Did you know that you will fail before you succeed? You have probably heard of Honda Motor Company, the Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures automobiles and motorcycles. Honda has been the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959. What you might not know is the inspiring backstory of how Honda became a thriving business...
In the 1930’s, Japan’s economy was hit hard by the Great Depression. Money was tight, so in 1938, Soichiro Honda started a small auto mechanic shop while he was still in school. It was here that he developed the concept of the piston ring, an idea he hoped to sell to Toyota, which was a major car manufacturer back then as well. He worked relentlessly, never letting go of his belief that he would perfect the piston’s design and produce a valuable product. After he married, he pawned his wife’s jewelry out for cash to finance his business (with her permission).
The day came and Honda took his working sample to Toyota headquarters, where he was told the piston rings did not meet quality standards. Soichiro went back to school and endured ridicule when the other engineers laughed at his design. Instead of giving up, he continued to work towards his goal of perfecting the piston ring. After two more years of hard labor and redesign, Honda earned a contract with Toyota.
By this time, Japan was preparing to go to war. Honda invented a new concrete-making process that enabled him to build a factory in a short time. Before long, the factory was bombed, twice, and materials to rebuild for a third time were not available. Honda started collecting surplus gasoline cans discarded by US fighter, which he termed, “Gifts from President Truman”. The cans became raw materials for his rebuilt manufacturing process. Shortly after, an earthquake destroyed the factory for a third time.
After the war, a gasoline shortage forced many Japanese people to walk or ride bicycles. To transport himself, Honda built a tiny engine and attached it to his bicycle. His neighbors wanted one of these contraptions, but the materials to build more engines were unavailable. So Honda wrote to 18,000 bicycles shop owners and asked them to help revitalize Japan. 5,000 responded with what little money they could. Honda’s first models were to bulky to work efficiently, so he continued to develop and work until the small engine became a reality. Before long, Honda began exporting his bicycle engines to Europe and America.
This business was not as lucrative as Honda expected. In the 1970’s, there was another gas shortage, this time in America. Automobile companies started creating smaller cars that used less gasoline. Honda quickly started to manufacture tiny cars, smaller than anyone had seen before, and it quickly became a success.
Today, Honda employs over 100,000 people in the US and Japan, and is a global leader in automobiles, motorcycles, and other electronics. Honda’s success can largely be attributed to the dedication and determination of one man- Soichiro Honda.
He never gave up and neither should you. Don’t expect overnight success. Transformation can take years, and this story is evidence that many successful people fail many times before they get their desired results.
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