CES Sony Keynote: The Pathway To Wow

Kazuo Hirai, CEO of Sony held a keynote today which did not disappoint. He talked about the true goal of Sony corporation, which is not to make using technology more convenient, but to elicit an emotional response when using Sony devices. To create a wow feeling.

He told the story of how he became interested in technology, just like any child he was always curious about things. But this story was pretty good. He talked about a memory he had of watching a show on TV when he was very young, and at some point the host of the show was handing out cookies to the audience. He waited patiently, but when the host was done handing out cookies, Kazuo wondered why he didn’t get a cookie. These people come to his living room every day, and he could hear and see them, but it seemed as though they could never hear or see him. He wondered how that could be. And so he decided to find out.

A cute story for sure, but also a very important one. Many people loose that curiosity with age, something Kazuo Hirai says you shouldn’t let happen.

He mentioned Japanese word  kando. Literally, it means to move people emotionally. He said “That’s what we’re all about, moving people emotionally. Or, simply put, to put a big smile on our customers’ faces around the world. That connects everybody with Sony, whether you’re an engineer improving picture quality on an LCD television or you’re a video game producer.  It doesn’t matter which part of Sony you’re from; it’s all about bringing that kando.”

He said that the people that have made all types on innovation possible are the people who aren’t bound by rules but dare to ask ‘what if’. Quite true, whether you work at Sony or not, It’s important to dare imagine things. A very inspiring speech that can be applied to more than just CE.

He reminded me a bit of Carl Sagan during his speech, and this is a quote i find very fitting.

While he certainly managed to make me feel inspired i must point out that i have not forgotten the fact that he actually innovates for profit and not simply for science. Nonetheless the message remains as true, don’t let anyone take your imagination and curiosity away from you.