KONOSUKE MATSUSHITA -A LEADER OF HEART AND MIND

BUA5PSD – Blue Bird Group Report - Leadership

• )
• Thái Xuân Hiệp (Student No: 17810312)
• Nguyễn Anh Tuấn (Student No: 17814149)

BUA5PSD PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
GROUP PRESENTATION
LEADERSHIP
REPORT ON
MATSUSHITA KONOSUKE - A LEADER
OF HEART AND MIND
BlueBird group
• Ngô Thị Thanh Hoa (Student No: 17810335)
• Vũ Thanh Hồng (Student No: 17812067)
• Phạm Như Nguyệt (Student No: 17810447)
• Thái Xuân Hiệp (Student No: 17810312)
• Nguyễn Anh Tuấn (Student No: 17814149)
Hanoi, 6 Oct 2013


Blue Bird Group Members: Ngô Thị Thanh Hoa (17810335); Vũ Thanh Hồng (17812067);
Phạm Như Nguyệt (17810447); Thái Xuân Hiệp (17810312); Nguyễn Anh Tuấn (17814149)

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Introduction
It is safe to say that the two World Wars had many impacts on global
economy and especially that of participated countries. It could also be argued that
they re-shaped the global economic power map of that period. Japan participated in
both World Wars and although the chaotic situation brought much hardship on
businesses it, at the same time, provided opportunities for entrepreneurs. During this
period of difficulties, one Japanese company was established as a family-like
business with only 3 members and this same company is now one of the largest
firms in the world. Although there are many factors involved it is almost certain that
the leadership played a crucial role to the success of the company.
Unlike many other famous western leaders, Matsushita Konosuke, founder of
Panasonic Corporation, had a different point of view towards production and
business. Japan was devastated as the result of the two World Wars and being a
person with strong spirit of patriotism Matsushita clearly stated: "Production is the
very foundation of our recovery". He was the first person to introduced "Japanese
Business Philosophy" which essentially reflects his motto and drive: to contribute to
society and see profit as a reward.
Matsushita Konosuke is an excellent example of a very effective leader who
displayed traits, behaviors and practices that are essential to one. In this report his
point of view, thought process and decision-makings will be assessed to see how he
learnt to cope with changes. More importantly his practices will be measured against
some of the common leadership theories in order to define him a very well - admired
and great leader.



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1. Self-confidence and courage
Firstly, personality is named one of the key contributors to entrepreneurial
success as reported by Gregory, Paul
'The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand,
2013'. Self-confident and courage features are clearly seen in the case of Matsushita
Konosuke.
Prior to the establishment of Panasonic Corporation, Matsushita had worked
for Osaka Electric Company for 7 years. The young inspector proposed his
supervisor with the invention of Double Cluster Socket. He was filled with confidence
that the socket would be a success and widely spread but the refusal resulted in his
disappointment and shame. Matsushita then decided to take risk and start his
business so that he could produce and trade his own products with 97 yen at hands.
His self-confidence and courage were some of the key components to the basis of
Matsushita’s own business, which later became a successful globalized public entity.
2. Extroversion
In addition, Dubrin Andrew J (2010) 'Leadership: Research Findings,
Practice, and Skills' also highlighted extroversion as one of the common personality
traits displayed by leaders. Matsushita possessed such a strong heart and yet his
extrovert characteristic helped him to establish the links between himself and the
surrounding environment, people. The connections being strengthened through time
enabled Matsushita to have thousands of followers sharing the same passion and
going his way.
At the start of his business, Matsushita had three zeros: zero health, zero
money and zero education. People might see Matsushita as an unfortunate man but
he is opposed to this idea himself. Founder of the giant electric firm claimed to be
grateful for such disadvantages. These Zeros taught him to trust and delegate tasks
to his subordinates, to learn from nature and other people.
Matsushita did not receive proper education. He shared his point of view for
life long study: “If we are willing to learn, everything in the world can be our teacher.”
(Konosuke Matsushita, The Path, 2010). His extroversion characteristic allowed him
to observe nature and people in daily life then withdrew lessons about the law of
nature, the unlimited capabilities of people and the reason for the existence of an
enterprise.



