“Courage—Have Both the Courage to Fight and to Retreat The next “courage” means, needless to say, “courage.” Speaking of courage, what comes first to mind is the courage to fight bravely. It is the courage to confront something and move forward. However, Masayoshi Son points out the opposite, which is the “courage to retreat.” It is the courage to retreat quickly from dangerous situations, rather than being reckless.”
Son's Square Law (translated)
Hidenori Itagaki
274 highlights · 18 themes · 153 people/companies
Japanese-Korean entrepreneur who built SoftBank from a two-desk software wholesaler into a $6+ trillion yen telecommunications and internet conglomerate, guided by a self-created 25-character decision framework fusing Sun Tzu with original strategic principles.
Era
1980s-2010s Japan: PC revolution, internet boom, dot-com crash, mobile telecom deregulation, and the shift of digital information power from America to Asia.
Scale
SoftBank Group with 6+ trillion yen in consolidated revenues, ~1,300 subsidiary companies, $2 trillion yen Sprint acquisition, early Alibaba investment turning $20M into ~$60B, and Vodafone Japan acquisition for ~2 trillion yen.
Ask this book
274 highlights
Suggested questions
Notes
““Fifteen years ago, 50% of internet users were Americans. Asians were 19%. However, five years from now, Americans will be 12% of the internet population, and Asians will be 50%. (ellipsis) Until now, you could not become the number one internet company without being an American company. Companies like Google, Amazon, Yahoo US, and eBay—all American companies. In other words, if 50% of users were American, naturally…”
“Masayoshi Son, in the globally reorganizing telecommunications industry, acquired the Japanese subsidiary of Vodafone for about 2 trillion yen. While Vodafone had consolidated sales of 1.47 trillion yen and an operating profit of 158 billion yen (both in the fiscal year 2004), SoftBank, for the fiscal year ending March 2005, had consolidated sales of about 840 billion yen and an operating loss of about 25 billion ye…”
“But if you dawdle waiting for a “ninety percent chance of winning,” competitors could get ahead, and you would be left trailing. Therefore, he suggests one should take the plunge when confident of a “seventy percent chance of victory.””
““In any battle, if you do not have an excellent general, you cannot achieve great success. (Omitted) You need at least ten excellent generals to support you, who share the resolve to give up an arm, a leg, or even their life if necessary. How many such generals can you have as your subordinates? This will determine whether you can pull a mountain as a general.””
“The “Son’s Square Law” is something Masayoshi Son has adhered to each time he stood at a crossroads in management, using it as a guide for judgment and decision-making. Whenever facing new challenges or projects, he consistently recalled these “25 characters,” repeatedly questioning himself while deciding the direction of business.”
“The next “Emotion” obviously refers to “information.” You shouldn’t be satisfied with just envisioning. Once you have a vision, you must thoroughly gather information to determine if that vision is truly correct. When exploring what business he should dedicate his life to as an entrepreneur, Masayoshi Son gathered over a meter of materials and researched it thoroughly for each of the forty business models and projec…”
“Based on this idea, Son continued to explore what business to pursue for a year and a half. Every time he came up with an idea and developed a business plan, he applied “Nine Conditions” to filter it. The “Nine Conditions” were as follows: [Condition One] Once a business is undertaken, it cannot be stopped halfway. Therefore, it must be a sustainable business. [Condition Two] Naturally, it must be a profitable busin…”
“Infrastructure, as defined by the word, is the social and industrial foundation, and is more of a base. If likened to the transportation network of traditional industrial society, it corresponds to general roads and highways. On highways, the installer collects fees from drivers at toll booths. Masayoshi Son must have thought, “By providing infrastructure, let’s become the toll booth of the digital information indus…”
“At the age of 19, Masayoshi Son created a “50-year life plan.” 20s - Make a name 30s - Save funds 40s - Make a decisive move 50s - Complete the business 60s - Pass on the business to the next generation”
“Moreover, Masayoshi Son believed that the business he engages in must be one that can be perpetually passed down and not be a “temporary business” that becomes unnecessary due to the passage of time. His goal has always been and remains “to build a company that will be stable and grow for 300 years.””
