AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

Sir Howard Stringer On Recharging Sony - BusinessWeek

The ex-CBS boss talks about leading a Japanese company, coping with exploding batteries, and PlayStation 3

Getting Sir Howard Stringer to sit down for a conversation is no easy feat. Since becoming chairman and CEO of Sony (SNE ) in 2005, Stringer has been circling the globe nonstop in the most challenging phase of his executive career. As he has worked to reorganize and reenergize Sony, Stringer, 65, has had to cope with two big crises—the recall of Sony batteries used in millions of laptops and delays in the launch of PlayStation 3. Despite these stumbles, the first Westerner to head the iconic Japanese corporation has driven Sony’s net profit and stock price substantially higher during his tenure. Stringer spoke at length with BusinessWeek Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler on a range of topics, from being knighted by Queen Elizabeth to the future of the evening news (Stringer was president of CBS (CBS )) and whether it makes sense to break Sony apart. The Nov. 8 conversation was part of the Captains of Industry series at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. Edited excerpts follow.

A major issue that you faced starting out was bringing a very hard-headed Western CEO sensibility to an organization that was very hierarchical, and overloaded. You cut something like 10,000 workers and tried to make a big cultural change. How did you navigate through that transition?
In Japan, the nightmare they have is the American who comes in with a sword and says, “Do this. Do that.” But I knew in Japan that wasn’t the way to do it. I had to work as hard as I could to get to know people. I said to senior staff and the strategists: Look at the numbers. We have no choice but to restart this engine. We’ve got to close factories, get rid of some unprofitable businesses, a hard thing to do in Japan, and then lay off people. The impact had the effect and the numbers started getting better.