Decision, Commitment, and Obstacles - The Inspiring Life story of Soichiro Honda

Decisions, Commitment and

ObstaclesThe inspiring Life of Soichiro Honda

Scott M. Laux, CPIM, C.P.M., CSSBBDirector SCMNavtrak, Inc.

"Children Grow. Women Produce. Some Men Go Work. And Some Go Steal. Everyone's Got To Make A Living."

1938 Japan

What if:

You were a poor student with a simple desire?

To design a piston ring to manufacture and sell to Toyota….

If you were so intent on your decision that every day you went to school and all night long you would work on your design up to your elbows in grease…

If you spent what little money you had on your design.

And when it still wasn't finished you hocked your wife’s jewelry to continue?

Would you be that committed to your decision for success of your career?

And only after years of effort you finally breakthrough and design a piston ring you’re certain Toyota would buy.

Only to be rejected and sent back to school…

to suffer the humiliation of your teachers' and friends' telling you what an idiot you are for designing such a ridiculous gadget.

Would you be frustrated? You bet.

Would you still be broke? Yes.

Would you give up? Would ya?

Assuming you yelled and astounding No way in response to giving up……

So you spend the next two years continuing to find ways to make the piston ring better….

You believe that you have the key formula to success:

You’ve decided what it is you wanted.

You took action.

You noticed whether it was working or not, and when things weren't working out,

You kept changing your approach.

You’ve become flexible in the way you go about things.

Finally, after two more years, you’ve, at last, successfully refined your design, and Toyota actually buys it!

1941 Japan

Go Build your factory!

Stop!

You need concrete and the Government is gearing up for World War 2.

None Available!

No one to help you.

Your dream dies here…..

Do you Quit?

Absolutely not.

You have decided to build this factory.

Giving up is not an option…..

You gather up a group of friends

AND

For weeks everyone works ‘round the clock trying different approaches until you find a new way to manufacture concrete.

Success…

You build the factory and you’re finally able to produce piston rings.

"But wait, there's more...” 

The story doesn't end here.

During the war, the United States bombed your factory, destroying most of it……

However you somehow manage to maintain operations in what’s left of your factory….

Then the Japanese Government restricts the raw materials to manufacture your piston rings.

Do you give up?

I hope by now you’ve picked up on the theme and you scream NO!

The bombings continue….

AND

You rally all of your employees and instruct them to

Quickly! Run outside and watch those planes.

Because they are dropping their empty fuel cans out of the sky.

You tell them to find out where they drop them and get those cans, because they contain the raw materials we need for our manufacturing process!

You start collecting these surplus gas cans discarded by US fighters – "Gifts from President Truman,“ you call them,

These gas cans become the raw materials for your rebuilt manufacturing process.

You have somehow found away to use whatever life gave you.

Hold On, there's more….

Finally, an earthquake levels your factory and you are forced to sell your entire piston operation to Toyota…..

The War ends and Japan is in total turmoil…

Resources are scarce in all parts of the country - gasoline is rationed and, in most cases, nearly impossible to find.

You can’t even get enough gas to drive to the market to buy food for your family.

Do you feel defeated or helpless?

OR

Do you ask yourself “How else can I feed my family”?

You decide to work on finding alternative ways to get there with what you already have….

You decide to attach a small motor to a bicycle and at that moment the first motorized bicycle was born!

You drive it to and from the market and your friends ask you to make them one.

Soon demand exceeds supply and you run out of motors and capacity

You decide to open a new factory to make motorcycles

But you have no money and Japan is still torn apart from the War…

Do you have any fight left in you?

or

Are you ready to give up?

You hand write 18,000 letters to bicycle shop owners in all of Japan

Asking them to help you revitalize Japan

And

5,000 respond and pledge money to fund your factory!

You manufacture and make your first shipment

And finally you’re a success right?

Wrong

Your motorbike is to big and bulky and very few Japanese buy it…. They turn their backs on you and walk away!

So once again, you take notice of what wasn't working, and instead of giving up, you change your approach again.

You decide to strip your motorbike down and make it much lighter and smaller.

You call it The Cub, and it becomes an "overnight success," winning you the Emperor's Award.

Everyone looks at you and thinks how "lucky" you were to have come up with this idea.

Are you lucky?

Maybe, if L.U.C.K. means Laboring Under Correct Knowledge.

End of Story?

No!

In the 1970s there was another gas shortage, this time in America.

Automotive fashion turned to small cars. And you were quick to pick up on the trend. Experts now in small engine design, your company started making tiny cars, smaller than anyone had seen before, and rode another wave of success.

This is the true story not of you; but that of Soichiro Honda

Today, Mr. Honda's company is one of the most successful in the world. Honda Corporation now employs over 100,000 people in the US and Japan and outsells all but Toyota cars in the U.S. - all because Mr. Honda never gave up. He never let problems or circumstances get in his way. He decided that there is always a way to succeed if you're really committed.

Honda succeeded because one man made a truly committed decision, acted upon it, and made adjustments on a continuous basis. Failure was simply not considered a possibility.

Your future is not a function of your current circumstances! See you at the pick of your destiny. Your case will not be different and your story is next in line with those who have GRACED THE PAGES OF HISTORY.

Where will your decisions take you?And

How committed are you to your success?