Friday: Japanese Hero

Matsushita Konosuke

(The First Japanese Millionaire:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konosuke_Matsushita)

Matsushita Konosuke (1894 – 1989) was a self-made artisan, founder of Panasonic “Kingdom”, and philanthropist. When he was young, he was an Edison, trying to make something useful “abundantly” for every Japanese.

(Forked Socket)

(Light Bulb)

(Flash Light)

While he was an artisan, his mission, he believed, was that he (and his company) will manufacture useful household products, which means that they would unload burdens from Japanese housewives, very inexpensively and abundantly. He used the word – like “running water.” Yes, that is exactly what he did, which made him the first millionaire in Japan.

When he was asked what made him so successful, Matsushita answered:

I was sick and weak.
I was born to poverty.
I didn’t go to middle school, high school, or college.

You must wonder ????????? Those mentioned by him above are exactly what losers use for their excuses. Right? Let him explain. This is what made him a legendary Japanese hero.

Since I was weak and always sick in bed, I decided to train, trust, and count on my men.
Since I was born to the poor, I aspired to be rich.
Since I didn’t go go school, I became an avid reader.

(Electronic Tube)

(TVs)

(Electric Fans)

(Electric Heater for Futon)

(Very Accurate Clock)

All the household products he invented were appreciated by housewives, household heads, children, and people from all walk of life. Since products manufactured by Panasonic, which used to be Matsushita Electronics, worked so well because they had high quality, they were slightly more expensive than other manufacturers’ product of the same kind. Still people chose Matsushita’s products because of their high standard.

(Family Tree of Matsushita Kingdom)

Matsushita’s brother-in-law used to work for him, but later he separated from Matsushita and founded Sanyo Electric (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanyo). Sanyo’s product line is almost the same as Panasonic’s, but Sanyo has never beaten Panasonic in terms of its revenue before. You know why? Matsushita had his unique management philosophy while his brother-in-law didn’t though he learned some from Matsushita when working for him. Sanyo’s products are more affordable than Matsushita’s, but people tend to be willing to pay more for Matsushita’s product because their value.

Besides his success story, Matsushita became a true philanthropist, which made a huge difference between Matsushita and other millionaires, who devoted themselves to amass their fortunes to live luxuriously. As a matter of fact, there is no notion among the rich Japanese that they should donate some of their assets to the public so they could get tax write offs. In that sense, Matsushita knew how beneficial it was for him to donate his fortune to the public both for himself and for every Japanese. He even established his own school to teach aspiring youngsters “what management is all about.” All the graduates from Matsushita’s school were very thankful that they learned Matsushita-style management, which could be applicable to politics, academics, and any other fields serving for the public.

Whatever books Matsushita, his men, or other authors inspired by him wrote about this “god of management,” and tapes of his speech are still million sellers for decades in Japan. Matsushita will be remembered until all the Japanese will disappear from the Earth.