Chapter 16 15. Konosuke Matsushita: Dancing in Difficulties

Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric, a famous Japanese multinational company, is known as the "God of Management". The management systems such as "business department", "lifetime employment system" and "senior merit sequence" were all initiated by him. Konosuke Matsushita received only 4 years of primary school education, and started as an apprentice at the age of 9. Under his father's admonition to "be an apprentice first, and establish a career as a business", Matsushita experienced a 6-year apprenticeship. At the age of 15, he was optimistic about the electrical business and entered Osaka. Electric Machinery Co., Ltd., "Take the first step into the electrical industry".During the 7 years of working in Osaka Electric Co., Ltd., Konosuke Matsushita showed his special talent in motors and laid a solid professional foundation. In 1917, because he was dissatisfied with the status quo of work without passion, he resolutely made a small achievement in his career. Resigned to start a business, and founded Matsushita Electric Works with less than 100 yuan in cash and three employees to manufacture improved plugs. Income earner, in 1935, Panasonic Corporation was restructured into a joint stock company, and has now developed into a large multinational enterprise with more than 230 companies around the world, producing and operating various electrical products, and is one of the top 500 manufacturing companies in the world , is a leader in the electrical industry in the world.

During Konosuke Matsushita’s 70-plus years of business operations, he has experienced many economic depressions and wars: the Japanese economic depression in the 1920s, the Second World War from the late 1930s to the 1940s, and the ensuing Then came the depression in the 1950s, the dollar crisis in the 1960s, and the oil crisis in the 1970s, and the depression almost never stopped.Deflation, inflation, policy containment... Facing the downturn, Konosuke Matsushita led Panasonic to develop against the trend and created countless business miracles. It can be said that Panasonic is a miracle that emerged from the downturn , Konosuke Matsushita has become a spiritual symbol of fighting the recession.

Konosuke Matsushita resigned as chairman of Matsushita Corporation in 1973 and died in 1989.Today, 20 years have passed since the death of Konosuke Matsushita, but Matsushita is still developing strongly, and its management methods are widely spread.Konosuke Matsushita's various experience in fighting the recession is like a shining star guiding us under the current global economic crisis. Viewpoint: If sales are halved, production must be halved, and if production is halved, employees will also have to be halved. Isn't this general view a bit too superficial?When things are not selling well, it is the right way to work together and try to promote them.If you can move forward wholeheartedly, I think the future will gradually become brighter.

During the economic crisis, the first reaction of many companies is to cut wages and lay off employees. Sixty or seventy years ago, Konosuke Matsushita told people with facts that companies that do not cut wages or lay off employees can still get out of the predicament, and even go better . background of the crisis After the end of the First World War, with the reduction of military supplies, the Japanese economy fell into a recession. In 1927, the Showa financial panic occurred. A large number of banks ran on and went bankrupt, and many enterprises also went bankrupt. The Great Depression, and the Japanese government adopted a fiscal austerity policy and implemented the "gold lifting ban", which undoubtedly made things worse and caused intense confusion in the financial circles.The chaos in the financial circles has brought turbulence to the entire Japanese society. Market deflation, falling prices, unsalable products, and news of factory cuts and closures have filled the pages of newspapers. Many companies have to adopt methods such as layoffs and salary cuts However, a large number of labor disputes were caused by this. Even Zhongfang Company, which had always been a national model in terms of employee treatment at that time, had disputes over salary cuts. In such a vicious cycle, the Great Depression and turmoil in the whole society intensified, and even the assassination of the Minister of Finance at that time occurred.

Under such circumstances, Panasonic cannot escape the harsh reality. Product sales have plummeted, and a large number of products in the warehouse are stagnant. In addition, the new factory has not been built soon, and there is a shortage of capital turnover. If the situation continues to deteriorate, it will only go bankrupt.At this time, Konosuke Matsushita, who had always been weak, was lying on the hospital bed again.Under such circumstances, the two persons in charge who took care of the factory for Panasonic at that time came to the conclusion in desperation: In order to get out of the predicament, they had to cut half of the employees.

Unexpectedly, after learning of this conclusion, Konosuke Matsushita miraculously cheered up his spirits on the hospital bed, and resolutely made a decision not to lay off employees or cut wages: "The production volume will be halved immediately, but none of the employees will be fired. The factory The duty time is reduced to half a day, but the salary of the employees is paid in full without a reduction. However, the employees have to do their best to sell the inventory. In this way, first tide over the difficulties and wait for the situation to change. Acting in this way, We can also obtain funds and avoid bankruptcy. As for the loss of half a day's wages, it is a small problem. How to make employees have the concept of "taking the factory as their home" is the most important thing. Therefore, any employees must be employed as usual and not allowed Fire one."

Then, a miracle happened again: due to the hard work of the employees, Panasonic's products not only did not fail to sell well, but production failed to keep up with sales, creating the largest sales since the company was founded, and the haze of the crisis was swept away.By the end of 1931, in addition to general electrical wiring appliances, Panasonic's electric heating department, radio department, battery lamp department, and dry battery department had more than 200 products. In the recession, it continued to expand smoothly, which surprised the industry again and again. .At the same time, this kind of experience has cultivated Panasonic's firm belief that "as long as you persevere to the end, you will succeed in the end".

