Son Jung-ui “I wish to set up a company which could easily outlast 300 years”

By Park Sae-jin Posted : January 18, 2016, 14:37 Updated : January 18, 2016, 15:37

[Courtesy of SoftBank]



“I wish to set up a company which could easily outlast 300 years” Son Jung-ui, the CEO of SoftBank, said during an interview with Japanese newspaper Nikkei last Sunday. He is preparing for the change of generations so that his SoftBank empire will thrive for 300 more years.

During the interview, Mr. Son points out how a company should tackle its odds against fast-changing IT world and how to adapt to the evolving environment to make businesses succeed.

Below is the full interview by the Nikkei, with Son Jung-ui.

Q- You have frequently mentioned ‘SoftBank 2.0’ lately, and you also said that the business has entered the next phase of its startup. Would you like to share your thoughts about it?

Son- I think the lifespan of a company must outlast its employees. I wish to set up a company which could easily outlast 300 years. I am in right in the middle of making my idea come true. It is important to detect obstacles and to move on in order to keep up the growth.

My ability and health conditions should not be an element which slows down the company. Also, it is not right to rely too much on Japan’s market. When competitional values of Japanese market fails, so would the values of SoftBank.

In that matter, I think this is the right time to look for an heir and to start a movement to expand our businesses globally. In the next phase, the size and value of SoftBank should be at least ten times larger than it is now.

Q- How important is M&A as a vital part of SoftBank’s growth?

Son- Everyday chores which employees do are just ‘works’. But when an employee is given a mission to succeed in a completely different environment, his or her brain will be activated. So does the company. The sense of thrill comes from different tasks such as M&A. When the thrill is experienced, then the endless flow of good ideas will soon follow.

Q- SoftBank had acquired Japanese corporate body of Vodafone, and Sprint. Now, the company started investing in Indian venture companies. What is SoftBank’s standard in making investments?

Son- I have two beliefs. The first is in technology and the second is the local business with confidence in being the best. If the technology is great, then it can be widely accepted in the world. But service and its contents will have strong advantages focused in its local area. That is why it is so important to look for a leader in the local industry. The foremost important aspect is- that the leader is full of passion and ideas.

Q- Sometimes businesses do not get right on track after investing. What happened with Sprint? And how are you overcoming such crisis?

Son- It hurts when it is so hard to find an answer. When you stumble over and over again in your mind, it really hurts. But such situation requires time. The time to feel the pain, analyze it and come up with a solution. Putting the troubles aside or forgetting about it with a help from alcohol does not help. It does no good. But when I finally come up with an idea to solve the problem, then my mind gets free. It’s a time when I feel the most thrilling sensation as an entrepreneur.

To find the right answers to such situations, a leader must look at matters from the same view as the people working in the field. To tackle problems, you must start a fight. I have been yelling “Why do you not understand! You fool!” and fist banging a table during video conferences with Sprint. My actions made the opposition take the matter more seriously.

The most important thing is, to ask questions to a right person. The right person is the one in the field and has better knowledge about the job more than anyone else. Normally, it would be the right thing to ask the questions to the managers, but I don’t. I snub any opinions from the managers by saying “I do not understand what you are talking about.”

It is best to go head to head with people. You cannot achieve anything with the good talks. I’ve already found the answer for Sprint. Now, I am in a very good relationship with the engineers of Sprint.

Q- IT and AI technology are advancing very quickly. How would a company adapt into such fast changing technological world?

Son- I think “Singularity”, a phenomenon which, AI surpasses humans’ ability think and analyze had already begun. In the old days, old fishermen’s insights on the weather were more accurate than a government’s weather forecast. But now, the accuracy of the computer has overtaken. For example, looking for information on Google is more vast and faster than to look it up in an encyclopedia. These kinds of things are happening in every industry.

Evolution cycles are accelerated, and lifestyles are changing very fast. If you wish to avoid it, then you will get left behind. But would AI bring ruin to human society which got left behind? Definitely not. A person who could utilize such ability will be a hero of the new world.

Q- How is SoftBank adapting to the new world?

Son- Humanoid robot “Pepper” is my answer. Computer’s intellectual and understanding abilities will easily surpass that of humans in near future. I keep on asking myself “Which form of computers do we want to co-exist?” I think it would be in a form of a robot with human heart and mind.

Although its mind is not fully initialized, Pepper has an affectionate personality, which could provide a family with loving and caring heart as a member. It could teach English to a youngling, and exercise with an elderly. Its abilities are evolving. One day, it would be able to run, fly or swim underwater.

I think Pepper’s sales are the top among its humanoid robot cousins. I wish that people of a hundred years later remember Pepper as “the first computer to have human heart”.

Q- You have scouted Nikeshi Arora from Google and had chosen him as the heir of SoftBank. What is an important point a company and its heir should look out for?

Son- Terms between the second, and third generation of heirs will be an average of ten years. Most perilous time for a company is when an heir is succeeding a throne. The heir must put all his or her efforts to keep up the pace with the predecessor’s.

I see situations in Japanese companies when a new president or the leader is being succeeded a new title. The new president says “I have not expected such an honor” or “I was told to take the role as the new president”. I think the moment a new leader says such things, everything goes to ruins. It’s because the runner-up is not yet ready and when asked to keep up the pace, the new leader will definitely falter.

Q- What kind of aspects did you see from Arora to think of him as the next leader of SoftBank?

Son- He has a great ability to hunt. He goes after his prey with bravery and with a strong will, he achieves high goals. He also has insights which look into the future. It is easy to look back on the past, but it’s quite the opposite when looking into the future.

Arora is fit for the next leader of SoftBank as he is an engineer with a great understanding of IT field, and from his experiences in running Google, he has an ability to run a large scale company.

I found his talent when he was working at Google. As a person to bargain a deal with, he was a very tough opposition. He knows what to take and to give. Of all the people I have made deals with, he was the toughest.

Q- What would be the biggest obstacle for Arora to become a new leader?

Son- Arora himself would have to be a person large enough to take everything in. He would have to try very hard, but it is a process many people go through to become a leader.

Q- Who would you suggest as an example of an ideal leader?

Son- Honda Soichiro, the founder of Honda Motors, is my favorite. I used to go to the same dentist as he did, and that coincidence led me to being invited to his birthday party.

I was young, but with no noticeable achievements. There were famous people at the party, but Honda kept asking me questions like “What is PC?”, “What is CPU?”, “What happens when those things evolve?” When I answered his questions, he listened with such curiosity with child-like bright eyes.

I looked at him, then I thought “This man is the reason for Honda Motors’ success.” An old man who is so delighted and excited to hear other people’s thoughts on things, his engineers would have been so happy to work harder, thus making him happier.

Q- What do great leaders have in common?

Son- There are so many people who are very smart and have talent in marketing, but for those who are successful, they have a greater will to be successful. If a leader lacks in a great will, He or she would have hard times in finding loyal workmates.

Other than my favorite, I think Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, is the greatest person I’ve known as a leader. Not many people knew his greatness when he first introduced iPhone. But Jobs concentrated his insights and creativeness into the iPhone. He was able to foresee and decide with belief. I have learned a lot from him.

When I heard that he passed away, I wept a lot. He probably had a lot of ideas which could have been released. He also had the vision and ability to make it actually happen. But now it is all lost. He must have been so heartbroken to leave such good ideas.

Compared to him, I am very small. That thought keep remind me to look back and revise through my life and to discover new things from the old memories.

아주경제 박세진 기자 = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
 
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