Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, was born in
1894 in Wakayama, the youngest of eight children of a wealthy
farming family. When he was four, his father lost the family property
as a consequence of speculation on the rice exchange. At the age of
nine, the young Konosuke was obliged to leave home to take up an
apprenticeship in Osaka. As an apprentice, he learned the basics of
business. Observing the vital role that electric streetcars played in urban
life, he sensed the arrival of the age of electricity and decided to join
an electric power company when he was fifteen. As an extension to
his work, he dedicated himself to the improvement of light sockets. In
1918, when only twenty-three, he founded Matsushita Electric (now the
Panasonic Group).
Profoundly affected by the disorder and confusion that gripped
Japan in the immediate aftermath of World War II, in 1946 he founded
the PHP Institute to promote peace and happiness through prosperity.
In the context of PHP’s activities, he also established the Matsushita
Institute of Government and Management (MIGM) in 1980 to develop
future Japanese leaders. In 1982, he provided the endowment for the
Japan Prize, now regarded as Japan’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
Until his death at the age of 94 on April 27, 1989, Mr. Matsushita
maintained a keen interest not only in his global industrial empire but
also in humanitarian projects.
His philosophy of corporate management is highly idealistic
as well as pragmatic and is infused with a fervent sense of mission.
Always people-centered, it is grounded in his down-to-earth, realistic
understanding of human nature.
New Releases
My Way of Life and Thinking
The Early Entrepreneurial Life of the Founder of Panasonic
In the late autumn of 1904, Japan was caught up in the Russo- Japanese War. All alone, a nine-year-old boy left his hometown for Osaka to begin an apprenticeship. His mother, in tears, watched him board the train at Kinokawa Station in Wakayama. Her lonely form as the train pulled out of the station was a scene that was to be deeply engraved in his mind forever. His first days on his own began. Struggling in the big city, he lived through his days with hope for the future.
This was the start of the career of Konosuke Matsushita, who went on to live out a life filled with lofty aspirations.
In 1918, 23-year-old Matsushita set up his own business and began working on his own inventions. Relentlessly pursuing innovation in products and management, that tiny workshop grew into the global corporation we know today as Panasonic.
My Way of Life and Thinking is the self-told story of one of the most outstanding entrepreneurs of the 20th century. No ordinary autobiography, this inspirational volume provides insight into Matsushita’s approach to life and philosophy of management and is a testimony to his lifelong pursuit of entrepreneurship, leadership and an idealistic vision that began at an early age. The implications of his story are powerfully relevant today to people seeking to question what it is to live a meaningful life.
