... replace the quest for success with the quest for contribution. The critical question is not, "How can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute?"
Drucker's primary contribution is not a single idea, but rather an entire body of work that has one gigantic advantage: nearly all of it is essentially right. Drucker has an uncanny ability to develop insights about the workings of the social world, and to later be proved right by history. His first book, The End of Economic Man, published in 1939, sought to explain the origins of totalitarianism; after the fall of France in 1940, Winston Churchill made it a required part of the book kit issued to every graduate of the British Officer's Candidate School. His 1946 book The Concept of the Corporation analyzed the technocratic corporation, based upon an in-depth look at General Motors. It so rattled senior management in its accurate foreshadowing of future challenges to the corporate state that it was essentially banned at GM during the Sloan era. Drucker's 1964 book was so far ahead of its time in laying out the principles of corporate strategy that his publisher convinced him to abandon the title Business Strategies in favor of Managing for Results, because the term "strategy" was utterly foreign to the language of business.
There are two ways to change the world: with the pen (the use of ideas) and with the sword (the use of power). Drucker chooses the pen, and has rewired the brains of thousands who carry the sword. When in 1956 David Packard sat down to type out the objectives for the Hewlett-Packard Company, he'd been shaped by Drucker's writings, and very likely used The Practice of Management--which still stands as perhaps the most important management book ever written--as his guide. In our research for the book Built to Last, Jerry Porras and I came across a number of great companies whose leaders had been shaped by Drucker's writings, including Merck, Procter & Gamble, Ford, General Electric, and Motorola. Multiply this impact across thousands of organizations of all types--from police departments to symphony orchestras to government agencies and business corporations--and it is hard to escape the conclusion that Drucker is one of the most influential individuals of the twentieth century.
Drucker's genius shines best in the short paragraph or single sentence that cuts through the clutter and messiness of a complex world and exposes a truth. Like a Zen poet, Drucker packs universal truth into just a few words; we can return to his teachings repeatedly, each time with a deeper level of understanding.
"Just go out and make yourself useful,"
But the most important part of this book is the blank spaces at the bottom of its pages. They are what the readers will contribute, their actions, decisions and the results of these decisions.
(I suggest a different work approach. Rapidly read through the book (a month per night), mark areas of interest using one of the worksheets below and do a rough calendarization—stages. Try to discern a general pattern in your interests. Explore the remainder of my Time-life navigation site to get a complete interest profile. Get organized to convert concepts to daily action.)
One word of advice: Look for "the future that has already happened." If you can identify and act upon trends that are just now emerging
I have many times listened to Peter Drucker address executives, and I have on a few occasions seen him in action as a consultant. In his teaching and consulting he has impressed me most by the consistency and effectiveness of the approach he uses. First, he always makes sure he has defined the problem correctly. Next, he seems to weave a tapestry, bringing his vast knowledge to bear upon the specific problem, and putting in "stitches," or specific portions of the solution to the problem. Finally, once the problem has been circumscribed and the tapestry woven, he outlines the specific actions that should be taken to solve the problem. He then tells his audiences, "Don't tell me you enjoyed this; tell me what you will do differently on Monday morning."
Assistance available.
