Masayoshi Son Quotes

I think when you take the big swings - and I've done plenty of big swings that I was told were never going to work - those are always the things that break through.

You need a little bit of insanity to do great things.

If you're going to be wrong, be dramatically wrong.

It never seems like a good idea to do something that's way out there. But usually, the thing that's way out there is where we are heading.

There's always a risk if you don't do things the way you've done things before.

My job is to have new ideas and take risks every day, so I'm always looking forward to the next thing being done or making the next thing that I haven't yet gotten to. That's sort of the constant in my life.

Getting anything off the ground is going to require a little bit of risk. That risk starts with sharing the idea.

Sometimes it's bad to do something you've never done before.

The only risk is not taking the risk. You've got to take that step.

For me, the safest place is out on a limb.

Well, when you're trying to create things that are new, you have to be prepared to be on the edge of risk.

Every time we've moved ahead in IBM, it was because someone was willing to take a chance, put his head on the block, and try something new.

Daring is doing. Daring is asking something outrageous despite your chances of failure and rejection. Daring is going out on a limb by believing in something that no one else understands, and if all fails, daring is trying again.

If you're afraid of failure or getting it wrong, you'll never truly innovate or disrupt the market.

I don't want to play safe, because there are a lot of people who are playing it safe, and I don't want to be one of them.

If your dream sounds like a real stretch and everyone around you is looking at you like you have completely lost it, it might just be exactly what you need.

I think you make impacts by taking risks.

If I'd observed all the rules, I'd never have got anywhere.

If you're trying to do something different, you can't ask someone to help, because they'll want to make it not different.

It's only when you risk failure that you discover things. When you play it safe, you're not expressing the utmost of your human experience.

It's fun to be on the edge. I think you do your best work when you take chances, when you're not safe, when you're not in the middle of the road, at least for me, anyway.

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.

My company and people think I'm wacky when I have an idea... I know if I have an idea, no one will want to go through it. But if I persist, people will go through it.

I like having my back against the wall and doing things I'm not supposed to be good at.

Greatness, in the last analysis, is largely bravery - courage in escaping from old ideas and old standards and respectable ways of doing things.