If You Can Imagine It, Sony Can Help You Make It Real

While wrapping up his keynote speech during CES 2009, CEO and President of Sony Sir Howard Stringer had quoted something from Chapter 4: Design in A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule The Future (Daniel H. Pink) that was very inspiring but received little coverage elsewhere so I think its worth repeating. This is a mantra that I hope Sony keeps in mind often, because I am seriously dying to see a totally interconnected device from Sony that can access all of its media offerings (music, television, games and movies) in one centralized location.

So despite the gloom of recession, this is still a truly remarkable time in our industry – and I believe it will be remembered as a pivotal moment in our history. There is a word in the vocabulary of every child that takes on a different meaning when it’s uttered by adults – either because we no longer have use for it, or it feels frivolous, or it’s not up to the standards of the serious people we think we have become. That word is “imagine.”

When we were young, we spent our days imagining we were pirates, or soldiers, or in my case, Knights of the Round Table. It leaves quickly.

The late Gordon MacKenzie, a longtime creative force at Hallmark cards, used to tell a story that entered folklore among artists. MacKenzie would visit schools to talk about his profession. He’d open each talk by telling students he was an artist.

In kindergarten and first-grade classes he would then ask, “How many artists are in the room?” Every hand went up.

He repeated it in second grade: three-quarters of the kids raised their hands.

In third grade, only half did.

And in fourth grade, only a few.

By the sixth grade, not a single hand went up.

Where does it go? This sense of wonder, this sense of adventure, this sense of possibility – that whatever we can imagine, we can make real. Is it because for every idea in the world, for every possibility, there are some who will say it’s ridiculous, too ambitious, too unlikely, or too impossible – words we all begin to hear as we grow older. At Sony, we’re trying not to believe in the word “impossible” – but we’ve always believed in the ability to imagine. That has been the promise of the consumer electronics industry. In a digital and networked age being driven by seven key imperatives, the ability of this industry to help turn imagination into reality is greater than it has ever been.

No drop in the economy can change the fact that this is still one of the most innovative industries on the face of the planet. If we keep our sails spread high, history tells us the wind will pick up again and it will carry us to places we could barely imagine three years ago. At Sony, we need to be ready when it does. We are working to improve and elevate the experience for customers today and imagine a networked, connected and personalized experience for tomorrow.

If you can imagine it, we can help you make it real. That is the total Sony experience.