What is a Personal Mission
Faculty Book Recommendation:
"Matsushita Leadership"
“Matsushita Leadership" is a book written by John P. Kotter about one of Japan’s most inspirational leaders and founder of Matsushita Electronics Industries (Panasonic), Mr. Konosuke Matsushita (KM).
I have seen it piled up at Harvard Book Store when I was studying abroad. Thought I knew quite a lot about KM and did not read it untill recently, I still found the book very inspirational.
Here’s a short overview of the background of KM.
After losing most of his family members at an early age, being thrown into poverty and working six-teen hours a day at age nine, Mr. Matsushita’s future didn’t look bright at all.
But through the many hardships he went through, he kept on improving himself and by learning from his failures, he ultimately became a successful entrepreneur and led his business to become one of the most successful companies in the 20th century. Not only was he a successful businessman, later on in life he became also known as a philanthropist, an innovator, educator, and author of several books.
Here are some lessons I particularly enjoyed:
- KM found that the ideal (product) offering had to be 30 percent better, yet 30 percent cheaper than the standard fare.
- Willingness to take risks, to experiment and to learn.
- Over the long term, the skill, determination, and motivation of employees is almost always key. “Collective wisdom” is essential.
- A leader becomes a good role model when he or she is humble, respectful, open to new experiences, diligent, hardworking, and optimistic.
- "Starting anew every day."
I also found many similarities between the Matsushita Institute of Government & Management and GLOBIS University. Motivation and determination (kokorozashi) play a big role in both of these institutions!
I hope that you enjoy this book as much as I did.
Sincerely,
Tomoya Nakamura
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Dean Tomoya Nakamura
Organizational Behavior and HRM
Management Philosophy
Global/Asia/Japan Specialization
Education:
MBA, Harvard Business School
BA in Social Studies, Hitotsubashi University
Biography:
Mr. Tomoya Nakamura is in charge of the English MBA Programs at GLOBIS University. He teaches subjects in the leadership arena and the globalization arena. Mr. Nakamura conducted various global training programs for corporate clients. He periodically writes a column, "Ki and Management" periodically at GLOBIS.JP.
Prior to GLOBIS, he started his professional career at Marubeni Corporation, reorganized an invested company at Advantage Partners and was the Senior Managing Director of Sun-Life Corporation (JASDAQ). At Sun-Life he introduced a progressive ESOP for more than 250 employees including part-time workers. Mr. Nakamura graduated from Hitotsubashi University with a degree in Social Studies, and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. As a Research Associate of the General Management Unit of Harvard Business School, Mr.Nakamura wrote two HBS cases that apply Eastern philosophy to management.
