Customer Reviews

The Essential Drucker: The Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before going further, let me note that this book is mislabeled. The excerpts in this book are from only ten of Professor Drucker's more than 30 management books. Although there is some reference to nonprofit management (where he spent half of his time), this volume does not encapsulate all of his ideas in that sphere. Many of his early ideas about society are also missing.

As great as his ideas about management are, his observations about how to think are even more valuable. The book contains no material from his autobiography, Adventures of a Bystander. You cannot hope to fully appreciate this material until you read that book.

What the book does contain is a fairly easy to follow series of 26 excerpts from the ten books, organized into three sections: Management, Individual, and Society. These books date back to 1954, so you get an overview of part of his work over the last 47 years. This overview will mainly be valuable to managers who have read very little Drucker, since there is essentially no new material in the book. The excerpts are also not connected by any transitions, so there is no additional perspective available from the book's organization.

Here are the sources of the chapters:

The New Realities, Chapters 1 and 26;

Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, Chapters 2, 3, 5, and 18;

Managing for the Future, Chapters 4 and 19;

Management Challenges for the 21st Century, Chapters 6, 15, 21;

Managing in a Time of Great Change, Chapters 7 and 23;

Practice of Management, Chapter 8;

Frontiers of Management, Chapter 9;

Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Chapters 10-12, 20, and 24;

The Effective Executive, Chapters 13, 14, 16, and 17; and

Post-Capitalist Society, Chapters 22 and 25.

If you are not familiar with Professor Drucker, he is generally considered to be the first person to think systematically about what management is and needs to become. He was also the first to identify that we were moving into a knowledge-based society where the focus of work and the ways that work is organized would have to be totally transformed. His definition of what a business must do is the most often quoted one around: "The purpose of a business is to create a customer." Innovation and marketing are the prime tasks. The book is especially deep in references to his seminal thinking on how to innovate and to operate entrepreneurial businesses. He was also the first twentieth century thinker to see the connection between management of for profit and nonprofit organizations, and that both types of organizations are needed in growing numbers for a sound society. This book is also deeply presents his thinking about the social responsibility of business.

I am still impressed by how substantial his imprint is on all management books that I read. Whether or not Professor Drucker is cited, credited, or admired in these books, almost all of them are simply restatements or elaborations on his fundamental concepts. I hope this edition of his work will help extend his influence further into the future with new generations of executives and managers.

After you finish reading these landmark ideas, I suggest that you think about one element of the book from the individual section. What values do you want to bring to your work? Are you succeeding? If yes, congratulations! How can you accomplish more? If not, what can you change to make those values come to life?

Use your work as a canvas upon which to paint a better world, as Professor Drucker has!

The late Peter F. Drucker invented the discipline that we know as Management. This book is an excellent compilation of his best works, written over six decades and published in journals, magazines and over 30 books.
I am amazed at the breadth and depth of this compilation. It includes several topics (categorized in sections for Management, The Individual and Society). In the first few chapters Drucker defines management through its tasks and states that "there is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer" (page 20). In the other chapters you will learn Management by Objectives (MBO), the process of making effective decisions, the importance of focusing on contributions and results, get introduced to the "knowledge worker" (page 304), a term Drucker created in the 60s, and learn about the "post-capitalist society" with knowledge as the central resource (page 288). This book has five chapters on Innovation & Entrepreneurship. And more.
While there is a lot of wisdom in each chapter, I will share below my thoughts from 4 chapters that were originally published in "The Effective Executive" (1966):
In Chapter 13: Effectiveness must be Learned, Drucker explains the diferrence between efficiency and effectiveness - efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things. For manual work, efficiency was enough. In today's world, the center of gravity has shifted from the manual worker to the "knowledge worker". For knowledge work, effectiveness is more important than efficiency.
An executive is ... a knowledge worker who is ... responsible for contributions (decisions, actions) ... that have significant impact on ... performance and results of the whole organization (derived from Chapter 13).
In Chapter 14: Focus on Contribution, Drucker stresses the importance of focusing outward, on contributions and results; as opposed to downward, on efforts. He then discusses the four basic requirements of effective human relations - communication, teamwork, self-development and development of others.
In Chapter 16: Know Your Time, Drucker explains time-diagnosis with questions for the executive:
a. What would happen if this were not done at all?
b. Which activities could be done by somebody else just as well, if not better?
c. (ask others) What do I do that wastes your time without contributing to your effectiveness?
Drucker then explains the identification of time wasters caused by - a lack of system, overstaffing, bad organization structure and malfunction in information. He also states that "Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed".
In Chapter 17: Effective Decisions, Drucker explains the decision process in five steps:
a. Determine whether the problem is generic or unique
b. Specify the objectives of the decision and the conditions it needs to satisfy
c. Determine the right solution that will satisfy the specifications and conditions
d. Convert the decision into action
e. Build a feedback process to compare results with expectations
He states that "No decision has been made unless carrying it out in specific steps has become someone's work assignment and responsibility. Until then, there are only good intentions". He then explains the importance of creating disagreement, rather than consensus. He states that disagreement provides alternatives and stimulates imagination and that "The first rule in decision making is that one does not make a decision unless there is disagreement".
This book is an excellent introduction to management. As you may have guessed from the quotes, it contains many of the most famous Druckerisms. I recommend this book as a must read to every manager and anybody interested in management.

