The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization [Paperback]

Peter F. Drucker (Author), Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2008

With Peter Drucker's five essential questions and the help of five of today's thought leaders, this little book will challenge readers to take a close look at the very heart of their organizations and what drives them. A tool for self-assessment and transformation, answering these five questions will fundamentally change the way you work, helping you lead your organization to an exceptional level of performance.

Peter Drucker's five questions are:

• What is our Mission? with Jim Collins
• Who is our Customer? with Phil Kotler
• What does the Customer Value? with Jim Kouzes
• What are our Results? with Judith Rodin
• What is our Plan? with V. Kasturi Rangan

These essential questions, grounded in Peter Drucker's theories of management, will take readers on a exploration of organizational and personal self-discovery, giving them a means to assess how to be--how to develop quality, character, mind-set, values and courage. The questions lead to action. By asking these questions, readers can focus on why they are doing what they are doing in their work, and how to do it better. Designed for today's busy professionals, this brief, clear and accessible book will challenge readers to ask these provocative questions and it will stimulate spirited discussions and action within any organization, inspiring positive change and new levels of excellence, helping all to envision the future of theirs' or any organization.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

With Peter Drucker's five essential questions and the help of five of today's thought leaders, this little book will challenge readers to take a close look at the very heart of their organizations and what drives them. A tool for self-assessment and transformation, answering these five questions will fundamentally change the way you work, helping you lead your organization to an exceptional level of performance.

PRAISE FOR The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization

"The Leader to Leader Institute has done a great service in bringing us this monograph. Good leaders come up with answers, but great leaders ask the right questions—and this wonderful work helps all leaders do exactly that."
—Jim Collins, author, Good to Great and the Social Sectors

"An amazing resource that can help even the most successful organizations become more successful!"
—Marshall Goldsmith, author, What Got You Here Won't Get You There, winner of the Harold Longman Best Business Book of 2007

"Peter Drucker's Five Most Important Questions continue to be the indispensable questions an organization must ask itself, regardless of size or sector, if it is determined to be an organization of the future."
—Kathy Cloninger, CEO, Girl Scouts of the USA

"At a time when the need for more effective management and more ethical leadership is the moral equivalent of global warming, Drucker's common sense and courage should be modeled by everyone."
—Ira A. Jackson, dean, Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, and board member, The Drucker Institute

"Nobody, not even Socrates, has ever asked better questions than Peter Drucker. All the personality, all the wisdom is here to make your work dramatically more effective."
—Bob Buford, author, Halftime and Finishing Well, and founding chairman, Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management

About the Author

First established as the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Managment, the Leader to Leader Institute's mission is to strengthen the leadership of the social sector. In collaboration with its partners in the private and public sectors, the Institute furthers its mission by providing social sector leaders with the essential leadership wisdom from all sectors and the resources needed to lead for innovation and to build vibrant organizations.

Peter F. Drucker is known as the "father of modern management," and is a best-selling author of thirty-two books including the best-seller The Effective Executive. He is world-renowned thinker on leadership and management and his work has been featured in every major business periodical. A consultant to senior executives for more than fifty years Drucker passed away in 2005. Since Drucker's death, interest in him, his concepts and his books has only grown. His ideas continue to be as relevant today as they were when he first voiced them.

Jim Collins, Philip Kotler, Jim Kouzes, Judith Rodin and Kash Rangan are all well established thought leaders themselves, some with multiple best-sellers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (April 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470227567
• ISBN-13: 978-0470227565
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.4 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Nonprofit Organizations & Charities
  • #72 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Decision-Making & Problem Solving

More About the Author

Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005) was considered the top management thinker of his time. He authored over 25 books, with his first, The End of Economic Man published in 1939. His ideas have had an enormous impact on shaping the modern corporation. One of his most famous disciples alive today is Jack Welch. He was a teacher, philosopher, reporter and consultant.

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#92 in Books > Business & Investing

#92 in Books > Business & Investing

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Planning Is Not an Event May 3, 2008

By John W. Pearson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The first edition of Peter Drucker's self-assessment tool for organizations arrived in 1993 and introduced these five key questions: 1) What is our mission? 2) Who is our customer? 3) What does the customer value? 4) What are our results? and 5) What is our plan?

This supplementary tool (just 101 easy-reading pages) includes expanded observations from Drucker along with color commentary from six distinguished management gurus, including Jim Collins, Philip Kotler, James Kouzes, Judith Rodin (Rockefeller Foundation president), V. Kasturi Rangan (Harvard Business School), and Frances Hesselbein (chairman of Leader to Leader Institute and former CEO, Girl Scouts of the USA).

Referring to Question #5 on planning, Drucker comments, "Planning is not an event. It is the continuous process of strengthening what works and abandoning what does not, of making risk-taking decisions with the greatest knowledge of their potential effect, of setting objectives, appraising performance and results through systematic feedback, and making ongoing adjustments as conditions change."

Peter Drucker says that one benefit of a self-assessment process is that you can evaluate how you match opportunities with your competence and commitment. And he adds that the time to do a self-assessment is when you are successful, not when your leading indicators are lagging.

This is a helpful new resource for all of us. If you've ordered my new book, Mastering The Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-profit, be sure to read the first four chapters (buckets) that expand on the five Drucker questions: the Results Bucket, the Customer Bucket, the Strategy Bucket and the Drucker Bucket.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Leadership Pearls November 13, 2008

By Steve P. Sanders

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

A deceptively small book full of powerful ideas promulgated by the late Dr. Drucker. A must read for anyone seriously considering, or engaged in leading organizations. One of the best management books I've read.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An intelligent and effective approach to leadership October 13, 2008

By Sara B

Format:Paperback

Drucker has the ability to make complex organizational concepts understandable by detailing a step by step thought process that leads to precise action steps. This is an invaluable tool for any manager who wishes to maximize the effectiveness of their team. It helps you translate your organization's vision into dynamic reality.