Doctor of Business Administration, Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University: Ryuta Suzuki

A magnificent organization that is accepting of employee entrepreneurship is key to its implementation. Although in a large company there may be many employees who feel it is difficult to implement such an approach, if there is a close-knit community in the workplace, it is no doubt easier for employees to be themselves and showcase their ingenuity. It is important to create open communities that are free of fixed values and notions, and that constantly expose employees to new behaviors and mindsets. It is also important that there are open discussions in which employees can express their differences of opinion.

Panasonic employees are lucky to have a culture of cooperation and mutual support. On the other hand, it seems to me as though there is too much appreciation for reliability. There is a danger that in order to be reliable, people will follow precedent. The key is how to encourage people to utilize their own ideas.

One example I would like to use is that of Tamanoi Vinegar Co., Ltd. in Osaka. Two things that Tamanoi places particular importance on are cooperation and the idea that employees should never think about their limitations. In its personnel development programs, for example, the company will entrust a major project to a young employee. Even if the employee’s negotiations with a client don’t go as planned and they struggle, the company will make sure the employee continues and does what they think needs to be done. While of course mistakes are made, it is only when they begin to give up on a task that they come up with new ideas. By gaining this kind of experience, eventually they are able to succeed. Risks must be taken to implement employee entrepreneurship, and this is why a community that has your back and that you can turn to for advice is paramount. Communities like this can give encouragement, offer support, and enable you to give everything.

One of my favorite quotes is from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, in which he writes, “For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.” It is a pack that enables a wolf to develop strength, while a strong pack is full of strong wolves. The same can be said for the relationship between an individual and an organization. In other words, it is the interaction between the individual and their organization that make the company stronger.

Another important element is to develop care and consideration within the community. A community cannot be strong if it lacks care and consideration for those inside it, and it is only once this care and consideration exists that one can think about what they can do to benefit the company. For me, I don’t think employee entrepreneurship is something that can be done alone. Rather, I believe it means doing what you think benefits the company alongside your colleagues.

On the other hand, for the employee to develop a sense of attachment to the organization, the organization must place value on the employee. As people, we marry or partner with those who choose and value us. In the same way, as long as the organization promotes employee entrepreneurship, it is essential that it values each and every one of its employees. In turn, the employee will develop a sense of attachment for their organization and workplace, while the sense of security that this environment offers will enable the employee to thoroughly implement employee entrepreneurship. In this sense, the organization and the individual are on an equal footing.

Also key to a strong organization are a set of guidelines that show employees how to implement the relevant philosophies and policies. However, I also believe it is important that people do not simply abide by these guidelines and stop thinking independently. One of the Panasonic Leadership Principles, for example, is Customer Focus. Some might interpret this as the need to quickly respond to customers’ needs, while others might think it means to create something that satisfies the customer, even if it takes time. That is to say, as employees will implement employee entrepreneurship in their own ways and based on diverse values, it is important to recognize the diversity of their specific actions. This is why, rather than being an instruction manual or a set of rules, I believe the PLP should be a point of reference.

While the individual principles and their details look like employee declarations, it might be better to think of them as a letter from your fellow colleagues about how you should act together. Employees can then think about how to respond to and act on this letter in their own way. In other words, employees should think about what Panasonic, their job, and their well-being means to them personally, alongside the PLP. I look forward to Panasonic employees investigating what work and life means to them and taking concrete action.

Doing so will naturally lead to the implementation of employee entrepreneurship, and it is then that your close-knit workplace community becomes most important. This in turn will enable the implementation of employee entrepreneurship without fear.