There probably does not exist a major league manager who has not been influenced by Drucker. This is a compilation of his books spanning his career thus far on the topic of management.

Drucker is always tight in his style and words with thoughts that at first make one sit up and take notice.

The first chapter sets the tone for the rest. This quote says it all: "Actually, waht is our business? is almost always a difficult question and the right answer is usually anything but obvious. The answer to the question, What is our business? is the first responsibility of top management. That business purpose and business mission are so rarely given adequate thought is perhaps the single most important cause of business frustration and business failure."

To his vast experience and knowledge, it is so refreshing to here him denounce profitability as a myth for the purpose of any business. He calls it irrelevant. Of the highest relevancy for Drucker are two basic functions: makerting and innovation.

Hurray, say all the marketing types! Wish the top management could join in the understanding.

Drucker's views are wide open to reality searching with broad vision over the world panorama. This book is exceptional collection of some of Drucker's best writing. Well chosen for their punch and coverage of such a vital, modern topic as management, this book will serve practioners as well as those who desire an understanding of the topic.

REVIEW: While I only rated this book 4 stars, keep in mind that this is a relative rating and that Peter Drucker's primary competition is himself. Drucker's books are always full of great thinking and great content, but I'm not sure that this book is for everyone interested in Peter Drucker (at least it's not one that I'd recommend first). First of all, the idea of distilling Drucker's work into a single book of material is hard for me to accept because he has so much great material that was already written fairly concisely (though there some overlap in his works). Does having the Essential Drucker mean you can read it and skip the original books? Certainly not if your serious about becoming a more effective person/executive. It is sort of like picking one Shakespeare or one Mozart, you'll get a good piece of work, but you're still missing a whole lot of important stuff.

Anyway, I think there is a couple situations for which this book will be especially useful. First, it may be most valuable to people (like me) who have read a number of Drucker's books. In essence, the Essential Drucker can act as a short refresher on many of Drucker's important concepts without having to go back and reread all of the original books. For this purpose the book was highly valuable to me. Also, the book may be valuable to those that have read a little Drucker and want to read more, but are unsure which of his many books to start with. Since the introduction lists the book that each chapter was originally published in, you can easy go to the source to expand upon something that interests you. However, for the reader that's fairly new to Drucker, why not go to the source and read something like Management Challenges for the 21st Century, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, The Practice of Management, or The Effective Executive. No matter what you choose you'll get great content related to the theory and practice of management. A final comment, an interesting approach to reading the Essential Drucker would be to read each chapter and then guess what year the chapter was written. In many cases, I think the answer will surprise.

STRENGTHS: As always, you get great content from one of the world's great thinkers on management, organization, and society. His writing is very concise, to-the-point, and sprinkled with real life examples.

WEAKNESSES: Some people are put-off by his very matter-of-fact writing style. He knows when he's right and rarely hedges his statements. Also, those needing fancy diagrams and graphics to learn material will be put off, because there are none.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: For the reasons stated above, I'm recommending this book mainly to those who are interested in Drucker's management writings and who are already familiar with some of them. It makes a great refresher.

ALSO CONSIDER: Other major works by Drucker including, Management Challenges for the 21st Century, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, The Practice of Management, and The Effective Executive.

