Hiroshi Yamauchi — 55 years at Nintendo
Nintendo is the oldest company in the gaming industry. Just imagine it was found in 1889! That said, I am more impressed with Hiroshi Yamauchi who had been working 55 years in Nintendo. Take a look at two facts:
- Yamauchi was a Nintendo President for 53 years
- Hi did not like to play computer games
Here’s the part from the book I’m reading now:
“Inside the Japanese offices, Yamauchi ruled with an iron fist. He was not a gamer by any means. But he could smell a hit. At the end, it was up to Yamauchi whether a game would see the light of day.
Game designers and engineers cowered when he was scheduled to look at one of their inventions. Everyone, including Miyamoto worried about his approval to the point of hand wringing. When support came, it was better than sex with a dream partner. It validated the engineer. He felt worthy, accepted, a real man…”
© All your base are bleong to us, book by Harold Goldberg
Questions to think about
Could you possibly envision your life like that?
Spending half a century in your company with no attachment to the essence of the business?
