# Kōnosuke Matsushita

Kōnosuke Matsushita (松下 幸之助, Matsushita Kōnosuke, 27 November 1894 – 27 April 1989) was a Japanese industrialist who founded Panasonic, the largest Japanese consumer electronics company. Matsushita is referred to as the "God of Management" in Japan.

## Childhood

Kōnosuke Matsushita was born on 27 November 1894 in Wasamura, now part of Wakayama Prefecture. His father was an affluent landlord in the farming village of Wasa (part of present-day Wakayama city) and was one of the wealthiest men of his community.

## Teenage years

Shortly after Matsushita finished school, he was sent to Osaka to work as an apprentice in a hibachi store. However, less than a year into his apprenticeship, the business failed, leaving Matsushita in search of new employment. He then applied for a job at the Osaka Electric Light Company, an electrical utility firm. Over the next couple of years, he received several promotions and advanced within the company. During this period, Matsushita met one of his sister's friends, Mumeno Iue, and after a brief courtship, they got married. Now head of a new family, Matsushita was acutely aware of his increased responsibilities.
At the age of 22, he was promoted to the position of electrical inspector. During this time, he tried to showcase an improved light socket he had developed in his spare time to his boss, but unfortunately, his boss was not receptive to the idea. Small text

## Matsushita Electric Industrial Company

In 1917, Matsushita left the Osaka Electric Light Company to establish his own business. Lacking capital, formal education, and experience in manufacturing, it seemed that his venture would fail before it even began. He set up his workshop in the basement of his tenement. With his wife, brother-in-law Toshio Iue, and a few assistants, he started creating samples of his products. However, when he attempted to sell these samples to wholesalers, he was unsuccessful, as he did not offer more than one product.
Eventually, Matsushita's assistants left the company, leaving him with only his wife and brother-in-law, Toshio, who proved to be a capable salesman and manager. Matsushita was on the brink of bankruptcy until he received an unexpected order for a thousand insulator plates for electric fans." This order allowed him to continue producing his light sockets, which began gaining popularity as wholesalers recognized their superior quality and lower prices compared to competing products.
The early years of the company were challenging. At one point, Matsushita had to pawn his wife's kimono when he found himself short on money. His products were initially marketed under the brand name "National," and later evolved into the more recognizable names Panasonic, Quasar, and Technics. One of Matsushita's most notable inventions was a more efficient battery-powered bicycle lamp. During the 1920s, bicycle lamps typically used candles or oil, which were highly inefficient and lasted only about three hours. Matsushita designed an oval lamp that operated on batteries and utilized a lightbulb for illumination. He had to personally market his products to retail bicycle shops.

## Expansion

Matsushita learned a vital lesson about building a thriving company while introducing his bicycle lamp to wholesalers. He discovered that having a superior product is meaningless without a strong sales strategy. Determined to succeed, Matsushita shifted his focus from merely manufacturing to developing effective sales channels that would elevate his products. This inspired approach led to the formation of a dedicated sales force and a network of retail stores, ultimately positioning Matsushita's company as a powerful force in Japan's electrical manufacturing and retail industry.
In 1929, he embarked on a transformative reorganization of his company. The new structure included a parent company with specialized branches for different product divisions. At that time, Matsushita’s company concentrated on three main products: the bicycle lamp and battery division, the electrical socket division, and the radio division. Each product was supported by a national sales department, complemented by regional offices in strategic locations. These regional offices harmonized sales and manufacturing efforts. This visionary model ensured that production was always driven by sales demand, aligning manufacturing with the ever-changing needs of the market.

## Post-war period

During the US occupation of Japan after World War II, General Douglas MacArthur decided to break up the zaibatsu business conglomerates of Japan. Matsushita was in danger of being removed as president but was saved by a favorable petition signed by 15,000 employees. In 1947, Kōnosuke lent his brother-in-law Toshio to an underused manufacturing plant to manufacture bicycle lamps, a business that eventually became Sanyo Electric.
From 1950 to 1973, Matsushita's company became one of the world's largest manufacturers of electrical goods, sold under well-known trademarks including Panasonic and Technics. Matsushita stepped down as President of Panasonic in 1961 and was succeeded as president by his son-in-law, Masaharu Matsushita. Konosuke Matsushita's two grandsons are Masayuki Matsushita, who is the current vice-chairman of Panasonic, and Hiro Matsushita, who is a former driver in the Champ Car series and owns Swift Engineering, an aerospace firm and race car constructing company which he bought in 1991. Hiro Matsushita is also the chairman of Swift Xi [ja], which is located in Kobe, Japan.
Konosuke Matsushita remained active in Panasonic's operations until his complete retirement in 1973. Since 1954, Matsushita also gained a significant shareholding in manufacturer JVC by forming an alliance. It still retains a 50% share today. In retirement, Matsushita focused on developing and explaining his social and commercial philosophies and wrote 44 published books. One of his books, entitled "Developing A Road To Peace And Happiness Through Prosperity", sold over four million copies. In 1979, at the age of 84, he founded the Matsushita School of Government and Management [ja] to train the future politicians and businessmen of Japan.
In 1987, he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers.

## Death

Chronic lung problems led to his death from pneumonia on 27 April 1989, at the age of 94. He died with personal assets worth US$3 billion, and left a company with US$42 billion in revenue business.

## Awards and honours
### National honours

* Japan:
** Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers (29 April 1987)
** Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (29 April 1981)
** Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
** Recipient of the Medal with Blue Ribbon
** Recipient of the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon
** Senior Third Rank (27 April 1989; posthumous)

### Foreign honours

* Belgium:
** Commander of the Order of the Crown (1972)
* Malaysia:
** Honorary Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (P.M.N.) (1979)
* China:
** Recipient of the China Reform Friendship Medal (18 December 2018; posthumous)

### Professorships and Directorships

Konosuke Matsushita was honoured at Stanford University by endowing a Professorship in International Strategy and Management. The official name of the course is The Konosuke Matsushita Professorship in International Strategy and Management

## Published books

* Michi wo hiraku (1968) Open the path and often translated as The Path
* Japan at the Brink (1976)
* Thoughts on Man (1982)
* Not for Bread Alone: A Business Ethos, A Management Ethic (1984)
* Quest for Prosperity (1988)
* As I See It (1989)
* Velvet Glove, Iron Fist: And 101 Other Dimensions of Leadership (1991)
* People before Products: The Human Factor in Business (1992)
* The Matsushita Perspective: A Business Philosophy Handbook (1997)
* The Heart of Management: Konosuke Matsushita's Enduring Insights (2002)
* My Way of Life and Thinking (2011) (Originally published in 1954)
* Practical Management Philosophy (2011) (Originally published in 1978)
* Nurturing Dreams – My Path in Life – An Autobiography by the Founder of Panasonic (2014) (Originally published in 1998)

## Appears on the cover of

* Life, Sep-1964, DETAILS: Meet Mr. Matsushita
* Time, 23 February 1962, DETAILS: Industrialist Matsushita