Kōnosuke Matsushita

Kōnosuke Matsushita was a famous Japanese businessman.

He founded Panasonic, which is a very large electronics company. In Japan, people often call him the "God of Management." He was born on November 27, 1894, in a village called Wasamura. His father was a wealthy landlord in the Wakayama area. After leaving school, Matsushita worked at a barbecue restaurant. That business failed after only one year. He then found work at the Osaka Electric Light Company. He worked hard and received many promotions there.

Matsushita learned a lot about electricity during his early jobs. At age 22, he became an electrical inspector. He even tried to sell a new light socket he invented. His boss did not want to buy it at first. In 1917, Matsushita decided to start his own company. He had no money or formal training in making things. He set up a small shop in a basement. He worked there with his wife and some assistants. They made samples of products to try and sell.

Starting the business was a very hard job. At first, he could not sell his products to wholesalers. Many of his assistants left because the company had no money. Things were so difficult that he once pawned his wife's kimono. Everything changed when he got a large order for insulator plates. These plates were for electric fans. He also made an oval bicycle lamp. Older lamps used candles or oil and only lasted three hours. His lamp used a battery and a lightbulb instead. This was a much better way to see at night.

Matsushita learned that selling was just as important as making goods. He built a strong sales force to reach more people. In 1929, he organized his company into different parts. He had a parent company and special branches for different products. He focused on bicycle lamps, electrical sockets, and radios. He also set up regional offices to help coordinate sales. This helped his company grow across Japan. By 1950, his company was one of the largest in the world.

Even after he stopped being president, Matsushita stayed very busy. He wrote 44 books about his ideas on life and business. One book about peace and prosperity sold over four million copies. He also started an institute to train future leaders in 1979. In 1987, he received the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers. He lived to be 94 years old. He died in 1989 from pneumonia. His company grew to have billions of dollars in revenue. His legacy lives on through the electronics we use every day.