Chapter 16 Chapter 15 Imitation and Creation: Making Money with the Brain

Konosuke Matsushita believes that if you don't have a correct understanding of yourself, you may make mistakes of not doing what you should do, or doing what you shouldn't do.This is the cause of social chaos.In terms of the social obligations that everyone shoulders, perhaps the most important thing is to be able to correctly understand oneself.If the operator cannot correctly understand his own ability, he will usually fail.Perhaps seeing that the shop next door has been remodeled or hired a lot of hands, and thinking that it is time to imitate it, it is inevitable that it will fail.

What the operator should grasp is the management method suitable for the enterprise.Other businesses operate this way, and you would rather choose something else that suits you better.It is very important to correctly understand the ability of one's own business, and then take appropriate countermeasures, and it is the understanding that operators should have.Recently, when some people saw that a certain business had made some money, they flocked to follow up. As a result, many of them went bankrupt due to excessive competition.This kind of practice of blindly imitating without measuring one's own ability is not beneficial to everyone.Therefore, operators should carefully measure their own capabilities, so as to find out what they should do.

As far as the company's operation is concerned, only by first recognizing the strength of the company, and then operating rationally in accordance with this judgment, can the business flourish and contribute to society with the company's own strength. Konosuke Matsushita was lucky. Perhaps he didn't realize at the time that just when he moved his small factory to the new site, it was precisely the time when Japan's industry and commerce were developing unprecedentedly.Thousands of miles away, the First World War was in full swing, and the belligerent countries had no time to look around. This provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Japan, which started backward, to develop its capitalist economy.Matsushita Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd., as one of the inconspicuous small links, is also developing rapidly with the economic tide.

Konosuke Matsushita knows well that if an enterprise wants to stand firm and be recognized by customers, it must have its own products and brands.After accepting the order for the electric fan chassis of Kawakita Electric, Konosuke Matsushita concentrated all his strength day and night to complete this task, but he was also developing new products at the same time. After Konosuke Matsushita realized the importance of developing new products, he thought about it all the time.With the state of Matsushita Electric Works at that time, the development of new products naturally depended on Matsushita Konosuke himself.He was good at observation and thinking, and he was the technical backbone of the electric light company. Although the previous improved light socket failed to be introduced to the market, he also accumulated valuable experience.Konosuke Matsushita once suffered from the disconnection between products and customer needs. This time, he keenly captured the new trend in the market and the new favorite of consumers - the plug.

Therefore, Konosuke Matsushita first focused on improving the single-use plug.After pondering by Konosuke Matsushita, he used the metal lamp holder of the electric lamp as the raw material to make an improved single-use plug.Because the cost is very low and the performance is very good, it is very popular with consumers after it was put on the market, and even the supply is in short supply.This is really "inadvertently planting willows and willows into shades". This kind of enthusiastic market response greatly exceeded the expectations of Konosuke Matsushita.Compared with the situation in the past where sockets could not be sold even after thousands of beggings, it is really a heaven and an underground.

Stimulated and encouraged by the success of the improved plug, Konosuke Matsushita continued his innovative work.Soon, he modified the original product and invented the "socket for double lamps", which further improved the quality and practicability of the product compared with the previous socket.This new product, which is completely different from the old ones, has become more popular than ordinary sockets after it was put into the market due to its strong applicability and excellent quality. If something is good, someone will come to the door. Not long after the socket for double lights came out, a wholesaler named Yoshida Store in Osaka found Konosuke Matsushita.He said to Konosuke Matsushita:

"Panasonic, I'm very interested in your socket for double lamps, can you let me be the general distributor of this product?" Faced with such a proposal, Konosuke Matsushita also showed obvious interest.He thought that if he could entrust it to a consignment store, he would be able to solve his worries and concentrate on production. He said: "Yoshida-kun, I'm very interested in your proposal, but what do you think about the distribution method?" Hearing Konosuke Matsushita say this, Yoshida said happily: "Matsushita-san, well, I've already thought about it. I want to be responsible for the wholesale of the entire Osaka area. In addition, I also want to promote the products to the Kanto area. As for the sales there, I can hand over to the affiliated stores in Tokyo. Do it. If the Yoshida store wants to sell a lot of products, the factory has to produce a lot of products to meet the demand. If the supply is insufficient, it may cause trouble for both parties. What do you think?"

