After more than 20 years with Panasonic, Magnus McDermid (LinkedIn) has learned a lot about what it means to truly partner with a customer, and the types of innovations and advancements that can be born out of those relationships.
Magnus holds a number of positions within Panasonic, including SVP of Panasonic North America and Panasonic Canada President Heartland Customer Solutions, SVP Mobility Solutions USA and VP Enterprise Solutions Canada. But regardless of what title he holds, Magnus explains that his success, and the success of the company as a whole, all comes down to the relationship with the customer. It is through those relationships that some of Panasonic’s most popular and important products have been created, and the partnership between company and consumer continues to be a well of innovation. On an episode of IT Visionaries, Magnus talks about all of that and more, plus he gives his advice on how to stick and grow a company for decades.
Here are some of the highlights from the conversation.
The Toughbook Backstory
In the mid-1990s, Panasonic’s customers were giving feedback that they wanted their mobile workers to use software applications, but they were frustrated with the quality of the products on the market because they could not withstand hard days out in the field. Panasonic responded by creating the Toughbook, which became popular in the military, with police, EMT and other emergency workers, and others who spent a lot of time in vehicles, out in the field and doing hard, mobile-focused work. That has evolved in the years since into a catalog of devices and applications for all sorts of work environments, including vehicle-mounted devices, handhelds, and more. There are plans for wearables, facial recognition and other technology to be introduced in the future, but Magnus stresses that, as always, it comes down to what the customer wants and needs, and what will serve them best. And, no matter what they deploy, everything they produce has to function reliably because the Panasonic tech is more often than not being used in environments where technology is critical.
“We deploy these devices in areas that are very mission critical,” he says. “They just can’t fail. So the commitment that we have is to building and engineering things that can withstand a lot because if the device breaks or the hardware breaks, if the technology breaks, you can no longer apply the software.”
What is the Gemba Kaizen Process?
According to the Panasonic website, “the Gemba Kaizen approach is a Japanese concept of continuous improvement designed for enhancing processes and reducing waste. The concept’s core objective is operational excellence.” Magnus explains that the word “gemba” is literally translated to simply “work being done.” Panasonic is using the approach and applying it to innovate solutions in a number of areas all driven by E-commerce, such as supply chain, logistics, manufacturing, and others. The questions they are asking and trying to answer is just how to make things more efficient in whatever industry they are working in.
The Challenges of being a Leader
Magnus manages many people in various countries, states and departments. The way he finds success all boils down to always hiring the right people. From there it’s about maintaining open communications, meeting often and making sure everyone is on the same page.
“My philosophy around leading organizations is really relatively straight forward — my main job as a business leader is to find the right people and put them in the right jobs, communicate our strategy clearly, and then allow those people to do the job,” Magnus explains. “And I find that effective. So to me, it’s all about team development and putting the right people in place. If everybody’s buying into the strategy and the messaging and you know, the overall business structure, I find that the most effective way to organize.”
To listen to the entire interview, click here.
