Thanks, I feel very good, pay tribute... At Sony’s shareholder meeting in June, shareholders have made a speech praising the management layer. “Nihon Keizai Shimbun” reported on July 11 that Sony has been in fiscal year 1997 (as of 1998). Since March of the year, the operating profit has reached a new high after 20 years. The former president, Hirai Kazuo, also topped the highest salary list of Japanese operators with a salary of 2.7 billion yen (about RMB 162 million).
Although this is good news for Sony, a representative Japanese company, there is no more than one person who feels shocked.
The reason why people are not comfortable is very simple. When Sony is busy rebuilding its management system, emerging powers are rising, and the scene of science and technology has changed.
A typical example is Google, which was founded in 1998. The company has boosted revenue through integrated advertising with search capabilities, and has become a creator of video-sharing sites with YouTube, and also provides a basic operating system (OS) in the smartphone space. It is comparable to the American apple. The total market value of its stock has reached about 87 trillion yen, 12 times that of Sony.
It can be said that there has been a remarkable feature in the last 20 years, that is, it is proportional to Google's expansion, and the personal strength is getting bigger and bigger.
Individuals who come into contact with the Internet turn to become publishers of information, and shopping and work should begin to be done via the Internet. Shared services are everywhere.
It is not accepted, but is customized according to preferences, and can be obtained immediately when needed. Enterprises that can satisfy these expectations of consumers gradually become the traction of economic growth.
The trend of 'technology popularization', which served as a run-off for the 'personal era', has emerged in the 20th century. It was Sony that played a huge role at the time.
After the 1950s, under the leadership of founder Iso Sada and Akio Morita, Sony developed a radio that can be loaded with imported bags, a mobile TV and a walkman, thereby opening up a market for high-tech products that meet individual needs. The trend of shooting and producing videos with small cameras has also expanded.
In the context of Japan's nuclear family (small family) and the introduction of weekends, Sony has successfully embarked on a wave of personal thinking and lifestyle diversification.
'Using the information revolution to make people happy~' This is the phrase used by Sun Zheng, the president of Softbank Group, but in fact, Sony began to practice this more than a decade ago. This once again makes people feel the importance of executive leadership. .
Akio Morita wrote in his book: 'The history of our company can be said to be the story of a group of people who are trying to realize Mr. Jing Shen's dream.'
Desire to get more convenient, more interesting products and services are the psychology of the general public. Only when the operators who are obsessed with products and services become cohesive, ambitious talents can swarm the company’s psychology. .
It’s no coincidence that most of the technology giants in the world today are led by creative founders. The two founders of Google’s goal of 'collecting and organizing information around the world and making it accessible' are Attracting the network, artificial intelligence (AI) researchers and technicians joined, creating a trend of innovation such as autonomous driving.
So, what have Sony been doing in the past 20 years? The author believes that the energy of Sony operators is used in the huge organization that maintains and manages the founders.
The newly established company that controls the production base will transfer the committee to the set company, cooperate with other companies or cancel cooperation, sort out the loss business, etc. Obviously, Sony has been busy building a solid profit system.
On the one hand, Sony has gradually opened the impression of distance from the general public.
Under the policy of 'avoiding reckless pursuit of scale', Sony has turned to the high-end route. Does this have its own initiative to reduce contact with customers? In terms of game services, Sony has increased by 3 years compared with 1 year ago. 3.32 million paid members, but this is still very different from the US Amazon, which has reached 100 million e-commerce giants.
The first generation of the robot 'aibo', which is considered to have Sony's characteristics, was launched in 1999. The new thinking has received attention. After that, the related business became the target of integration, but in January this year, the new 're-emergence' was adopted.
For the new aibo, Sony has gathered sensors and AI talents scattered throughout the company to create products that are connected to the current trend, such as networking. Aibo can make a realistic action like a dog, and it will make a lovely voice.
However, there are also shortcomings in the US. The supply of aibo as of mid-April is only over 11,000. The assembly of up to 4,000 parts is not an easy task, and it has become a bottleneck for a large supply. About 200,000 yen (about The price of RMB 12,000 is not cheap. Therefore, aibo has not yet become a product that sends technology to the public.
Although it has begun to use the accumulation of the past to launch fairly good products and services, it still lacks the refreshing feeling of changing the world – not only Sony, but perhaps a common problem for Japanese companies that have succeeded in the 20th century. .
The performance of Japanese companies is not bad. The listed companies have set a new net profit for the second consecutive year in fiscal year 2017, and the return on net assets is over 10%. But if you look at the top 100 companies in the world, in 1997, 9 Japanese companies such as Sony In the list, it accounts for 8% by amount. But by 2017, the number of Japanese companies has decreased to 3, and the amount has been reduced to 2%.
After entering the 21st century, the 'innovative enterprise' shines brightly, Japan still faces the reality that it is seeking to avoid risks, and enterprises that attach importance to stability still dominate. Sony’s 20 years seems to have chosen to become this. The path of a 'superior enterprise'.
Japan's industry lacks metabolism. While promoting entrepreneurship, large companies also need to be led by challenging talents. It is said that among the graduates who graduated in the spring of 2019, Sony is the most popular employer (science and engineering). Therefore, the company also needs to nurture the talents of young people and continue to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit.
Facebook in the United States has been shaken by the problem of illegal use of data. The World Health Organization has identified game addiction as a disease. Although people’s awareness of technology is welcoming, the success of new markets must be those that capture the public’s psychology. A keen insight into the business.