Chapter 23 Chapter 22 The Voice of PHP: A Remedy for Revival of Japan

During the Second World War, Konosuke Matsushita succumbed to the pressure of the military on the one hand, and on the other hand, out of his own blind patriotism, he included the peaceful production of Matsushita Electric in the track of military supply production, which cast a layer of gray on patriotic behavior. After the defeat, Japan is devastated, ruins are everywhere, prices are soaring, and the people are in dire straits.However, it was not only Japan that suffered from the war, but also the countries and regions that were invaded by Japan. After the U.S. military occupied Japan, Japanese entrepreneurs such as Konosuke Matsushita and consortia were sanctioned for direct military production or participation in wartime economic activities.The U.S. Army Command in Japan characterized Konosuke Matsushita as a "chaebol" in nature, which belongs to the A-level expulsion order, that is, all property of Panasonic Electric is frozen, and Konosuke Matsushita cannot engage in normal business activities at all. Konosuke Matsushita, who "wears the body of guilt", has plenty of time to conduct high-level research related to enterprise development.As he himself said: "When you are expelled, you cannot move freely, so I do the research and promotion of PHP. I began to think, what is the essence of human beings? Can't human beings find a way to live a truly prosperous life? This It’s what I think about when I’m in the above situation.”

Konosuke Matsushita also fell into deep thinking about Japan's defeat in the war.Limited to his own understanding, he attributed the defeat to the "arrogance" of Japanese ruling and opposition politicians, and caused misfortune to the Japanese people. However, he believed that every official, soldier, and businessman was responsible for the war, and everyone involved in the war Fanatical Japanese citizens should reflect on themselves - what have we done? Facing the devastation after the war, Konosuke Matsushita prescribed a good prescription to heal the wounds of war, which is his PHP, the abbreviation of Peace and Happiness through Prosperity in English, which means "bringing peace and happiness through prosperity" in Chinese.

The PHP Research Institute officially started on November 3, 1946, when the "Matsushita Electric Business Economic Research Institute" was established on that day, and the person in charge was Ozaki and Saburo.Ozaki and Saburo originally thought that as an economic research institute funded by a company established after the war, the research topic would of course be the post-war Japanese economy and the business strategy that Panasonic should adopt.In other words, it was doing market research for the recovery of the Japanese economy after the war and the take-off of Matsushita Electric Corporation.However, after a long talk with Konosuke Matsushita, Ozaki and Saburo discovered that Konosuke Matsushita's interests went far beyond the recovery of Japan's post-war economy and the management of Matsushita Corporation.

The war had just stopped, Japan's society was uneasy, its economy was in disarray, and its people were impoverished.Konosuke Matsushita believes that only through economic prosperity and the improvement of human quality through the development of production and education can we achieve peace and happiness for mankind.To this end, Konosuke Matsushita formulated 10 topics for PHP research: (1) Those who work hard should enjoy a prosperous life. (2) How to let people work freely and happily. (3) Let the people have a correct understanding of social democracy. (4) The purpose of education is to cultivate people with perfect and sound personality.

(5) How to get the most out of people. (6) Both labor and capital should coordinate with each other and fulfill their respective responsibilities. (7) Eliminate waste of resources. (8) How to obtain greater profits with less investment. (9) The tax burden should be fair and reasonable. (10) The business sector is specialized and meticulous in order to promote economic prosperity. From these 10 research topics, we can see that Konosuke Matsushita's PHP research is indeed beyond the scope of pure economy, and from the relationship between society and economy, personnel quality and management, spirit and material, explore the way to make society achieve comprehensive prosperity, It is to guide the operation of enterprises from a political height, and to look at economic activities from the perspective of human prosperity.That is to say, he thinks about the operation and management of enterprises from the perspective of society and human beings. This kind of research has a high starting point from the beginning, and it contains concern for the fate of human beings.

