VIDEO: Honda's strategy of winning through failure
Click above to view video after the jump
As enthusiasts, we sometimes make the mistake of referring to Honda as a car company. Honda started out as a motorcycle manufacturer, and now makes everything from generators to IRL engines to robots. The Japanese automaker has produced a series of short films to give the rest of the world a better idea of what it's all about. There are three videos so far, and the latest of these short documentary-style productions is about Honda's unique view of failure. The video, titled "Failure: The Secret to Success," provides insight into the thought process of company founder Soichiro Honda, and how he viewed failure as a means to winning. It also shows how much Honda, a successful car company by all accounts, has failed in the past and what it's learned from those missteps. Have you ever seen an orange 1996 Civic? Neither have we, and you'll know why when you watch the video after the jump.
The short film includes appearances by racing team chiefs, designers, engineers, and the one and only Danica Patrick. The video is just over eight minutes long, and it's available to view after the jump. It's worth your time whether you love the big H or not.
[Source: Honda]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
KeatMP 6:06PM (3/30/2009)
I saw this earlier from an ad when I was trying to watch The Office online. Really well put together, and Danica Patrick isn't bad looking either.
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Diego3336 6:09PM (3/30/2009)
Honda is a smart company with a smarter marketing dept. and I admire that. They sell a 'green' image to developed countries while they continue to sell carburated motorcycles with no catalytic converter in 'third world' countries like Thailand, India and Brazil.
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the_MVP_X 6:12PM (3/30/2009)
Yep, meet the demand of the costumers, 3rd world countries could never buy new and expensive eco solutions.
superman211 8:32PM (3/30/2009)
I've really never seen Honda as a "failure". They make great stuff on all lines of business and their model is great. They give you what you need not just what you want. A car that runs after 1,700,000 miles on the ODO gains my respect! See the story on Motorcities.com
the_MVP_X 6:10PM (3/30/2009)
Knowing why u have failed it's more useful then wining 3 times in a row.
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Mobius_1 6:48PM (3/30/2009)
Well said. And it's also very important to know which cars actually work in orange. (not many)
bayerj 9:48PM (3/30/2009)
NSX did!
Boss 6:17PM (3/30/2009)
Cool video.
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KLR 6:24PM (3/30/2009)
So why is it that the market lets Honda get away with failures and not the US companies? Is Honda better at covering them up or do they test so much they weed out almost all failures before going to market? Or is it just because they've never been top dog so no one is gunning for them?
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the_MVP_X 6:28PM (3/30/2009)
Umm, Honda its more flexible and adaptive, I think.
g00fba11 6:32PM (3/30/2009)
err...because Honda actually learned from their mistakes? On a timely basis? Rather than 20 years later?
cheezwiz 6:36PM (3/30/2009)
I think it's because they learn from their mistakes. If you keep failing and it's obvious to everyone why you fail, then your reputation takes a dump. Honda isn't saying it makes mistakes. It's saying that the most important thing is to learn from them.
Mobius_1 6:50PM (3/30/2009)
Not asking for a huge bailout kinda helps, since they are not using the US Taxpayers' money, they could care less.
apearlman 10:23PM (3/30/2009)
Honda has never been top dog?
Except from 1990-1992, when the Accord was the #1 selling car in the U.S.
And in 2008, when they were the only company with two of the five bestselling cars in the U.S.
And today, when they are the world's largest engine maker.
And the second largest Japanese carmaker, and the 4th largest car company in the U.S. (ahead of Chrysler).
This success is clearly because the market lets Honda get away with mistakes. Either that, or Honda makes some pretty good cars that people like.
Black Cat 6:25PM (3/30/2009)
You never learn anything from winning. I'm in a couple sim racing leagues and I won a lot of races and got really smug. Then a guy who'd been away from the league for about a year came back and the very first race, he just blew my doors off -- I didn't get beaten, I got humiliated. But from studying the replay, I saw what he'd done and made similar changes to my own setup. I was a second and a half faster than what I thought had been a really quick setup before.
We have our next race this coming Sunday and I'll be ready this time...
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Aki 6:29PM (3/30/2009)
Liked the video.
And I think their ZDX should be an addition to this video in the near future =)
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g00fba11 6:34PM (3/30/2009)
ha! That's funny and perceptive!
Krystian 6:30PM (3/30/2009)
Wow! Does this include the video about how they ran an outfit in F1 (for several years) while ultimately being unsuccessful, then they run a car in 2008 without sponsorship while pushing their entire budget into the 2009 car, then they decide to pull out, and the team changes their name and absolutely dominates the competition in 2009? I am waiting for that one!
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Kitko 6:43PM (3/30/2009)
Honda had supplied engines to F1 long before they went on to buy British American Racing team and rename it to Honda.
Honda won its first F1 GP in 1965 (they won 71 GPs in F1). Later, as engine supplier, they won 5 championships (3x Senna, Prost and Piquet).
Yes, their latest effort was a failure (although they finished 4th in 2006), but don't forget that the Brawn GP car was developed by Honda (sans the engine). Engine is the same as in McLaren, yet it's the Honda designed car that makes the best use of it.
Those who are not able to learn from their mistakes are condemned to repeat them.
Apparently, Honda did learn.
slicecom 7:08PM (3/30/2009)
Yeah they need to update the video with their F1 failure, then return to F1 and succeed.
Sure they were a successful engine manufacturer, but they couldn't build a competitive car, and quit instead of sticking with it, now BrawnGP is reaping the benefits.