In a crisis, retreat or advance?If you retreat, you will definitely lose, and if you advance, you may break the sky.At any time, people are fundamental. In times of crisis, the company provides protection and motivation to employees, and what employees return to the company will be endless creativity and infinite possibilities.The employees cultivated in difficult times have the most unbreakable feelings for the company, and the corporate culture established at this time can often become the spiritual pillar that the company will most rely on in the future. Viewpoint: Suffering is encountered, and more importantly: a way to change must be figured out.First of all, you have to relax your mind, and then you have to look forward to change. Change what?To change your mind.To change your thinking, you need to turn 180 degrees, look at the dilemma from the opposite side or from another angle, discover things that you couldn't see before, and then generate new ideas to promote the development of things.Create a new road, it is possible to usher in new opportunities for development.

Innovative thinking is the most basic quality requirement for an entrepreneur.The bicycle light, which later became Panasonic's flagship product, almost died when it first came out. It was Konosuke Matsushita's flexible and innovative thinking that led Panasonic's small team at the time to change their minds and seek breakthroughs, which made this product stand out. background of the crisis During Konosuke Matsushita’s business career spanning more than 70 years, in addition to the downturn in the general environment, various crises of various sizes encountered in the process of business operation are too numerous to list. Panasonic’s ability to come to this day is largely due to Panasonic’s Fortunately, he has a flexible business philosophy.

In the 1920s, the main means of transportation in Japan was bicycles, and the lights of bicycles mainly used candle lights, but this kind of light would go out as soon as the wind blows, which caused inconvenience to travel at night. There were also battery lights on the market at that time, but this kind The battery of the lamp can only last two or three hours, which is not economical and practical.Konosuke Matsushita saw a market opportunity for bicycle lights and decided to develop a new type of car light.After more than six months of testing, a new type of cannonball-shaped bicycle lamp was successfully produced. This lamp can be lit continuously for forty or fifty hours, and has a beautiful appearance. It is more economical and affordable than candle lamps. world revolution.Konosuke Matsushita had a premonition of the bright future of this product and was full of confidence in the new product. In his mind, this kind of car light was perfect.

