Panasonic
Strategic Concepts & Mechanics
Primary Evidence
"To win over Panasonic, Straubel needed to convince Yamada that Tesla meant business. He had a plan. It harked back to how Tesla had cajoled early investors into taking a chance on a little startup. To stoke Daimler and Toyota for the Model S, years before it was ready, they had worked up mule cars—dummies that were close enough to the real thing to give their audience a taste of what was to come. Tesla needed something they could showcase, a mule factory. Blueprints for a factory, however, failed to capture the kind of excitement their prototype cars had. The Tesla team became convinced that they needed to demonstrate to Panasonic and other suppliers how serious they were about the project. Quietly, they forged a deal with landowners in Sparks and began preparing the site for construction. They called bulldozers and earth movers from around the state, erected massive lights, began moving tons of dirt. The bill was enormous, climbing to $2 million a day. Straubel wanted to have a site prepped for a demonstration to Tesla’s would-be partners. He had to make it convincing enough to suggest that Tesla was charging forward—with or without them."
"Consumer electronics revolution─① Konosuke Matsushita (Panasonic), ② Masaru Ibuka & Akio Morita (Sony)"
"Obviously, every company started as a small venture. This applies to even the major corporations like Toyota and Panasonic today. What commonalities exist among the leaders who grew small ventures into massive corporate groups? It is the ability to read the trends and swiftly act to capture burgeoning industries. Allow me to provide some examples."
"◆ Identify changes in “trends” early and act swiftly This is where the second character “流” [to go with the flow of the times, not against the tide] comes into play. Obviously, every company started as a small venture. This applies to even the major corporations like Toyota and Panasonic today. What commonalities exist among the leaders who grew small ventures into massive corporate groups? It is the ability to read the trends and swiftly"