Jay