Panasonic: People before Things

Author: Ni Deling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: The "Hundred Family Enterprise Culture Project Series" has previously launched five books: "Centennial Human Care—General Electric," "We Are Different—Walmart," "Technology for People—Nokia," "Creating People First—Panasonic," and "A Free Paradise for the Wise—Microsoft." These books systematically and vividly provide business professionals with real-life stories of how top 500 global and renowned Chinese enterprises implement and apply their corporate culture. They transform concepts into stories and stories into concepts—through authentic corporate culture stories and concise insights, readers gain an understanding of how outstanding ideas from world-class companies are and executed, revealing the trajectory and influential charm behind the culture formation of these successful enterprises. This is the key feature of the series.
Masaharu Matsushita, who couldn’t write letters, led three employees to build a company from scratch, growing it into a multi-thousand-strong enterprise. With millions of words in his legacy speeches, Panasonic has become a Japanese company that explicitly expresses its corporate spirit and values through product sales. Behind this is Panasonic’s commitment to treating sales services as if "selling a daughter," ensuring full responsibility. It is Panasonic’s founder, Masaharu Matsushita, who insists on doing things "to the point where the water turns red" to demonstrate full effort. It is the belief that "creating products starts with creating people" as the fundamental principle of business, rather than viewing employees as mere cogs in a bureaucratic machine. The 24 stories in the book vividly showcase the inner strength embodied by the Panasonic spirit.