Smash Notes
How Did One Letter Sign Up 5,000 Honda Dealers? · Founders

Founders

#423 Soichiro Honda

What I learned from reading Honda: The Man and His Machines by Sol Sanders. Made possible by: Ramp: ⁠https://ramp.com⁠ Applovin: ⁠https://www.applovin.com/⁠ Vanta: ⁠https://vanta.com/founders

People

Notes

  1. How Long Has the Honda Super Cub Been in Production? at 3:14

    David Senra, reading Sol Sanders, says the Honda Super Cub has stayed in constant, uninterrupted production for over 60 years, and Honda has sold over 100… Full answer

  2. Why Does Soichiro Honda Say Success Is 1% of the Work? at 4:46

    David Senra, reading Sol Sanders, says Soichiro Honda treated success as 1% of the work and the other 99% as failure. Full answer

  3. Why Did Soichiro Honda Obsess Over Engines? at 9:04

    David Senra, reading Sol Sanders, says Soichiro Honda's obsession with engines started before he was in school. Full answer

  4. Why Did Toyota Send Back Soichiro Honda's Piston Rings? at 18:41

    David Senra, reading Sol Sanders, says Toyota sent back 47 of about 50 piston rings because Soichiro Honda's first manufacturing was done by hand and could… Full answer

  5. How Did Soichiro Honda Build His First Motorbike? at 21:25

    David Senra, reading Sol Sanders, says Soichiro Honda built his first motorbike because crowded trains and buses were unbearable and a gasoline shortage made… Full answer

  6. How Did One Letter Sign Up 5,000 Honda Dealers? at 26:30

    David Senra says there is no Honda without Takeo Fujisawa, the partner who stopped the company running out of money. Full answer

  7. What Is the Best Selling Motor Vehicle Ever? at 29:22

    David Senra, reading Sol Sanders, says the Honda Cub is the best selling motor vehicle of all time. Full answer

  8. Why Couldn't Soichiro Honda Pay for the Machine Tools? at 32:15

    David Senra, reading Sol Sanders, says Soichiro Honda could not pay for the machine tools because he leveraged the company to buy them and Japan then went… Full answer

  9. Why Did Honda Use the Slogan You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda? at 35:40

    David Senra, reading Sol Sanders, says Honda used the slogan "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" because the company first had to change the image of the… Full answer

  10. Why Did Soichiro Honda Make Research a Separate Company? at 38:19

    David Senra, reading Sol Sanders, says Soichiro Honda made research a separate company because more than 99% of Honda research is total failure, and left… Full answer

  11. Why Did Soichiro Honda Refuse to Partner With Chrysler and General Motors? at 43:06

    David Senra, reading Sol Sanders, says Soichiro Honda refused to partner with Chrysler or General Motors because a special genius in the company had to be… Full answer

Related episodes

Plays from this note through the rest of the episode.

Note

Weekly highlights

One letter a week.

The notes worth hearing, with the minute they were said.