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.

From a management standpoint, it is very important to know how to unleash people’s inborn creativity. My concept is that anybody has creative ability, but very few people know how to use it.

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.

We don’t believe in market research for a new product unknown to the public. So we never do any.

If you don’t want Japan to buy it, don’t sell it.

We will try to create conditions where persons could come together in a spirit of teamwork, and exercise to their heart’s desire their technological capacity.

If we face recession, we should not lay off employees; the company should sacrifice a profit. It’s management’s risk and management’s responsibility. Employees are not guilty; why should they suffer?

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.

Never break another man’s rice bowl.

My solution to the problem of unleashing creativity is always to set up a target.