Peter Drucker: Shaping the Managerial Mind--How the World's Foremost Management Thinker Crafted the Essentials of Business Success (A Jossey Bass Title) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Ask any CEO and/or business professor to name the "father of modern management," and the answer will probably be Peter Drucker. Flaherty (Peter Drucker: Contributions to Business Enterprise) focuses on Drucker's management principles; his intent is not to update his earlier work but instead to present Drucker's influence on the shaping of modern management. Flaherty's 40-year friendship with Drucker proves invaluable to readers interested in learning how Drucker's early political thinking shaped his managerial mind and how the emergence of modern management converged with his own thinking. Topics covered in this fascinating story include Drucker's quest for a theory in his early years, views on strategy and entrepreneurship, and ideas on executive effectiveness. While this is not the definitive biography of Drucker (yet to be written), it nicely complements Jack Beatty's The World According to Peter Drucker (LJ 1/98) and is essential for academic libraries.ADale Farris, Groves, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Drucker, perhaps the world's greatest management philosopher, turns 90 this fall, and Flaherty's homage celebrates that event. Flaherty is a professor at New York's Pace University and a 40-year friend of Drucker's. Thirty years ago he coedited Peter Drucker: Contributions to Business Enterprise, a collection of essays by academic scholars and business leaders. Originally, Flaherty had wanted to update that work but decided for the sake of "consistency and coherence" to complete his own portrait. Flaherty emphasizes Drucker's works over his personal life, focusing on his management philosophy. To trace the development of this philosophy, Flaherty considers Drucker's works chronologically up through the seminal Practice of Management (1954). He then analyzes Drucker's contributions to thinking on strategy and entrepreneurship and on executive effectiveness from various perspectives. David Rouse --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (February 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787960667
• ISBN-13: 978-0787960667
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,219,751 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Context and Themes for Drucker's Management Ideas, August 24, 2000

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Peter Drucker: Shaping the Managerial Mind (A Jossey Bass title) (Hardcover)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For Those Who Want to Study Drucker, March 18, 2002

By	Bradley A. Swope (State College, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Peter Drucker: Shaping the Managerial Mind (A Jossey Bass title) (Hardcover)

REVIEW: This book performs a tremendously important task in reviewing and organizing most of teachings found in the public work of Peter Drucker. However, it is not a book for those new to Drucker and it is not aimed at mass market appeal. The author is obviously very knowledgeable about Drucker's work and often adds new insight, but the book has an academic aire and is just plain sterile. The style/tone choosen by the author is an academic one which is totally devoid of the author's personality and opinion. Flaherty wouldn't dare state something that isn't a provable fact. Thus, too many sentences begin with "According to Drucker . . .", or "Drucker maintained . . .", or "Drucker argued . . ." which gets boring quickly and makes for less enjoyable reading.

The book is at its best when it goes beyond organizing the content of Drucker's writings and gives the reader context and additional information. I found this mostly occured in the beginning third of the book when the author injected more of Drucker's personal history and his relationship with others (e.g. Drucker and Sloan). There was just too few of these moments in the book. Despite these limitations, I did find new insights into Drucker. Overall, I'd consider the book an essential for the serious Drucker student only. Others have plenty of other Drucker material to choose from first.

STRENGTHS: A very thorough, analytical look at Drucker's work. I liked the summary list of key concepts ending each chapter. Exhaustively footnoted and indexed. I repeatedly refer to the thorough list of "Published Works of Peter Drucker" at the end of the book.

WEAKNESSES: The book is too academic for my taste. It is totally devoid of the author's opinions and personality. The author has a tendency to use "big" words e.g. "chimerical", "propinquity", "insouciance", "shibboleth", "obsequious") not used by the average person.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Serious students of Drucker who've already read a number of his works. The casual Drucker reader or reader of mass market management/business books should look elsewhere.

ALSO CONSIDER: "Adventures of a Bystander" by P. Drucker (for an autobiographical-like look at Drucker); "The World According to Peter Drucker" by J Beatty (for a biographical look and an overview of Drucker's thoughts); and "The Essential Drucker" by P. Drucker (for a select sample of Drucker's writings).

[feedback welcome]

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crash course on PFD's most profound thoughts on management, February 27, 2000

By	Azlan Adnan (Kota Kinabalu) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peter Drucker: Shaping the Managerial Mind (A Jossey Bass title) (Hardcover)

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