Management Excellence by Art Petty

I’ve highlighted on occasion my pride in being an alumni member of one of the world’s great organizations, Matsushita (now formally known as Panasonic).  I left in 1996 to continue my still-early career development, and like most other things in life, I figured out a number of years later what a remarkable and formative experience it truly was. 

While there are many memorable elements of my eight years working in and for this Japanese company, including a tremendous exposure to the country and people of Japan, I credit my experience here for opening my eyes to the power of establishing strong values as bedrock for leading and for managerial decision-making.

I reflected on the Basic Business Principles as the values are known at Matsushita, when I co-authored the Values for a future employer, and I reflect and draw upon them regularly as I teach sections on Values-Focused Leadership in workshops and classrooms.  A typical session will end with a majority of participants highlighting how they never understood until now how powerful the corporate values could be in strengthening their culture, driving performance and guiding behavior.  This is a valuable lesson to learn for all of us. 

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