What is preserved today can serve the next generation.
In 1932, Konosuke clarified the mission of the business and presented a long-term vision for 250 years.[4] A person faced the inventory in front of him, but at the same time he was thinking about a time that far exceeded his own lifetime. The magnitude of that distance is interesting.
Talking about the distant future does not mean taking today's payments lightly. The trust maintained today may give rise to tomorrow's cooperation. The technology developed today may be used for work that has yet to be named. Even distant ideas can only reach us with such accumulation at our feet.
This is not a story about no need to reduce personnel in any difficult situation. Not all companies can replicate Konosuke's move. Still, there is room to ask questions when you get stuck. Before deciding what to remove, consider what you want to keep. Which jobs can you change to achieve this?
People with that order try to put numbers and people in the same perspective in difficult situations. What I want to pass on to the future, more than just a single success story, is the order in which I think about it.
nagi usano from Tokyo, Japan / Wikimedia Commons/Image source / CC BY 4.0(No modification of photo content)
What you take home from this life.
Be prepared to protect others.
The power to change your work.
- Decide first what you want to protect.Employment and wage policies during the recession. Once the axis of decision-making is determined, it becomes possible to see what work needs to be changed.
- Turn trust into concrete measures.Reduce production and shift efforts to sales. Connecting the intention of valuing people to procedures that enable the workplace to take action.
- Leave a foundation for the next generation to work on.Immediate numbers and long-lasting relationships. Focusing on both will support future work.
The question in a difficult situation is not just what to cut. What to keep and what to change.
Take the wisdom you read and take a step forward today.
Write down one commitment you intend to keep.
This week, choose one person or promise you want to keep. To achieve this, write down each task that can be reduced, time that can be transferred, and cooperation that can be requested.
Open hint to think about
If you consider ``which tasks to eliminate'' before ``who to reduce,'' you will have more options. Please include the person who will bear the burden and the date you would like to confirm your plan.
Historical materials and editing
This is a special feature on people based on publicly available historical materials. Events recorded in the history of the company and discussions by YAMATO DENSHI are separately recorded. New interviews with the individuals themselves and conversations by YAMATO DENSHI are not reproduced.
- Panasonic "Until its founding (1894–1918)"
- Panasonic "1918"
- Panasonic "Konosuke Matsushita Story 2-4 Half-day Operation"
- Panasonic "1932 - Clarifying its true mission"
Confirmation date of historical materials and images: October 11, 2026
Source of portrait photo
Konosuke Matsushita, 1929. Photographer unknown. Historical photo published on Wikimedia Commons.
Photographer unknown / Wikimedia Commons/Image source / PD-Japan-oldphoto(No modification of photo content)
伝Interpreting YAMATO DENSHI
Investment in the future shows in how people are treated today.
It's one thing to say that people are an asset and how to treat people in times of hardship are two different things. What YAMATO DENSHI has learned from this winter is that values are expressed not in words during normal times, but in concrete measures taken when options are reduced. The culture we leave behind is also made up of small daily decisions.