However, completely beyond the expectation of Konosuke Matsushita, the sales of new products were difficult.All dealers are unwilling to distribute new car lights, because the original battery car lights on the market have a very poor reputation due to quality problems, and dealers basically have a backlog. Therefore, even if it is a new product, dealers would rather be conservative than take risks, resolutely Do not purchase.Another reason is that Panasonic's new battery car lights use a new type of special battery. This type of battery is not yet popular in the market. Dealers believe that customers cannot easily buy spare parts, which will lead to poor product sales.The advantages of new products that Konosuke Matsushita thinks are almost all disadvantages in the eyes of dealers. There is no progress in sales, and the finished products in the warehouse have to continue to increase because of contracts with spare parts manufacturers. New products have just been developed. Warehouse backlog. Holding the belief that "good things will sell well in the end", Konosuke Matsushita changed his mind and found another way out, abandoning dealers and directly attacking retail stores.All Panasonic’s retail stores in Osaka store two or three car lights. One of the car lights is required to be lit on the spot, and the duration is guaranteed to be more than 30 hours. If the situation is true and the owner agrees, the rest of the car lights will be sold. Give it to the customer and explain the test results to the customer. If the light bulb bought back by the customer cannot be continuously lit for more than 30 hours, there is no need to pay.Panasonic also hired 3 foreign affairs staff to inspect every day.In fact, this was a very bold and even dangerous decision. If these light bulbs that were taken out for storage did not get a response from the market, they might not be able to get a dime back, and the factory might have poor capital turnover. It could be fatal. However, the effect came better than expected.At first, the salesman brought back a few good news and money from selling a few headlights every day. Gradually, the headlights became more and more popular, and many retail stores took the initiative to call or write to order.What is even more unexpected is that many retail stores asked dealers to deliver Panasonic's car lights because they thought it was troublesome to order by calling or writing. When there was demand, dealers would automatically come to ask for orders, and this happened. A 180-degree change. It turned out that Panasonic came to ask for dealers but was rejected. Now the dealers have to turn back and ask them for goods. If you are poor, you will change, and if you change, you will succeed. "People's concepts can be stretched and stretched like Sun Wukong's Ruyi stick, and can play a magical role in difficult situations." There is a way to success in everything, and the key is whether we can find it.In a difficult situation, if you change your mind and seek a new breakthrough point, the probability of success must be much higher than sticking to the stereotype. Viewpoint: Facing the difficult situation, we should regard it as the foundation of unprecedented development, and then consolidate the foundation of Panasonic's century-old development.When we are in trouble, it is a great opportunity for us to develop our careers, change the environment, and control our destiny.We should use the environment to seek development.No one welcomes the downturn, but we might as well regard the downturn as an opportunity to "turn disaster into blessing". In the previous crises experienced by Konosuke Matsushita, it is difficult for us to imagine the impact of the chaos in Japanese society after the end of World War II on Panasonic Corporation. Rectify and plan for a rainy day.The development of an enterprise depends on how far it goes. What Konosuke Matsushita sees is the road to the future, thus laying the foundation for Panasonic's century-old foundation. background of the crisis On August 15, 1945, Japan unconditionally surrendered and World War II ended.As a defeated country, Japan was hit hard, and its economy almost collapsed. At the end of August, the Allied forces commanded by MacArthur entered Japan, which caused a sharp shock in Japanese society.Panasonic was even asked to stop producing necessities for people's livelihood. Although through unremitting efforts, production gradually resumed, and the first post-war sales began in November, but the sales were seriously insufficient, and the huge bank loan interest payment was a heavy burden. The burden, coupled with insufficient equipment and food shortages, made it impossible to improve the overall production efficiency, and Panasonic seemed to be in a predicament of powerlessness. At this time, Konosuke Matsushita, who was used to going against the trend, resolutely put forward the four major policies of "high salary, high efficiency, specialized subdivision, and improved technology" to increase employee salaries, standardize the 8-hour work system, subdivide the operation process, and improve Production, innovative technology, and drastic reforms have laid the groundwork for the post-war revival and the foundation for future development. However, misfortunes never come singly. In March 1946, Matsushita was designated as a chaebol by the Allied Forces, and all assets were frozen. Even Konosuke Matsushita's personal property was frozen, so that he had to rely on borrowing from friends to survive.By November, both Kosuke Matsushita and those above the executive director position of Matsushita had received dismissal orders because they "used to be senior employees of a munitions company". The impact of the Panasonic Corporation is facing the danger of collapse and dissolution at any time.During this period, Konosuke Matsushita's tenacious character was undoubtedly revealed. He went to Tokyo, where the headquarters of the Allied Forces is located, to protest 50 times, and negotiated more than 100 times, demanding the removal of the chaebol designation.Unexpectedly, the labor union, which is generally opposed to the company, took the initiative to launch a movement to end the "President's Expulsion". This is inseparable from Panasonic's resolute protection of employees' interests in times of crisis.After unremitting efforts, the deportation order was finally lifted after 4 months.However, Matsushita was still required to dissolve all subsidiaries, which meant that Matsushita itself would be dissolved until February 1949, when the order to dissolve Matsushita was officially revoked due to a change in policy.The company came back from the brink of life and death again. During the period, in 1948, in order to curb post-war inflation, the Japanese government adopted a fiscal austerity policy. Although this controlled the continuous rise in prices to a certain extent, the industry encountered serious financial difficulties as a result, and companies rushed to collapse.The sales situation of Panasonic has deteriorated sharply, coupled with the huge debts, Panasonic has reached the point where it needs to pay employees' salaries in installments. The company has been reported in the newspapers because of late payment of goods tax. title.However, it is unimaginable that in such an extraordinary period, Konosuke Matsushita reorganized the factory again, began to rebuild operations, implemented institutional reforms, and focused on strengthening the sales network.Konosuke Matsushita visited agents and dealerships all over the country in person, established a friendly organization of dealerships - International Co-Prosperity Association, restored the alliance store system, and fully assisted the dealerships to consolidate the centripetal force.At the same time, set up business offices nationwide, and then set up offices in county and city party committees to strengthen the sales system.By March 1950, Panasonic Corporation carried out major institutional reforms again, restored the business department system, and established a joint venture sales company with an agency company to monopolize Panasonic products.These measures have boosted the sales enthusiasm of agents and dealers, and established an extremely stable and intimate relationship such as "Panasonic is the factory of the agent, and the agent is a branch of Panasonic". In the post-chaotic period, the role of getting through various crises safely has played a role that cannot be ignored. Be prepared and plan for a rainy day.In the most unfavorable environment, in addition to responding to the current crisis, the significance of reform lies in the future. In 1950, the Korean War broke out, and the United States began to order a large amount of supplies from Japan, and the Japanese economy, which had sunk to the bottom, ushered in the dawn.At this time, Panasonic, after undergoing continuous reform and improvement in difficult times, is like a phoenix nirvana, relying on scientific and reasonable company internal structure, strong production and technical capabilities, unparalleled cohesion of employees, and an extremely smooth and strong centripetal force. Marketing network, seize the opportunity, rise rapidly, and start the journey of overseas market, taking a tentative but extremely solid step towards becoming a large international company. Angels and devils are only in one thought, and danger and opportunity are also in one thought.Facing the predicament, whether to resign oneself to fate and feel sorry for oneself, or to rise up and make great use of it will determine the ultimate success or failure of the enterprise.Fortune is the source of misfortune, and misfortune is the source of good fortune. How to turn misfortune into blessing is the most important question that enterprises should think about in times of crisis.As Konosuke Matsushita said: We must believe that in doing business, whether it is a boom or a recession, it can consolidate the foundation for progress.