Mr. Akio Morita is the co-founder of Sony Corporation and an unbelievably brilliant man. The destiny of Sony, just like any individual's is the result of a series of decisions. In his book, Made in Japan, Morita discloses that one of the toughest and most important decisions he ever made was to turn down an offer from Bulova Corporation to purchase 100,000 of his breakthrough transistor radios - at a time when his company was not even moving 10,000 units a month. The amount of money they offered was enormous and was ten times what his company was worth at the time, yet after deep consideration Morita rejected the deal.
Why? Simply because Bulova wanted to put their own name on the radio.
He realized that while in the short term saying yes would give his company a huge jump, he would be building Bulova's name instead of Sony's. The Bulova executives could not believe he would turn down their offer. He told them, “Fifty years from now, my company's name will be as big as yours and I know that the radio we’ve created is going to help us develop that name”.
Of course, all of Morita's partners thought that he was crazy .How was he able to create this sense of certainty that enabled him to turn down such an enticing and profitable offer? He vividly imagined the future of his company, and created references where none existed. He directed his focus and envisioned his goals with clarity, and then blocked it up with absolute and active faith.
Today Sony Corporation is not only a leader in the electronics industry, generating over $70billion a year, but has also diversified to industries as far reaching as film making and music and is renowned for its quality around the World.
Remember, don't drive into the past using your rear view mirror as guide. You have to learn from your past, not live in it - focus on the things that empower you.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge.
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