“Learning from “Momotaro” how to establish <Aspiration, Vision, Strategy> “There are three important things that the top management must have in place to exercise leadership. They are <aspiration, vision, strategy>. Moreover, there is an order of importance to these. It is in the order of <aspiration, vision, strategy>.” This is the words of Masayoshi Son in response to my question, “What is absolutely necessary for…”
Themes
Courage to Retreat Over Reckless AdvanceAsia's Digital Gravity as Location AdvantageSmall Fish Swallows Big Fish at Timing InflectionSeventy Percent Victory ThresholdTen Generals Who Would Give an ArmTwenty-Five Characters Before Every DecisionMeter-High Research Stacks Before CommitmentNine-Filter Gauntlet Before Any BusinessInfrastructure Toll Booth Over Hit ProductsFifty-Year Life Plan as Operating CalendarThree-Hundred-Year Company HorizonAspiration Before Vision Before StrategyNinety Percent Won Before Battle BeginsBankrupt Audacity in Early FundraisingTen-Person Teams with Daily Profit ClosingInstall Winning Habit Then Compound ItInvention as Capital Creation MachineLifebuoy Group Strategy Against Single-Point Failure
People
Companies
Highlights
“Imagine the view from the summit “before climbing””
“The “Son’s Square Law” is something Masayoshi Son has adhered to each time he stood at a crossroads in management, using it as a guide for judgment and decision-making. Whenever facing new challenges or projects, he consistently recalled these “25 characters,” repeatedly questioning himself while deciding the direction of business.”
“In his lecture at the “SoftBank Academia” inauguration, Son spoke as follows: “I have read thousands of books and gone through various experiences and trials, and with these 25 characters, I truly believe that by achieving and reaching this, I can exhibit leadership, become a successor, and a true leader.””
“At the beginning of the interview, Son gave me a colorful and beautiful high-end paper printed with the “Son’s Square Law,” which consists of 25 characters. It was the moment I first saw the “Son’s Square Law.””
“However, despite Son’s earnest explanation, I carelessly did not realize at that moment that this “Son’s Square Law,” along with the “50-year life plan,” constituted a crucial part of his management methods.”
“Masayoshi Son suddenly changed the arrangement of each segment of twenty-five characters to the current order the day before the “SoftBank Academia” opening ceremony. In an interview twenty-four years ago, in response to my question, “What is absolutely necessary for a manager?” Masayoshi Son replied as follows. “There are three important things that the top management must have in place to exercise leadership. They are <aspiration, vision, strategy>. Moreover, there is an order of importance to these. It is in the order of <aspiration, vision, strategy>.””
“Draw the move that becomes the “shortest path to realizing the vision””
“To be appreciated by people 300 years in the future, “fight””
“Cannot waste even a moment of precious time”
“Appear calm “like a mountain” on the surface, while struggling hard beneath”
“At the age of 19, Masayoshi Son created a “50-year life plan.” 20s - Make a name 30s - Save funds 40s - Make a decisive move 50s - Complete the business 60s - Pass on the business to the next generation”
“The driving force behind it has been the “Law of Son Squared,” consisting of 25 kanji characters arranged in five characters horizontally and vertically.”
“The company has successively made subsidiaries out of companies like PHS’s Willcom, eAccess, which operates “eMobile,” and GungHo Online Entertainment, known for the smartphone game “Puzzle & Dragons (Pazudora).” In July 2013, it acquired the third-largest US mobile phone company, Sprint Nextel, for about 2 trillion yen, and Masayoshi Son became the chairman of the renamed Sprint Corporation.”
“Currently (mid-May 2014), SoftBank is actively pursuing various initiatives to acquire T-Mobile US, the fourth-largest US mobile provider. If this acquisition occurs, SoftBank would become the world’s second-largest mobile communications company after China Mobile.”
“Masayoshi Son has consistently set high goals that everyone laughed at as being “impossible to achieve,” yet he has always realized them.”
“Having achieved the top position in Japan, his next goal is to become “the number one mobile internet company in the world.” No one scoffs at this as “grand ambitions” or “pipe dreams” anymore.”
“On July 28, 2010, Masayoshi Son opened the SoftBank Academia with the goal of discovering and nurturing successors. He personally serves as the principal and provides direct guidance. Participants are recruited widely from both within and outside the SoftBank Group. As soon as recruitment began on the day of the opening, applications flooded in from thousands within less than a day. Almost four years after its opening, some alumni from the SoftBank Academia have already been appointed to top positions in group companies.”
“◆“A 50-year life plan” Established at Age 19”
“At the young age of 19, he established the following “50-year life plan”: In his twenties, he would enter a self-chosen industry and start a company. In his thirties, he would build up capital. The minimum unit of capital would be at least 100 billion yen. In his forties, he would undertake a major project. The scale of the project would be measured in trillions of yen. In his fifties, he would complete the business to a certain extent. In his sixties, he would transfer the business to the next generation. Masayoshi Son has conducted his business based on this plan ever since. As of May 2014, Masayoshi Son is 56 years old. He is at the stage of “completing the business in his fifties,” but the scale of the SoftBank Group’s revenues already exceeds 6 trillion yen significantly, equivalent to achieving his goal.”