I only made it 115 pages into the book before I had to put it down. In fairness, I'm a formally trained MBA (masters in business administration) so this experience should not be considered representative, but it does mean that I can offer a substantive and critical review of the compilation. I have two major points: one on accuracy and one on style

To his credit, Drucker could easily be considered the most influential source on management of the 20th century. Many of the basic ideas he offers are valuable and if a reader does not have any formal background in management, his book is accessible and full of extremely illustrative examples. The structure flows naturally and could be an excellent learning tool or primer.

The problem with Drucker is he was an influential source of the **20th** century and the compilation occurred without any substantial updating. One example in particular is on page 107 where Drucker offers, "Companies typically measure their proposed capital appropriations by... four yardsticks: return on investment, payback period, cash flow, and discounted present value. But we have known... since the early 1930s... that none of those is the right method... a company needs to look at all four." While this may have been a cutting edge approach in 1930 (and while it is still a common sentiment among managers whose education dates to the 50s and 60s), modern management theory recognizes that NPV *actually is* the one and only right method. This is one of a number of instances where actual errors are present. Indeed, there are additional instances where his perspective seems to conflict with a modern management education, but where there is no clear cut right answer.

The second point I would like to make is that there are really two basic ways to teach a concept. One is to offer plentiful examples so that a reader can draw conclusions and/or hopefully find one or more situations with similarities to each problem they face (inductive). The other is to offer a structured and unified theory that is less precise in its examples, but can be easily applied to situations that are dissimilar to those presented (deductive). Drucker writes in the inductive style, with plentiful examples. As a result, he doesn't offer a condensed nugget of theory that one can take away to apply to seemingly novel situations. If a reader isn't an expert on management, this isn't a problem and, in fact, the structure improves the learning process. If a reader has some structure and background, it reduces the value of the read.

All together, the book offers a number of great concepts and makes an illustrative primer to management (encouraged read for the untrained, 5 stars). That being said, the book and much of its content is out of date (all readers beware, 2 stars) and the style lacks the "ah hah" moments that might be found in a denser and more theory focused text (advanced readers strongly warned, 2 stars).

For a long time I had been intending to read something of Drucker. He is, after all, the grandfather of management science. But I kept putting it off, for I am a busy executive and need answers to my current management problems. The old man, I thought, would have less to tell me then, say, Roberts in "The Modern Firm" (which is an excellent book) or some of my internal reports.

"The Essential Drucker" it seemed, would be the right way to do my duty to history. Here I could quickly peruse a medley of the Drucker's outdated thoughts, and move on.

Oh how wrong I was.

Drucker's writing is as fresh and relevant today as when first written. His prescient insights foreshadow many recent works. Indeed, I found the essence of Tom Collins in the first few chapters; condensed and not said in quite the same way, of course, but the principle insights were the same. Drucker has reminded me that fundamental truths are timeless.

And there is something else I especially like; the tone. Drucker writes like a commander. He has confidence - not a blaring promotional edge - but a sense of solidity and authority that comes from saying things meaningful, clear, practical, logical; things from someone with his feet firmly on the ground.

Don't miss this book if you are not sure of where to start with Drucker. It may whet your appetite for more Drucker.

It is worth noting that the selections in this volume were made by Drucker himself from books and articles written during a 60-year career, one which continues in his 93rd year. According to Drucker, this volume has two purposes: "First, it offers, I hope, a coherent and fairly comprehensive Introduction to Management. But second, it gives an Overview of my works on management and thus answers a question that my editors and I have asked again and again. Where do I start to read Drucker? Which of his writings are essential?" The material is divided within three parts: Management, The Individual, and Society. In all of what Drucker has published thus far, he either asserts or implies that the profession of management has obligations to society in general (indeed to the global human community) as well as to any one organization. Indeed, he entitles another of his works The Profession of Management. The title of Drucker's first chapter in this volume suggests this: "Management as Social Function and Liberal Art." The title of the final chapter is "From Analysis to Perception -- The New Worldview." As always, Drucker has one eye on the task at hand and the other on the future. All of the material in this volume is first-rate. It remains for each reader to determine which material is of greatest relevance to her or his specific needs and interests. Other reviewers may wish to quibble with Drucker about some of his selections. Be my guest.

