Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda: “Success represents 1% of your work, and it is the result of the other 99%, which we call failure.”

Today, Tuesday, August 5, the eve of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, marks 34 years since the death of Soichiro Honda (1906-1991), the man who helped rebuild Japan with engines, not weapons. A visionary, tenacious, and rebellious man, Honda founded one of the most important companies of the 20th century. But not only that. He also embodied the spirit of a country that, after hitting rock bottom, turned to technology, discipline, and hard work as a way to rise again.

Nearly three and a half decades after the death of its founder, Honda is today the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer and one of the largest automobile producers on the planet . It operates in more than 150 countries, with a history marked by technical innovation and the nonconformist spirit of its founder, who from his early days at the company stood out for his unconventional phrases that reflected his direct and unorthodox approach to life and work.

“If I had to run the company myself, I would have quickly bankrupted it,” he once acknowledged, with a mixture of self-criticism and honesty, his lack of skill and flexibility in handling the most complex business aspects.

His story is that of a born engineer, a self-taught man passionate about mechanics since his childhood in Tenryu, a small town at the foot of Mount Fuji . The son of a blacksmith and a weaver, from a very young age he became familiar with parts and gears, which for him were more than simple objects. They were his toys and his tools to understand the world. At 15, he abandoned his formal studies to move to Tokyo and become an apprentice in a mechanical workshop, Art Shokai, where his talent and dedication soon earned him the respect of his teachers.

There he not only learned the trade, but also actively participated in the creation of his first racing car, the Curtiss, which won the Japanese national championship at the age of 18. A milestone that marked the beginning of a career filled with technical and business achievements.

However, Honda was not a man of conventional wisdom. His relationship with formal education was always strained. “Diplomas aren't worth the paper they're printed on,” he said, and he was even expelled from technical school for refusing to take an exam he considered useless. For him, practice and direct experience were the true teachers. This view is also reflected in his approach to failure, which he considered an essential part of success: “Success represents 1% of your work, and it's the result of the other 99%, which we call failure.”

That mindset materialized in projects like the development of the Hondamatic, the first fully Honda-designed automatic transmission in the 1960s, a process filled with trial and error that ultimately laid the groundwork for the company's future innovation.

For Soichiro Honda, courage, perseverance, and the ability to dream were the three qualities that led to success. “When a person deeply believes in something, it allows them to find immense inner strength to overcome all their failures,” he said.

This philosophy shaped both his personal life and Honda's corporate culture, where creativity and initiative were core values. "People aren't going to sacrifice anything for the company. They come to work for the company to enjoy themselves, and that's the feeling that will drive innovation," he concluded.

Furthermore, Honda understood the importance of diverse talent within a company. This was reflected in his relationship with Takeo Fujisawa, his co-founder, a man of very different character and skills. "He has what I don't have," he acknowledged, warning that without Fujisawa, the company could have gone bankrupt. Thus, he fostered a leadership model based on leveraging individual strengths and teamwork.

Honda survived turbulent times, including the Sino-Japanese War and World War II, periods in which his company had to reinvent itself several times to stay ahead. After the devastation of the war and the destruction of Hamamatsu, where his factory was located, he sold his business and took a year off, dedicating himself to making homemade whiskey. But he soon returned to business, and in 1946 he founded the Honda Technical Research Institute, beginning the manufacture of motorcycle engines with the invention popularly known as the "choo-choo" because of the noise it made.

That was the first step for a company that, under his leadership, grew to become a global automotive and motorcycle giant. Recognized for its products, yes, but also for a corporate culture based on constant innovation and respect for individual initiative.

Soichiro Honda left a legacy that transcends his own history, instilling a lasting impact on the company's identity and the mindset of thousands of employees and entrepreneurs around the world. His life is an example of how passion, perseverance, and the courage to break the mold can transform a vision into reality.