My Way of Life and Thinking （日本語書名『私の行き方 考え方』）
In the late autumn of 1904, Japan was caught up in the Russo-Japanese War. All alone, a nine-year-old boy left his hometown for Osaka to begin an apprenticeship. His mother, in tears, watched him board the train at Kinokawa Station in Wakayama. Her lonely figure as the train pulled out of the station was a scene that was to be deeply engraved in his mind forever. His first days on his own began. Struggling in the big city, he lived through his days with hope for the future.
This was the start of the career of Konosuke Matsushita, who went on to live out a life filled with lofty aspirations.
In 1918, 23-year-old Matsushita set up his own business and began working on his own inventions. Relentlessly pursuing innovation in products and management, that tiny workshop grew into the global corporation we know today as Panasonic.
My Way of Life and Thinking is the self-told story of one of the most outstanding entrepreneurs of the 20th century. No ordinary autobiography, this inspirational volume provides insight into Matsushita’s approach to life and philosophy of management and is a testimony to his lifelong pursuit of entrepreneurship, leadership and an idealistic vision that began at an early age. The implications of his story are powerfully relevant today to people seeking to question what it is to live a meaningful life.
My Way of Life and Thinking
Contents
Preface
Part One (1894-1918)
1. Boyhood
Childhood/To Osaka/Apprenticeship/The Bicycle Shop/Father’s Guidance/
I Sell My First Bicycle/Death of My Father
2. The Electric Light Company
Leaving the Bicycle Shop/The Osaka Electric Light Company/Promotion to
Installation Technician/My First Theater Wiring Job/The Age of Electricity
Dawns/Night School/Marriage
3. My Own Business
Challenging My Potential/The New Socket/Windfall
Part Two (1918-1927)
4. The Ohiraki-cho Works
The Attachment Plug/Hard Work and Good Luck/A TokyoOffice/The
Hoichi Kai/The Fruits of Perseverance
5. A New Factory
A New Factory/Sure and Steady Progress/The Bicycle Lamp/Fighting Old
Stereotypes/Radical Sales Promotion Method/Expanding Our Sales Network
6. The Great Kanto Earthquake
The Great Kanto Earthquake/Tempest in the Toilet/Reopening the Tokyo
Office/The First Distributors Meeting/Bicycle Lamp Sales Wrangle
7. Friends and Supporters
Taikan Kato/Tetsujiro Nakao/Strength in Both Manufacturing and Sales/
Solidarity and Success/Election Victory
Part Three (1927-1933)
8. Expanding the Business
Scrutinizing My Business Approach/Test of Fortune/Birth of the National
Brand/The Electrothermal Business/The “Super Iron”/The Management of
the Electrothermal Division
9. Year of Crisis
The 1927 Financial Panic/The Value of Trust/The Death of My Son
10. Growth During Recession
Second Head Office and Factory/The 1929 Depression/My Private Anti-
Depression Strategy/Rescuing Hashimoto Electric
11. Business and Human Resources
Business Philosophy as a Public Entity / The Development of Human
Resources
12. Radio and BatteryProduction
Manufacturing Radio Sets / Price and Profit / The National Lamp / Purchasing
the Battery Factory
13. The Missionof Enterprise
Training of the Employees/The Power of Religion/Hints for Better
Management/The Spirit of Management/First Founding Day/Step by Step
14. Birth of a New Spirit
Spring Athletic Meet/People of Caliber / The Staff Training School / Moving
the Head Office / The Seven Principles
Appendices
Timeline
Index
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