In April 1947, "PHP" was founded and distributed by the sales network. However, the first issue that Panasonic devoted all its efforts to was in a miserable situation.After the war, there was a shortage of materials and paper. Konosuke Matsushita sent the publications to the sales network with the mood of marrying his daughter. Unfortunately, almost all the publications that Konosuke Matsushita devoted his efforts to were returned.Analysis of the reasons: the post-war economic downturn; people are generally worried about the future of the country, and the people are of course concerned about how to fill their stomachs when the people are in dire straits; Problem; In addition, everyone thinks that the name "PHP" is too difficult to understand and is too unfamiliar. Not only readers don't know what it is, but even agents can't tell what "PHP" means.So someone suggested that it is better to change "PHP" to "prosperity" in Japanese, and readers will readily accept it at a glance.However, Konosuke Matsushita insisted on his own opinion, regardless of sales practices, and still used the title of "PHP".He has his own ideas: PHP is the lingua franca of the world, and the word "prosperity" is not only unintentional, but also difficult to be universal in the world.Konosuke Matsushita's original intention was to make "PHP" an internationally popular publication.

"PHP" is not for profit, and aims to promote the ideas of Konosuke Matsushita, but he insists on using commercial methods to manage publications and does not adopt free subscriptions.Since the publications want to survive, they are forcing the publishers to think of ways to improve the quality.In this era when people can't even eat enough, people's spiritual things are like nothing; while abroad, people even dismiss things from defeated countries and discard them like waste shoes. According to statistics, in 1974 alone, Konosuke Matsushita gave 107 speeches, with an average of one speech every three days.Konosuke Matsushita shaved the popular post-war hairstyle - bald head, wearing a pair of glasses, elegant demeanor, just like a university professor.His demeanor and speech are not at all like a businessman who was born as an apprentice, but like an educator who came from a scholarly family.At first, Ozaki came to the door to arrange a speech for Konosuke Matsushita, and then someone took the initiative to invite Konosuke Matsushita to give a speech.Konosuke Matsushita happily said to Ozaki: "Look, our hard work is not in vain. It is said that people who worry about three meals do not need spiritual things. Now that the national spirit is broken, what is most needed is the spiritual support. There is no tenacious national spirit. , Yamato will never stand up from the ruins."

Konosuke Matsushita often speaks in banks, chambers of commerce, schools, temples, enterprises, trade unions, etc.The topics in his speech are also all-encompassing, with only one central meaning: war can only bring destruction and disaster to mankind, and only economic prosperity can realize peace and happiness for mankind.Abandoning oneself is useless, the urgent task is to rebuild the homeland, and the most important thing in rebuilding the homeland is to have the spirit of self-improvement. During the course of the speech, the audience often raises some urgent issues that need to be solved for the livelihood of the people.Once, Konosuke Matsushita gave a speech in front of the president and 50 judges at the Osaka District Court.

A judge suggested to Konosuke Matsushita: "Mr. Matsushita, the road to prosperity you proposed is very good, but how can it be used to solve practical problems? Nowadays, coal is in short supply, and when it gets dark, many places in Osaka are in darkness. Household coal Even more nervous, not to mention heating in winter, even cooking is a problem. How do you think there is coal?" Konosuke Matsushita said: "Coal is the food of industry and a necessity for family livelihood. Japan has a long way to go to revive coal. Under the urging of the government, it is still difficult to achieve. Why is there no coal? You ask me, I Who to ask? Let's ask Mr. Coal, who says he won't come out."

"Mr. Matsushita, please stop joking!" "Why doesn't Mr. Coal want to see the light again and shine? This is because we don't treat Mr. Coal as a human being and abuse him." A judge stood up and said accusingly, "Mr. Matsushita, please be serious." "Dear Mr. Judge, I am speaking seriously." Konosuke Matsushita continued, "Let me give another simple example. Now that the enterprise is in crisis, it is the time for employing people. Important talents must let their talents be fully utilized. The leader of the enterprise bowed and said sincerely: "Now the enterprise is in crisis, I implore everyone to help me and do a good job." Then everyone will say: "Okay, we must live up to your love and work hard." But if Say something like: 'The business is in dire straits now, let's work hard, of course the salary must be cut.' Most likely only one or two will say, 'Okay.' Most will complain, and say, 'That's a good idea.' Beautiful, you want the horse to run, and you want the horse not to eat grass, how can there be such a thing in the world?'”

