Making People Before Products

Many years ago, if a customer asked, "What does Matsushita Electric make?" I told my then-young employees to answer, "We make people, and at the same time we make electrical goods."
At that time, I felt that an enterprise was made of people, that those people must first be trained and cultivated, and that an enterprise whose employees did not grow as people would not be successful. So that is what I told them, and that atmosphere spread among the employees. Despite being short of skills, funding and confidence, I believe that, more than anything, that philosophy became the major driving force behind the strong development of our company.

Source : "Konosuke Matsushita Daily Thoughts"