3

3. Tenacity
Although Matsushita did not receive proper personal as well as professional
education he clearly was a person of tenacity - one of motivational leadership traits
'Dubrin Andrew J (2010)'. He kept pursuing his chosen path despite his health
condition as well as serve restriction to the operation of Matsushita Corporation after
the World War II. Matsushita convinced General Douglas MacArthur and other
military governors that his company should be allowed to resume peacetime
production. He promised that Japan would once again be a world power, but this
time by peaceful means and finally able conveyed the authority to permit
Matsushita's company to reopen. This whole process demonstrated his confidence in
his company, in himself and most importantly, as a leader, he never once though of
giving up.
4. Drive
In his book 'Ethics, the Heart of Leadership, 2004' Frederick argued that
every effective leader has very strong drive. Matsushita made his drive transparent in
his business motto and words: “Production is very foundation of recovery. Let us
reawaken the traditional Matsushita spirit, and complete the work of rebuild the
nation and enrich people’s lives” 'Matsushita, 1945'.
Inspired by Matsushita's strong spirit, the employees were deeply moved and
returned to manufacturing. It was not only his inner drive but also the way he
conveyed his thought earnestly that appeared to his employees towards a common
vision.
5. Strong Work Ethic
Another reason for why Matsushita was an effective leader is his Strong work
ethic feature. Daniel Goleman 'Leadership that get result, 2009' stated that strong
work ethic is vital to the success of a business. In his mind as well as actions,
Matsushita always put "people before product" no matter how grave the situation. It
was clearly demonstrated in his company's codes of conduct as well as his business
orientation. Matsushita Konosuke once told one of his young employees: "We make
people before we make products".

http://panasonic.net/careers/career_development/konosuke_matsushita/



4

“I shall not dismiss a single employee, I shall reduce working time to half a
day and cut production by half but I’ll continue to pay full day’s wages. In return, store
employees will give up their holidays and do everything in their power to sell the
goods we have in stock” said Matsushita Konosuke 'His Life and His Legacy, p: 108,
Entrepreneur who sold his happiness'. There were times when he cleaned the
restroom himself and refrained from receiving salary because he was 10 minutes late
to work. His examples made everyone extremely touched and have more trust,
respect towards him. Mr. Konosuke was fully aware of the importance of strong work
ethics and did his best to lead by example and be a model that everyone would look
up to and act in correspondence.
6. Creativity
While Matsushita had drive and strong work ethic, it is agreeable that
Matsushita was also a relentless innovative leader. His creativity corresponds with
one of the many traits that effective leaders have (proposed by Dubrin, Leadership:
Research Findings, Practice, and Skills2010, chapter 2). According to CCL founder,
H. Smith Richardson, “leadership meant responding creatively to change to avoid or
overcome pitfalls typically faced by leaders” (SriKant M. Datar, David A. Garvin,
Carin-Isabel Knoop, 2008). Innovation and creativity were clearly shown in
Matsushita Corporation products. So far his corporation owns more than 50,000
patents with new products being launched only a few months after he captured
market demand and made changes accordingly. "Super Iron" is one example of such
rapid innovations. It is one of the first products under the conventional English
"National" brand name introduced in 1927 by Matsushita Konosuke.
(http://panasonic.net/history/corporate/chronicle/1927-01.html)
7. Farsightedness
Apart from creativity, farsightedness is another proposed cognitive traits of
leadership. According to Daniel Goleman, 'What makes a leader, 2004': “cognitive
skills such as big-picture thinking and long-term vision were particularly important”.
Matsushita Konosuke displayed farsightedness ability a numerous times during his
course of career. He noticed a problem with bicycle lamb while working in the bike
shop and saw it as a business opportunity. His more effective lamps design came
shortly afterward but could not appear to the wholesalers. This is when he made a



5

decision that clearly showed his knowledge of business by bypassing the
wholesalers and worked directly with shop owners and had a large number of
products readily prior to any order. This wise decision resulted in a significant
increase in total revenue (Palin Phoocharoon, Lesson from Authentic Leader, 2013).
His vision has promoted not only the company business but also had an
impact on Japanese economy as a whole. He once expressed: "I ran on the premise
Furniture Matsushita Electric it had a duty to Perform in industry, that it had to
contribute to a better world" (Palin Phoocharoon, 2013). His forward - looking
mindset and "business for people" motto also inspired many other Japanese
companies and therefore Japan is now known for its good products and work
conditions.
8. Insight into people and situation:
In 'Leadership that gets results, 2009', Daniel Goleman argued that one of the
essential factors to an effective leader is to: “have mastered four or more - especially
the authoritative, democratic, affiliative, and coaching styles - have the best climate
and business performance”. In Masushita Konosuke case affiliative leadership style
is practiced very frequently. Daniel Goleman also pointed out that an affiliative leader
shares ideas and inspiration, promotes flexibility, trust, allowing habitual innovation
and risk taking. They are also masters at building a sense of belonging. Matsushita’s
Corporation has sustainable teams who overcome difficulties and share joys of
achievement together.
In 1929, the Great Depression occurred and spread its impact all over the
world. Electronic products demand decreased considerably in Japan which lead to a
need for a reduction of manufacturing. In this case Matsushita decided not to layoff
any of his employees like other corporations would but he cut down production
instead. This decision emphasizes his understanding of people and situation as a
leader and it had proven effectively when his company pulled through the period of
hardship.



