Stories of Soichiro Honda I Heard from My Father

The day I let go of a cherished vacation home, a time with my father was born

The other day, I went to Karuizawa with my father.

Actually, we decided to sell the vacation home in Karuizawa that our family had owned for many years. Since I also owned a small piece of land next to it, I decided to let it go once a buyer was found.

For me, it was just a piece of land I had never used, but for my parents, it must have been a place filled with countless irreplaceable summer memories.

We drove to that vacation home to pick up the remaining belongings. It had been a long time since my father and I had traveled together for such a long time. On the way, as we talked about various things, I remembered stories I had heard from my father in the past.

My father's first job was... removing hooks from caught fish?

My father was a salaryman who worked at Honda Motor Co., Ltd. for a long time. According to what I heard, he joined the company as part of the last generation of new graduates from the era when Soichiro Honda was president. In other words, he is one of the "final generation" who knew the early days of Honda.

What do you think was my father's first job?

It was to have guests from abroad fish in the mountain stream flowing through the garden of Soichiro Honda's mansion, and to remove the hooks from the fish they caught. If it were today, you'd want to retort, "What is that?", but that was an era when that was considered the work of "hospitality."

Everyone who met Soichiro Honda in person was reportedly impressed by his high level of "hospitality skills."

Since I had heard such stories since I was a child, I learned that "to become a great business person, you must be attentive to others."

I may still need more training, but I believe that"attentiveness, observation, and hospitality"are what make a full-fledged manager.

"If you lead a company of a hundred people, have a hundred personalities"

And there is one more story I have been told many times since I was a child.

When my father became the branch manager in France in his 30s, Soichiro Honda reportedly asked him this.

This is not a metaphor. Soichiro Honda reportedly continued by saying this.

When I was told this story in my youth, honestly, I didn't really understand it.

But as I started my own business, hired employees, and watched the leadership of the CEOs I invested in up close, it has finally started to make sense to me recently.

Even if a company is heading toward a single goal or vision, there are as many "truths" as there are employees. Depending on their values and the situations they are in, things look different.

A manager cannot fulfill their role unless they are a person who can empathize with such diverse "personalities." I think he was teaching the essential mindset of a manager to my father, who had been boldly promoted to branch manager at a young age.

The stories of Soichiro Honda that I was told like a lullaby by my father, who was dedicated to his work and dragged his family around the world. I feel once again that my choice to pursue the path of a manager was influenced by those stories from my father.

The air in Karuizawa, where we arrived, was clear, and my father's story touched my heart.

Well then, have a day where you can immerse yourself in memories! Jump🚀

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