Akio wrote once about his ideal image of an employee and at the head of it stated that people without ambition and curiosity were of no use. A company that seeks to make a profit is a physical representation of ambition and that ambition must be instilled in each of its employees. Ambition becomes the goal and motivation that drives social development. Sony's rise to the top ranks was also the result of the strong sense of ambition in its employees.

"You can't sit back and wait for a windfall. I have no use for people that lack the desire to go out and earn success" (Published in the April, 1966 edition of Hoseki Magazine)

Desires for wealth and possessions are also ambition. Everyone to some degree would like to enjoy a comfortable life. It's part of a company's mission to respond to its employees' desires and there's no need to look negatively on it. On the contrary, it was the desire to Sony's engineers to develop the best technology and the best produce that led to Sony's reputation for continually producing goods that were unrivaled in creativity and quality.

Desire and ambition in a person brings forth confidence, and confidence leads to setting higher goals. This cycle brings progress to life. People without confidence are of little use, and it was Akio's opinion that to exist in a company in a competitive society you had to have high goals and you had to have confidence.

"What I'd like to say--to the point of shouting--is that a company is an organization that profits on ambition, and any businessman that loses that spirit of "desiring to profit" will fail to progress." (Published in the April, 1966 edition of Hoseki Magazine)

Both Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka embody the spirit of ambition and curiosity. They wanted to create something better and of higher quality and they continually succeeded in making it a reality. The transistor radio, the tape recorder, the VTR, the Sony Walkman—all these products were the result of Akio and Masaru's ambition and curiosity.

From:The Sayings of Akio Morita, published by Sony Magazines.