6

III. Conclusion
Today, Panasonic Corporation is one of the largest electronic manufacturers
with strong competitive products. In 1994, Panasonic was listed as the highest
revenue growth of all corporations that was associated with famous entrepreneurs.
PHP Institute and Matsushita Institute of Government and Management (MIGM),
both founded by Matsushita Konosuke, have been sustaining its high position in the
new technology world for decades. Many generations of leaders in Japan still receive
education from these institutes.
Matsushita also influenced the Japanese business culture with his motto “to
contribute to society and see profit as a reward”. Thanks to that, Japanese economy
still maintains its strong competitive position in this ever - changing world, despite the
development and application of new philosophies and technologies. And above all,
everyone is living a comfortable and joyful life with the help of many electronic
products, which were developed by Matsushita. These are all results of Matsushita’s
great leadership.
A long with the real life evidence, his actions and decisions toward his career
represent personality, motivational and cognitive traits of an effective leader. With
self - confidence and courage, he started his company at early age in a harsh
economy environment. His extroversion and farsightedness enabled him to observe
nature and people and develop a “business is people” philosophy that strongly
influences his employees and followers as well as many other corporations. He did
not have a formal education but his knowledge of business was famous through out
his career. It is his drive, creativity and strong work ethic that made him a good
model that impact his people’s action and attitude. His steely spirit, which was a
result of a poverty childhood and early lost, demonstrated the will to overcome any
difficulties and hardship of a leader. Lastly, his insight into people and situation
allowed the company to build a strong culture to overcome the Great Depression.
Matsushita Konosuke is no doubt one of the greatest leaders of Japanese
Corporations and through out history.



7

APPENDIX 1
Famous 20th
Century Entrepreneur *
Name Company
Revenue Growth (Billions
of 1994 Dollars)**
Konosuke Matsushita Matsushita Electric $49.50
Soichiro Honda Honda Motor Co., Ltd. $35.50
Sam Walton Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. $35.00
Akio Morita Sony Corporation $33.70
David Packard/ William
Hewlett Hewlett-Packard Company
$20.60
James Cash Penney J.C. Penney Company, Inc. $17.40
Ken Olsen
Digital Equipment
Corporation
$14.50
Henry Ford Ford Motor Company $10.30
Andy Groove*** Intel Corporation $8.90
Ray Kroc McDonald’s Corporation $4.70
Bill Gates*** Microsoft Corporation $3.80
* Not a complete list of the most successful entrepreneurs
** Growth while the entrepreneur was associated with the firm in either
operation or non-operating roles. Figures go through mid-1994.
*** Still running their firms.



8

Reference list (in order of appearance)
-‐ Gregory, Paul. The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand, 2013
-‐ DuBrin Andrew J, 2010, Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and
SkillsSouth-Western Cengage, OH, USA
-‐ Konosuke Matsushita, 2010. The Path, McGraw-Hill
-‐ Frederick Bruce Bird, 2004, Ethics, the Heart of Leadership
-‐ MatsushitaKonosuke,1945,
http://panasonic.net/history/corporate/chronicle/1945-01.html
-‐ Daniel Goleman, 2009, Leadership that gets results, Havard Business review.
-‐ Matsushita Konosuke,
http://panasonic.net/careers/career_development/konosuke_matsushita/
-‐ Matsushita Konosuke: His Life and His Legacy, p: 108, Entrepreneur who
sold his happiness
-‐ SriKant M. Datar, David A. Garvin, Carin-Isabel Knoop, 2008. The center for
creative leadership, Havard Business school.
-‐ http://panasonic.net/history/corporate/chronicle/1927-01.html
-‐ Daniel Goleman, 2004, What makes a leader, Havard Business review.
-‐ Palin Phoocharoon, 2013, Lesson from Authentic Leader: Konosuke
Matsushita Founder of Panasonic, Proceedings of 3rd Asia-Pacific Business
Research Conference 25 - 26 February 2013, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
-‐ John P. Kotter, 2010, Matsushita Leadership

KONOSUKE MATSUSHITA -A LEADER OF HEART AND MIND

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