The Essential Drucker is an excellent introduction to the Peter Drucker's writings on management. Some readers, understandably, complain that the book is so general on some topics, that its practical value is sometimes limited. Ultimately, this recapitulation of Drucker's essential thoughts about management is an invitation to rethink some commonly accepted views on management. If one needs convincing on this point, consider the following ten examples:

1) Contrary to popular belief, management and entrepreneurship are not opposite, but complimentary (pg. 8, 136-143, and 161-188). An established company that does not innovate, is regularly doomed to what Joseph Schumpeter called creative destruction. As Clayton Christensen demonstrates brilliantly in The Innovator's Dilemma, innovation is sometimes not even enough to avert business failure. Similarly, a poorly managed start-up will often end up broken (pg. 144-160).

2) One of the three tasks of management is managing social impacts and social responsibilities. The recent wave of corporate scandals unfortunately illustrates this point too well, often with disastrous consequences for their authors and the stakeholders who have a key interest in the success of the organization (pg. 16-20). Profit is not the explanation, cause or rationale of business behavior and business decisions, but rather the test of their validity as Drucker states (pg. 18).

3) Neither is there a separate ethics of business, nor one is needed. The ethics of responsibility is plain, everyday honesty. The issue is one of moral values and moral education of the individual. As Drucker bluntly points out, all that is needed is to mete stiff punishments to those - whether business executives or others - who yield to temptation (pg. 63-64).

4) Few organizations reach at least 30% of all potential customers in any market. And yet few organizations know anything about the non-customers (pg. 85). To start changing this, organizations have to understand what existing and potential customers really value in a product or service. This desired value is not necessarily what the supplier sells (pg. 86, 111, 148, 186).

5) Each manager should have the information he needs to measure his own performance and should receive it soon enough to make any necessary changes. Yet in most organizations, the results of the audits do not go to the managers audited, but to the top management who then confronts these managers with the audit of their operations (pg. 121-122). Management by self-control is more productive than management by domination to achieve excellence.

6) Most executives do not perform very well when they promote or hire. By all accounts, only one-third of such decisions turn out to be right; one-third are minimally effective; one-third are outright failures. In no other area of management is such dismissal performance tolerated (pg. 127). Drucker also reminds his readers that it is not intuitively obvious to most people that a new and different job requires a new and different behavior (pg. 132, 211).

7) Few people realize that many people make decisions within organizations. Knowledge workers who are considered partners rather than employees, can only be helped. The close supervision of knowledge workers is often illusory because of their unique expertise. Only effectiveness that focuses on contribution, transforms intelligence, imagination and knowledge into results (pg. 192-193, 196, 207).

8) Warm feelings and pleasant words are meaningless, if there is no achievement in what is, after all, a work-focused and task-focused relationship. An occasional rough word will not disturb a relationship that produces results and accomplishments for all concerned according to Drucker (pg. 213-214).

9) Many business policy statements contain no action commitment. No wonder that the people in the organization tend to view these statements cynically because they do not reflect top management's true intentions (pg. 249).

10) Leadership has little to do with leadership qualities and even less to do with charisma. Leadership is a means that is mundane, unromantic and boring. Its essence is performance (pg. 268). The key characteristics of leadership are hard work, clear and legitimate goals, responsibility, trust and integrity (pg. 269-271).

I have to admit that I am a latecomer to Drucker. I decided to give it a try when someone whom I respect immensely mentioned his name in passing. As there are about 50 books/essays to choose from, I picked this based solely on the title (and the reviews, of course!).

I have to say that I have been very impressed with the clarity of thought, the simplicity of his ideas, and more importantly the longevity of his advice (considering that some of his initial work was with GM when Alfred Sloan was around). I, perhaps like other people, mistakenly wrote Drucker off in favor of new authors on the block. However, that's been my loss until recently.

Furthermore, I decided to try some of his ideas relating to performance management, employee morale and setting expectations - the bread and butter of most business settings. The simplicity of his ideas coupled with their easy applicability is what impressed me. I will definitely try some of his other books, having gone through this and would recommend this to anyone else not sure about Drucker.

So, why the 4 stars instead of 5? The book, in an attempt to cover his best writings, covers everything from business strategy to social entrepreunership to business history. That leaves the reader wanting more details and examples in the individual articles.

after avoiding reading drucker for years because i assumed it would be outdated and stale, i picked up this compendium. Boy do I wish I had read drucker before the pages of business drivel i have read, most of whom do not hold a candle to drucker in terms of depth, scope and clarity.
one of the few -- the only? -- business thinkers whose work should be read alongside the great works of social science and philosophy. Never ivory tower, never shallow, always practical in his advice.