After hearing Yoshida's seemingly perfect sales plan, Konosuke Matsushita did not express his opinion immediately, which shows his brilliance in business.He was thinking, now that this new product is so popular, there will definitely be more orders in the future, and it will naturally increase production at that time, which will inevitably increase the production scale and purchase production equipment. In this way, there must be sufficient Funds are guaranteed.Considering his limited funds, Konosuke Matsushita felt that Yoshida should be asked to pay a deposit in advance, which is to adopt the method of "borrowing chickens to lay eggs".

He said: "Mr. Yoshida, I can let you be the general distributor. However, limited by the current scale of our factory, I am afraid that it is too late to manufacture a huge number of products. Therefore, I plan to expand the scale and add equipment to ensure that the production can meet the supply. In this way As soon as I come, I will make a small request, whether it is a deposit or payment for goods, in short, I would like to ask you to pay 3,000 yuan first. I will invest this money in the purchase of equipment. In this case, I will There is enough production capacity to meet your needs, and I think this will also make our cooperation smoother."

Yoshida didn't expect that Konosuke Matsushita would make such a request before agreeing, but after thinking about it for a while, he thought what Matsushita said was reasonable, so he agreed to his request.As a result, Konosuke Matsushita made the first business with its own brand. The method used by Konosuke Matsushita in this transaction is to get a sum of money in advance before the product is shipped.This has also become a feature of Matsushita's management.In future business activities, there are still many examples of such clever use of other people's funds or strength to develop oneself, and there are many examples of Matsushita Konosuke, which is also one of the secrets of his success.

