41 quotes
I believe one of the reasons we went through such a remarkable growth period was that we had this atmosphere of free discussion.
Made in Japan (1986)
I believe people work for satisfaction.
Made in Japan (1986)
We all learn by imitating, as children, as students, as novices in the world of business. And then we grow up and learn to blend our innate abilities with the rules or principles we have learned.
Made in Japan (1986)
..I believe it is a big mistake to think that money is the only way to compensate a person for his work. People need money, but they also want to be happy in their work and proud of it.
Made in Japan (1986)
The effect of three things - the new laws, the revision of the tax system, and the elimination of the zaibatsu conglomerates - was to make Japan an egalitarian society for the first time.
Made in Japan (1986)
I often say to my assistants, "Never trust anybody," but what I mean is that you should never trust someone else to do a job exactly the way you would want it done.
Made in Japan (1986)
...if you are nothing but profit-conscious, you cannot see the opportunities ahead.
Made in Japan (1986)
Only with these three kinds of creativity - technology, product planning, and marketing - can the public receive the benefit of a new technology.
Made in Japan (1986)
The concept of lifetime employment arose when Japanese managers and employees both realized that they had much in common and that they had to make some long-range plans.
Made in Japan (1986)
...without an organisation that can work together, sometimes over a very long period, it's difficult to see new projects to fruition.
Made in Japan (1986)
...the company must not throw money away on huge bonuses for executives or other frivolities but must share its fate with the workers.
Made in Japan (1986)
(Japanese Government believes that if you have a big laboratory with all the latest equipment and good funding it will automatically lead to creativity. It doesn't work that way.
Made in Japan (1986)
'There is a major difference between you and me,' I told him. 'Yes, I am rich. But you are wealthy. And that is why you can buy such (expensive jewelry (for your wife and why I cannot.'
Made in Japan (1986)
...the remarkable thing about management is that a manager can go on for years making mistakes that nobody is aware of, which means that management can be a kind of a con job.
Made in Japan (1986)
The investor and the employee are in the same position, but sometimes the employee is more important, because he will be there a long time whereas an investor will often get in and out on a whim in order to make a profit.
Made in Japan (1986)
The "patron saint" of Japanese quality control, ironically, is an American named W. Edwards Deming, who was virtually unknown in his own country until his ideas of quality control began to make such a big impact on Japanese companies.
Made in Japan (1986)
The American system of management, in my opinion, also relies too much on outsiders to help make business decisions., and this is because of the insecurity that American decision makers feel in their jobs, as compared with most top Japanese corporate executives.
Made in Japan (1986)
...the differences between U.S. and Japanese companies go beyond the cultural.
Made in Japan (1986)
Of course we have to make a profit, but we have to make a profit over the long haul, not just the short term, and that means we must keep investing in research and development - it has run consistently about 6 percent of sales at Sony - and in service.
Made in Japan (1986)
...I established the rule that once we hire an employee, his school records are a matter of the past and are no longer used to evaluate his work or decide on his promotion.
Made in Japan (1986)