Don't worry if you fail, consider it lucky. Failure is the best know-how. [SONY #QuoteNote 49]

Here is the quote I would like to introduce this time!

Continuing from last time, this is a quote about 'good fortune = lucky'! Let's dive right in!

What kind of person is he?

Nobutoshi Kihara was a Japanese engineer and businessman. He played an important role from the early days of Sony, serving as a former Senior Managing Director of Sony and former Chairman of the Kihara Research Institute.

Nobutoshi Kihara was discovered by Sony founder Masaru Ibuka and contributed to the establishment of Sony's basic technology. He was one of the first new employees during the Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (the predecessor of Sony) era, and was involved in the development of Japan's first transistor radio, transistor television, the world's first broadcast and consumer video tape recorders, home video tape recorders, color video cassette systems, Betamax, and ultra-compact video movies. He is also known as the father of the electronic still camera 'Mavica'.

He became a director in 1970 and a senior managing director in 1982. In 1988, to commemorate his achievements, the 'Sony Kihara Research Institute, Inc.' was established through a joint investment by Kihara and Sony, and he became its president. He worked on research and development and product development for cutting-edge technologies related to various image and video processing, and became chairman in 2000.

He has received high international acclaim, including the 1st Eduard Rhein Foundation Technology Award in 1979, the IEEE David Sarnoff Award in 1982, and being elected as an IEEE Fellow.

He was described by Masaru Ibuka as 'a person like a god,' and he was a person who valued working with his own hands as an engineer and learning from practice. His eldest daughter, Tomomi Kihara, was also involved in the republication of his book, 'The Secrets of Sony Technology'.

Consider it lucky

The part of Kihara-san's quote, "Don't worry if you fail, consider it lucky. Failure is the best know-how.", that I personally like the most is the part that says 'consider it lucky'.

Lucky, or good fortune, is something that happens by chance, and I think most people perceive it as an event that is impossible to control with their own power. For example, winning the best prize in a bingo game, or why all the traffic lights are green in a row today!

However, what we can learn from Kihara-san's quote is that 'you can decide for yourself what is lucky'.

To put it extremely, no matter what situation you are in, there must always be something you can consider 'lucky'. Because, 'you are alive'.

• Fired from the company... but I'm alive, so I'm lucky

• Dumped by my lover... but I'm alive, so I'm lucky

• Betrayed by a friend... but I'm alive, so I'm lucky

You might say it's not that simple, but the fact that you are 'alive' is a fact, isn't it?

If you dig deeper into the phrase 'consider it lucky', it can be interpreted as a message to 'think with a broader perspective'. No matter how difficult the situation, by 'considering it lucky', you have to think about why this situation is lucky.

To think of a situation you previously thought was 'the worst...' as 'lucky', you need a wider and higher bird's-eye view that goes beyond the frame of that situation.

You can calm yourself down by observing the situation you were previously trapped in from a broader, higher, and more bird's-eye perspective. The worst-case scenario is just an 'event,' and it is up to you how you 'interpret' that event.

They say failure is the foundation of success. Mr. Kihara says, "Don't worry if you fail, consider it lucky. Failure is the best know-how."

No matter how painful the situation, there must always be a different interpretation where you can consider that situation 'lucky.' Mr. Kihara's words are words of encouragement that give us the courage to use failure as fuel for our next challenge.

Summary

This was the quote I introduced this time!

While this quote might give the impression of being a rather 'macho' set of values if you only look at the text, once you know the character of the person who said it, 'Nobutoshi Kihara,' you realize it is by no means a lecture being delivered from a position of superiority.

Mr. Kihara, who was Sony's first employee, was a world-renowned engineer. He worked his way up to become a managing director at Sony, and later in 1988, to commemorate his achievements, the 'Sony Kihara Research Center Inc.' was established through a joint investment between Kihara and Sony, and he was appointed as its president.

He was a person who valued working with his own hands as an engineer and learning from practice.

As you can see from this background, it is clear that he was not the type of person to use his position to order around employees beneath him. Precisely because he learned, took action, and failed more than anyone else, 'Consider failure as lucky.' 'Failure is the best know-how.' carries such persuasive power. This quote is backed by Mr. Kihara's career and achievements.

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