Different Models for Leadership: Ask Iwata
Satoru Iwata was the late President of Nintendo.
The book Ask Iwata was assembled posthumously and is a composition of works that Iwata himself wrote over the years, published across several channels before his passing.
“On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.”
The quote above is printed on the jacket of the book and comes alive in the pages. We meet Iwata as a young boy who discovers his passion for development on an early programable calculator. He shows signs of entrepreneurship and from an early age and we see him take on increasingly large business challenges early in his career.
Iwata was driven by making people happy which is a unique core value of someone who ends up leading a multi-national company worth $50m+. We see his background as a developer and his drive to make others happy translate into a very specific leadership style unlike others.
His approach to leadership sits in stark contrast to that of the revered tech leaders like Jobs and the Musks - though in the end they’re all shipping s combination of software and hardware.
Year ago after reading Isaacson’s biography of Jobs, I was obsessed - espousing my learnings like gossip. Sure, the reality distortion field was able to bend the edge of possibility but it came at a high toll of psychological cost on many who worked around him.
Iwata represented the foil (admittedly have not used this word likely since AP English - shoutout Dana Kato / Larry Arnhold) in the world of tech leaders - he focused on respect and compassion as drivers in his interactions with employees and customers.
He was a beloved friend and mentor to many and I believe someone who would have been rewarding to work with.
It’s a quick read with some moments of deeper reflection and sparks of delight. A few of my favourite passages below:
“Granted, a [leader] can’t just say, “Let’s do it this way” once and expect everybody to share their vision. People need to hear the same thing over and over, but before long, something that you’ve said will stick. ”
The quote above is nothing revolutionary but it echos of on my favourite phrases from the late coach Bill Campbell in the book Trillion Dollar Coach “repetition doesn’t kill the prayer”. If you haven’t read Trillion Dollar Coach, I think it’s one of the best books I’ve read around life + business in the past years.
“The fact that the Nintendo DS was such a hit and the Wii was hugely popular all over the world comes down to a matter of luck. The one thing that I can say with confidence, though, is that as a company, Nintendo, works incredibly hard to make good fortune come our way. Then again, the world is full of cases where people tried just as hard but luck wasn’t on their side and things didn’t work out. ”
This quote downplays the unique insights which are shared in the books that informed how they would bring the novel gaming system, the Nintendo Wii to life, but does shed light on the fact that no matter what amount of market research and insight you have, there is no guarantee a product launch will be successful, even with a powerful brand name. Acknowledging the outside factors feels like a fresh take.
“Doing the right thing is easier said than done...
Lots of people will tell you that they know what’s right. This is the cause of all kinds of conflict. When two people with good intentions disagree, things can get ugly. That’s because if you believe that your intentions are good, it feels as if you couldn’t possibly be wrong. And as long as accepting the other person’s point of view means negating you own core beliefs, there’s no room for adjusting your position.
When this happens, the people who tell you that they are right neglect to ask themselves, “Why isn’t my message getting across?””
“Talent basically involves the ability to find rewards.
In my view, talent isn’t about achieving results so much as deriving pleasure from the results you’ve achieved...
The instant we begin to feel that the rewards outweigh our efforts, a virtuous cycle starts up and keeps going.
Once we have these cycles going out skill set begins to expand. One cycle of reward directs us to another giving us a model for enjoying rewards of new and different activities. ”
“After all, taking a different path than others is truly terrifying. On one hand, society revolves around strength in numbers, but we often have no choice but to find our own way.
Being different comes in a huge range of shapes and sizes and it’s particularly frightening when you’re moving in the opposite direction of everyone else.
Though speaking personally, I think nothing is more hazardous than staying the course. ”