"People can complain when they are dissatisfied, but coal can't speak, it can only be silent. However, people engaged in mining work will not get reasonable remuneration for their labor because of low buyers. If it goes on for a long time, they will be passive and sabotage, which will be reflected in the market. The truth is that there is a shortage of coal, so I said: Mr. Coal said it is not willing to come out." "Important and beautiful things must be treated with respect. A wrong price policy will hinder economic prosperity and will not bring happiness to mankind. It is not because of a lack of coal that Osaka cannot generate enough electricity. Is cooking a problem? It's against PHP." After Konosuke Matsushita finished his speech, the president of the court immediately expressed his thoughts: "Mr. Konosuke Matsushita, your speech is of great reference value. We also apply the spirit of PHP to guide the work of the court, and open our eyes." Another time, during a speech by Konosuke Matsushita in a company union, a union official stood up and questioned: "Matsushita-san, you keep saying that not having profits is the evil of business owners. According to the theory we accept, making profits is the evil of business owners and the root of social poverty. I don't know where your speech is trying to lead the country. place? Are you encouraging unequal distribution of wealth?" Konosuke Matsushita said calmly: "I admire the candor of this gentleman, but please allow me to reserve my candor. I always believe that a business owner makes a reasonable profit as a contribution to society. This is because the business is well run and provides the necessities for the consuming public. , profit is society’s reward to business owners.” "Conversely, if the business owner does not manage well, and the products he manufactures are inferior or do not meet the needs of the public, then the business will have no profit at all? The funds for the business owner to operate the business are accumulated bit by bit through the society. The society Isn’t it a crime to give a large amount of money to business owners, but the business owners can’t produce qualified products to repay the society, which not only wastes social wealth, but also loses themselves?” "Perhaps what I've said can't convince you. Let's take your business as an example. When your business is profitable, your life must be easy, with your salary rising and benefits greatly improved; if the owner is losing money, everyone's It is difficult to guarantee life, not only can’t increase the salary, but also face layoffs. So, are you happy for the owner’s loss, or are you depressed for the owner’s profit? Of course, the profit I am talking about must be obtained legally and reasonably, not huge profits .” "There are a few older workers here. You must still remember the 1920s and 1930s. During the economic panic, Japanese business owners generally lost money. That was the period when Japan's unemployment rate was the highest and the people's life was the poorest. 20 In the 1930s, the economy was slowly booming. At its peak, almost every enterprise was profitable. This was the period when the people lived the best life. If you insist on saying that business owners make profits, it is the root of the social wealth and poverty. Social crimes, then I really don’t understand.” Konosuke Matsushita's words won bursts of applause. In February 1948, Konosuke Matsushita held the first research symposium at the Osaka Library, and decided to hold it every month thereafter.In the symposium, experts and scholars sometimes gave lectures, and sometimes Konosuke Matsushita gave lectures. The theme still revolved around "the relationship between economy and human peace and happiness". Such symposiums have not stopped for 10 years. In 1961, Konosuke Matsushita retired after realizing the 5-year plan, and got out of daily affairs to focus on PHP research. The research institute moved to Zhenzhen Temple, and the number of researchers increased to a dozen. In 1967, the scale of the PHP Research Institute continued to expand. For research needs, the Institute moved to the "PHP" headquarters building on the south side of the Kyoto Railway Station.At this time, Panasonic was already a large international enterprise, and Konosuke Matsushita himself became a world-renowned entrepreneur. He personally served as the director of the PHP Research Institute. The circulation of "PHP" has been on the rise, which can be described as flourishing. In October 1970, "PHP" began to issue an English version. The content of the magazine was not a translation of Japanese, but was rewritten for the tastes of Western readers.In the 1980s, "PHP" added a Spanish version. Since the 1970s, there has been a worldwide trend of learning from Japan, and "PHP" magazine has become a bridge between Japan and the world. In addition to founding publications, Konosuke Matsushita also promoted PHP ideas through writing books.He has published more than 60 books in his life, among which the most influential ones are "My Dream·Japanese Dream·Japan in the 21st Century", "Work·Life·Dream", "Exploring Human Beings—Advocating a New Outlook on Life" and so on. "My Dream, Japan's Dream, Japan in the 21st Century" was created by Konosuke Matsushita to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the PHP Research Institute. Konosuke Matsushita, as a person with only 4 years of primary school, can organically combine the prosperity of the country's economy with the current business situation, and speak to the world. What a boldness this is!Calling for peace and protesting against the disasters caused by war is enough to be admired by the people of the country.Predicting the rise and fall of the country's economy in the 21st century is enough to reflect Konosuke Matsushita's vision and foresight!