Peter Drucker: Shaping the Managerial Mind

Over the years since I started working as an engineer in the late sixties & also at different times in my life till now, I have read many of Peter Drucker's works on management, change, entrepreneurial endeavour & executive effectiveness. I had bought this book just after it was published. What attracted me was firstly, the author's credentials: He had followed Peter Drucker for over forty years & had kept notes on materials from Drucker's lectures, books, articles, conversations & correspondence. Secondly, the book had covered some sixty years of Drucker's thoughtwares. I thought I could have access to further insights & new perspectives. I have not been disappointed at all. In the context of my own interests, I have found it very refreshing to re-read & attain a finer understanding of many important concepts. Let me share some of my favourites with readers: - Drucker talked about perception. He defined perception as seeing what everybody else had seen but ignored & thinking through what nobody else had thought through. He observed that "people see what is presented to them; what is not presented tends to be "problems" - especially in the areas where performance skills falls below expectations - which means that managers tend not to see opportunities. They are simply not being presented with them." [This reconciles in some way with the work of Edward de Bono, another great throught leader. Please read his 'Opportunities: A Handbook of Business Opportunity Search.] - In dealing with the future, Drucker suggested thinking about the future in three classifications: 1) projection (the future that has already happened); 2) anticipation (the future that one expects to happen); 3) innovation (a systematic methodology for inventing the future); [Many of the intellectual works from the World Future Society's members, nothwithstanding other consultants, are based essentially on these concepts.] - Innovation is purposeful planned change, the sowing of seeds today for an entirely new & different business tomorrow; [Many innovation consultants/authors have exploited this concept through their books & seminars.] - Drucker provided an array of practical tactics for identifying entrepreneurial opportunities, namely: 1) the unexpected (success, failure, outside event); 2) incongruities; 3) demographics; 4) industry & market structure; 5) creative imitation; 6) entrepreneurial judo; 7) the ecological niche; (Frankly, I thought the author did a much better job than Drucker in enlightening me here!) [Michel Robert, a well-known international consultant in strategic thinking, readily exploited these concepts & even created a very successful proprietary methodology called 'Strategic Product Innovation Process', under Decision Processes International, which he founded in 1980. Please read his book, Strategic Product Innovation, Pure & Simple.] - Drucker maintained that inside a business were only costs, efforts, problems, frictions,

Peter Drucker is perhaps the most influential thinker on business and management in the world today, and John E. Flaherty explains why in this in-depth analysis of Drucker's work and ideas. He starts with biographical details and provides a definitive account of Drucker's achievements as a management researcher, thinker, and writer. Flaherty's fascinating book highlights Drucker's contributions to the fields of management and business strategy. Of necessity, the author includes summaries of Drucker's books and quotes from his work. But, reaching a little deeper, Flaherty also shows how Drucker, who began as a social and political theorist, came to create the new academic field of management. Many of Drucker's early ideas are still applicable today, as Flaherty makes abundantly clear in this book, which we [...] strongly recommend to managers of all levels and students of business.

The book came out after Jack Beatty's excellent book, The World According to Peter Drucker. That ordering of publication was fortuitous for the two authors, and for those who will read their books.Beatty's book works from the level of the detail, exposing critical sections of Drucker's writings that few will have read. Based on that, many (myself included) found new works of Drucker's to examine. As a result, one's knowledge and understanding grew. Flaherty's book works from the opposite direction. It begins with the themes and works towards the detail. After being immersed in Beatty's detail and intellectual history approach, this book extends your knowledge in another useful way. He indentifies the six dominating themes as: (1) a systems approach (2) continuity and change (3) challenge of productivity (4) role of the practitioner (5) moral dimension (6) organization of ignorance.Anyone who is familiar with Drucker's writings will immediately recognize these themes and recall favorite passages and examples. On the other hand, those who are new to the writings will find them helpful to put Drucker's work in context as the work is learned.One of the things that amazes all those who know Drucker is the astonishing extent of his knowledge and perspective. He is just as likely to use an example from 1215 as one from 1995. He will refer to the evolution of Japanese art as readily as to the divisionalization of General Motors. Professor Flaherty has a wonderful quote from Drucker that explains that perspective. Drucker defines himself as a " . . . social ecologist concerned with man's man-made environment." Does that sound like any other management thinker you have ever met or read?As Professor Flaherty points out, almost all management writings draw something from Drucker so these themes will also help you to see the Drucker influence in newer books.More significantly, these themes are also deeply imbedded in the way almost every manager and executive thinks about managerial tasks and responsibilities. So, you can also connect Drucker to your own thinking and proclivities. After reading this book, you will probably come away with an expanded and more appropriate understanding of the pervasive and defining influence that Professor Peter Ferdinand Drucker has had on us and our world. Our debt to him can never be repaid. I congratulate Professor Flaherty on the fine job he has done in this important defining work. For future generations yet unborn, this book will become an important primer into the social effects of Peter Drucker's thinking and life. Even he does not realize how pervasive his influence is. What a wonderful tribute for his 90th birthday!Use this book to consider how you could create more positive influences on the people who come into contact with you, your ideas, and your ideals.

Peter Drucker is a subject in and of itself. His insights into the movement of people and their actions are legendary within the business world. This book provides a clear, essential summary of his life work. If you are in business (which is most of us), if you are looking for ideas, or just plain interested in who thought up some of the "common" business maps of the day, chances are you can read this book and find out that they are all linked to Mr. Drucker. This is not your normal biography- there is real substance here.

To leaders, students, and admirers everywhere, he is `the father of modern management' and `the man who invented corporate America.' According to Forbes magazine, he is still `the youngest managerial mind' after sixty prolific years of writing, lecturing, and consulting. He is Peter F. Drucker, the world's most widely read and influential thinker on business and management.While there have been several books about Peter Drucker and his life, this is the first to present a comprehensive synthesis and in-depth analysis of his works and insights on management. Drawing from over forty years as a student, follower, and friend, John E. Flaherty has created a definitive account of Drucker's managerial achievements. An expert on management himself, Flaherty provides readers with a practical overview of Drucker's most important contributions to management and business strategy. He not only captures Drucker's fundamental management concepts and ideas but also shows how these principles have current relevance for today's practitioners.At 90, Peter Drucker is, by all accounts, the most enduring management thinker of our time. Born in Vienna, educated in Austria and England, he has worked since 1937 in the United States, first as an economist for a group of British banks and insurance companies, and later as a management consultant to several leading companies. Drucker has since had a distinguished career as a teacher, including more than twenty years as Professor of Management at the Graduate Business School of New York University. Since 1971 he has been Marie Rankin Clarke Professor of Social Science and Management at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University in California, where he still teaches in the fields of management and business policy. He is the founder of The Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, and has counseled numerous governments, public service institutions, and major corporations.For those new to Peter Drucker, this essential compendium is a crash course on his most profound discoveries on management, change, entrepreneurial endeavor, and executive effectiveness. For those who have read Drucker's extensive writings, this significant volume offers deeper insight into his more novel and far-reaching concepts. Filled with useful summaries and checklists of key lessons, Peter Drucker: Shaping the Managerial Mind distills a lifetime of wisdom and experience for managers and students everywhere.Reviewed by Azlan Adnan, Managing Partner of Azlan & Koh Knowledge and Professional Management Group, an education and management consulting practice based in Kota Kinabalu. Azlan has a MA in International Business and Management from the University of Westminster