“そんな孫正義が、「ソフトバンクアカデミア」で自らの後継者候補に、最も教え伝えたいと考えているのが「孫の二乗の法則」である。事実、「ソフトバンクアカデミア」の開校式で行なわれた特別講義で、孫が真っ先に取り上げたのもこの「孫の二乗の法則」だった。”
“これは、孫正義が二十代中盤のころに自ら開発した経営指針で、世界的に有名な兵法書『孫子』からピック・アップした言葉に、孫正義が独自に考え出した「オリジナルの言葉」を組み合わせた「二十五文字」の「文字盤」で表されている。 縦五段、横五文字の「二十五文字」は、横に読む。縦に読むと意味がわからなくなる。上の段から次のように順次、読んでいく。 道天地将法＝どうてんちしょうほう 頂情略七闘＝ちょうじょうりゃくしちとう 一流攻守群＝いちりゅうこうしゅぐん 智信仁勇厳＝ちしんじんゆうげん 風林火山海＝ふうりんかざんかい 一段目「道天地将法」と四段目「智信仁勇厳」、五段目の「風林火山」は『孫子』の一節をアレンジしたもの、二段目「頂情略七闘」、三段目の「一流攻守群」、五段目「海」は、孫正義の創作、つまりオリジナルである。 「孫の二乗の法則」は、孫正義が経営の岐路に立ったとき、その都度、拳けん拳けん服ふく膺ようして、判断と決断に役立ててきたものである。新規事業に挑むときや新しいプロジェクトをスタートするときなど、新たな局面や分岐点を迎えるたびに、常にこの「二十五文字」を頭に思い浮かべ、何回も自問自答を繰り返しながらチェックし、進むべき道とビジネスのありようを決断してきたのだ。 孫は「ソフトバンクアカデミア」開校式の講義で、次のようにも語っている。 「いままで僕は何千冊の本を読んで、あらゆる体験、試練を受けて、この二十五文字で、これを達成すれば、到達すれば、僕はリーダーシップを発揮できる。後継者になれる、本当の統治者になれるというふうに心底思っている、その二十五文字です」”
“Son openly declares, “I have admired Ryoma Sakamoto since childhood,” and has embodied that passionate spirit by seeing himself in Sakamoto Ryoma’s image. While Ryoma Sakamoto opened the door to the Meiji Restoration at the end of the Edo period, Masayoshi Son, as the forerunner, opened the door to the “digital information society.” He truly deserves the title of “revolutionary” who faces challenges wholeheartedly.”
“In a special lecture at the opening ceremony, Son stated that “dao, heaven, earth, general, law” signifies “ambition (philosophy),” “peak, emotion, strategy, seven struggles” means “vision,” and “first class, attack and defense group” represents “strategy.””
“Reflecting on the interview from twenty-four years ago, it’s possible to say that he organized them in the order of ambition, vision, and strategy as he had explained. In other words, the new arrangement is correct in the order of ambition, vision, and strategy.”
“When Masayoshi Son once put “first class, attack and defense group” at the top, it was probably an expression of his burning ambition to be number one at all costs. Now that it is at the top of the IT industry, he must have felt that arranging them in the order of ambition, vision, and strategy was the most natural and appropriate way to explain this “Son’s Square Law.””
“When hitting a wall or when things just don’t go well, looking back at this will surely reveal the “key to overcoming the current situation.””
“In this book, Chapters 1 and 2 will introduce how Masayoshi Son developed the “50-year life plan” and “Son’s Square Law” following the chronology. Chapter 2 will also explain in detail the definitions and meanings of each of the twenty-five characters. Furthermore, from Chapter 3 onwards, we will specifically reflect on how Son has utilized the “Son’s Square Law” in the process of executing and realizing the “50-year life plan”, revealing how effective this weapon has been. By doing so, we aim to analyze Masayoshi Son’s past lifestyle and future prospects, delve into its essence, and make “Son’s Square Law” a life guide or tool that many people can fully utilize.”
“It should not be forgotten to copy the “twenty-five-letter dial” and always keep it on the desk or slip it into an inner pocket, and for women, carry it in a handbag. It would also be good to set it as the standby screen on your mobile phone or as wallpaper on your smartphone.”
“And when faced with important judgments or decisions in various situations in life, take a breath and calm down, then check this “twenty-five letters” one by one. In doing so, you will surely be able to find the “correct answer.””
“The “Fifty-Year Life Plan” established at nineteen”
“Developing the “Rule of Square of Son” in his mid-twenties”
“The shock received on a short-term study abroad in America”
“No jewel glows without being polished”
“The previous version arrangement is easier to explain Masayoshi Son’s footsteps”
““I will show you that I will definitely become No. 1 in Japan in that world””
“Don’t engage in businesses that react emotionally to rain or shine”
“Never target “niches = gaps””
“Use “nine conditions” to sift and narrow down new businesses”
“Gaining one hundred million yen with a “patent” during student days”
“From the start of the founding, declaring “We’ll eventually do trillion, two trillion businesses””