In fact, the product sells well, and it is not an excessive requirement to ask the general distributor to pay a deposit in advance.However, the brilliance of Konosuke Matsushita lies in his ability to spot and seize this opportunity at the right time, and use other people's money to purchase equipment for himself to expand the scale of production.Later, when manufacturing and selling bicycle lights, Konosuke Matsushita also used similar methods with minor differences.For this approach, Konosuke Matsushita called it "infecting others and walking with oneself".Konosuke Matsushita believes that whether it is interests or personality strength, sincerity, virtue, etc., they can all be used as a medium to infect others.Konosuke Matsushita, who insisted on moving forward because of the wind and rain, knows that no matter how talented and energetic a person is, his energy is always limited. Unite the strength of others to achieve your goals. The next day, Konosuke Matsushita and Yoshida signed a contract for sockets for double lamps. At the same time, Yoshida also paid Konosuke Matsushita a deposit of 3,000 yuan as promised.Konosuke Matsushita immediately used the money to purchase equipment, expand the production scale, and put on a posture of doing a lot.Yoshida did what he said. He took the Chuan store in Tokyo as the general distributor, and the plugs marked with the Panasonic logo began to go out of Osaka. This can be regarded as a prelude to the development of his business across the country. A person's intelligence is limited, so he has to refer to other people's opinions; a company's technology is also limited, so he has to absorb the advanced technology and achievements of other companies. Konosuke Matsushita compared this image to "making money by borrowing brains". . In 1952, Japan's Matsushita Electric Company and the Dutch Philips Company conducted business negotiations on technical cooperation issues.Philips proposed a royalty rate of 6% of sales for technology royalties. After tough negotiations, Panasonic lowered the rate to 4.5%. is $550,000 and must be paid in one lump sum. At that time, the total capital of Matsushita Electric Co., Ltd. was only 500 million yen, and 550,000 US dollars was equivalent to 200 million yen!This technology transfer fee is indeed a very heavy burden for Panasonic.Are the demands and conditions of the other party acceptable?Are compromises and concessions worth doing?Konosuke Matsushita felt extremely hesitant.The contract text was drawn up by Philips, and the breach of contract and penalty clauses in it were also beneficial to Philips.Konosuke Matsushita considered the strategy of "making profits from it with the hands of a dummy" when the situation was unfavorable to him: if he made some compromises and concessions, accepted the conditions and requirements of the other party, and paid the money, it would be beneficial to the development of Panasonic and to the development of the company. The development of Japan's electronics industry is beneficial, because if you accept the conditions and requirements, you can use the other party's technology patents to make money for yourself. This is called "making money by borrowing your brain." In order to ensure the stable benefits of the technical cooperation project, Matsushita conducted an in-depth and detailed investigation and research on Philips.During his investigation, he discovered that Philips had a research institute with 3,000 researchers.They have advanced equipment and excellent personnel, and they are carrying out research and development of the world's latest technology and newest products every day.Konosuke Matsushita thought to himself: It would take billions of yen and several years to create a research institute of the same scale and level, but now, at the cost of 200 million yen, the Philips Research Institute can be fully utilized. With more advanced personnel and equipment, the effect of "making money from it with the hands of a dummy" can be achieved. Why not do this?Therefore, Konosuke Matsushita resolutely signed a cooperation contract with Philips.Since then, Philips has sent technical backbones to take up the post, and they have passed on technology, knowledge and management experience to Panasonic.During the period of cooperation between the two parties, Panasonic obtained the latest technical support from Philips conveniently and quickly.The cooperation between the two parties has laid a solid foundation for the development of Matsushita Electric Co., Ltd. into a well-known company in Japan and even the world. In the transaction between Matsushita Electric Co., Ltd. and Philips, Mr. Konosuke Matsushita used the technique of "making profits from it with the hands of a dummy", made compromises and concessions, and accepted Philips' huge patent transfer fee and unfair compensation. Default and Penalty Clause.However, Mr. Konosuke Matsushita’s concession was exchanged for a powerful boost to the company’s development—Philips’ world-leading technical strength, which made Matsushita eventually develop into a world-renowned electronics company. In January 1951, when Konosuke Matsushita visited the United States for the first time, he bought the latest dry battery manufacturing machine in the United States.But during his second visit to the United States to visit a dry battery factory, he found that the "latest" machine he bought before was already the oldest in that factory.After careful investigation, he found that: it turns out that the machines sold in the general market are ordinary gadgets, and the machines owned by first-class manufacturers are self-designed and kept secret.Therefore, the machines used by the first-class manufacturers are many times better than those sold by ordinary machine manufacturers.After learning of this fact, Matsushita Konosuke deeply felt that learning without self-awareness and relying on the power and money of others is a manifestation of the weak, and what is obtained without one's own thinking and labor is not a real result.So Konosuke Matsushita wanted to do some work that really produced results through his own research and design. Therefore, in 1953, Matsushita established a new central research institute in Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture, and started a real technological innovation.In order to enable basic research to cope with the coming automation era and continue research and development of new mechanical equipment and smelting tools, the Central Research Institute is equipped with a dedicated machinery manufacturing factory.In this way, the newly established comprehensive research facility, the Central Research Institute, became a huge driving force in the new digital age. There are not many electrical products developed by Panasonic itself, and Konosuke Matsushita's ability is to digest, manage and promote them after "bringing them".Konosuke Matsushita is the god of management, not the king of invention, but his creative management has enabled him to win many battles in the business world.In other words, Panasonic is good at making use of its strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and catches up from behind. Even the industry has to admit that the products imitated by Panasonic are not simple imitations, but products produced after digestion, which have better performance than their original products. , They still couldn't restrain their displeasure, and ridiculed Panasonic as an "imitation company". Panasonic's main products, from the earliest lamp plugs and cannonball-shaped battery lamps, have obvious traces of imitation; to the batteries, vacuum tube radios, electric irons produced successively in the future, and then to the stirring washing machines produced in the 1950s, black and white TV sets, refrigerators, and vacuum cleaners, without exception, compare, learn from, and absorb many excellent products from the same industry, digest and absorb them, and then develop their own products.This superb imitation is jaw-dropping, and there is no reason to sue him for infringement of patent law, because he has done it seamlessly.