arvino’s posterous

                 

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Apple and Palm are two great and exciting company that I love. They are groundbreaking, exciting, daring, and always make great things happen. But before the great days of Apple and Palm, actually there is one more company I truly love (in the past) : Sony.

In their own time, these three company impose many similarities to each other: (1) They got a great product, (2) They got a great leader, and (3) They got a great brand. Let's take a look at some example:

• Sony had the super popular Walkman, whose development was excitingly led and promoted by Akio Morita (the Sony charismatic founder), which was sold under the iconic brand Sony; 
  • The product was: Walkman.
  • The great leader was: Akio Morita.
  • The brand was: Sony.
• Years later, Sony did it again with super popular PlayStation.
  • The product was: PlayStation.
  • The great leader was: Ken Kuntaragi.
  • The brand was: Sony.
• Apple had iMac, iPhone, whose development was excitingly led by Steve Jobs (the Apple charismatic founder), which was sold under the iconic brand Apple; 
  • The product was: iMac/iPhone.
  • The great leader was: Steve Jobs.
  • The brand was: Apple.
• Palm -- in the past -- had Palm V, whose development was excitingly led by Jeff Hawkins (the Palm inspiring founder), which was sold under the iconic brand Palm;
  
  • The product was: Palm Pilot, Palm V.
  • The great leader was: Jeff Hawkins.
  • The brand was: Palm.
• Today Palm had Palm Pre, whose development was excitingly led by Jon Rubinstein, which was sold under the iconic brand Palm.
  • The product was: Palm Pre.
  • The great leader was: Jon Rubinstein.
  • The brand was: Palm.

Beside those great product+leader+brand combination similarities, between these 3 great exciting companies, there seems to be an indirect connection where -- across time -- these there companies being 'influenced' each other.

• Story says that when Apple was small, Steve Jobs study the branding and marketing approach that Sony uses -- including the texture, message and material that Sony uses in their packaging and stuff -- then later on adapt and apply it to Apple style.
• Later, Palm -- during the reign of Donna Dubinsky and Jeff Hawkins (and now during the reign of Jon Rubinstein) -- seems to learn so much from Apple innovation, branding, packaging and marketing approach, and then apply it to Palm.

Today Apple and Palm stood up again to lead in the era of innovation of smartphones and 'future computing device', and seem to have great chance of becoming one of the most inspiring companies in innovation, great product invention, as well as in its branding and marketing.

I wish Sony would be able to do it once again too. During the reign of Akio Morita & Masaru Ibuka (the Sony founder), Sony innovation is definitely proven to be excellent. It's very well deserved that Sony  regain back its most respected stature. After all, before the invention of all the 'gadget' and 'portable' device that marks our modern era: Sony was the pioneer, inventor and king of it all!

For such big exciting change that to happen once again at Sony, seems the top leadership at Sony definitely must change.

• With a great leader at the helm of Sony -- someone as great as the iconic Sony founder Akio Morita -- Sony seem to have the chance to become the innovative, exciting and inspiring innovation, brand and marketing leader once more.
• Without a great leader -- the Sony brand and innovation are still there -- but it can not be expressed and channeled in max, to make great things happen.

Across Sony great history, once there was great hope that Ken Kuntaragi -- the 'father' of Sony playstation -- could make the 'Sony comeback' happen. Ken Kuntaragi seem to have all the necessary element to make Sony a young, bright, exciting and inspiring once more. After all, Ken Kuntaragi practically prove himself single handedly make the Sony Playstation the best, most innovative leading device the world have seen. At one time, Ken Kuntaragi's Sony Play Station contribute to more than half of Sony worldwide profit margin!, it exceed any other Sony product worldwide combine in its capability to make Sony great, exciting, iconic and successful.

Yet, Nobuyuki Idei nor Sir Howard Stringer -- the current Sony CEO -- seems not to be the best fit into the equation of how Sony shall fit and change into the future. Perhaps too many considerations in too many aspect of the Sony span of business seems to make Sony step behind -- rather than leap forward into the future.

The return of someone of the instinct and quality of "Akio Morita", or "Ken Kuntaragi" will definitely bring Sony back. This happens before at Apple -- with Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple is great; without him around, Apple is none. This happens before at Palm -- with Jeff Hawkins at the helm, Palm is great; now with Jon Rubinstein at the helm -- seems many things are recovering.

Innovative, iconic company seems to need a great founder or charismatic leader to be at its topmost leadership position. Key decisive innovation decision seem needs to be made there.

When such happen, then seem such companies has the potential to make great things happen. Yet without such, its seems turn to become a huge potential entity that actually could do great things some more -- yet had lost its soul, and never did so!

It's refreshing to see the iconic Apple and Palm back; it surely be truly exciting too to see Sony -- one day -- back once more.

I have a great sincere hope for Ken Kuntaragi -- or someone of his engineering+business instinct and quality -- to be back at the helm of Sony. The 'ousted' of Ken Kuntaragi from Sony -- to me --- seems very similar to a 'historic epic' of Steve Jobs being ousted from Apple in the past.

When Steve Jobs is back at Apple, Apple shines once more. I sincerely hope the return of someone as 'instinctive as Ken Kuntaragi' would bring Sony innovation & business prowness back into its well deserved stature. After all, innovation, great engineering, great leadership and iconic brand was the root of Sony's nature. Akio Morita & Masaru Ibuka make such happen. Someone as great (and as 'instinctive') as the great Sony founder might bring hope that such great recovery could happen at Sony.

After all, before it's Apple, or before it's Palm, it was Sony that was at the top of the great innovation, leadership, branding and marketing leadership stature that the world had come to know.

Sony once had it all. And Sony definitely truly well deserved to have it 'all' once more. A true leadership is the key essence for this to (once again) happen.

We'lll see how the future goes.