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Peter Drucker has been described as the "father of modern management" and "the man who invented management," but he himself liked to say that he simply "looked at people, not at machines or buildings." Born in Austria, Drucker received his Ph.D in international law in Germany in 1931, but he angered the Nazi government with his theories and fled to England, and later came to the U.S. In 1943, Drucker was invited to General Motors to study the company's management structure. He spent two years there, and the result was a book that described a new "Concept of the Corporation" -- perhaps the first "management book" ever; he wrote 41 books in all. Drucker believed that macroeconomics failed to explain the modern economy ("In all recorded history there has not been one economist who has had to worry about where the next meal would come from," he once said), that government did a poor job of providing people with what they wanted, and that there was a need for "community" (which could be satisfied by volunteering). Drucker was later criticized by some of the very managers who praised him when he said that the highest executive in a corporation should earn no more than 20 times the lowest-paid worker. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002, and received similar honors from the governments of Japan and Austria. He died November 11 at 95, eight days short of his 96th birthday. From This is True for 6 November 2005 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Peter F. Drucker List Price: $15.95 Amazon Price: $10.85 Editorial Review: What makes an effective executive? The measure of the executive, Peter F. Drucker reminds us, is the ability to "get the right things done." This usually involves doing what other people have overlooked as well as avoiding what is unproductive. Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge may all be wasted in an executive job without the acquired habits of mind that mold them into results. Drucker identifies five practices essential to business effectiveness that can, and must, be learned: Managing time Choosing what to contribute to the organization Knowing where and how to mobilize strength for best effect Setting the right priorities Knitting all of them together with effective decision-makingRanging widely through the annals of business and government, Peter F. Drucker demonstrates the distinctive skill of the executive and offers fresh insights into old and seemingly obvious business situations.  By: Peter F. Drucker List Price: $16.95 Amazon Price: $11.53 Editorial Review: The groundbreaking and premier work on nonprofit organizations The nonprofit sector is growing rapidly, creating a major need for expert advice on how to manage these organizations effectively. Management legend Peter Drucker provides excellent examples and explanations of mission, leadership, resources, marketing, goals, and much more. Interviews with nine experts also address key issues in this booming sector.  By: Peter F. Drucker List Price: $14.95 Amazon Price: $10.17 Editorial Review: 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.  By: Peter F. Drucker List Price: $17.95 Amazon Price: $12.21 Editorial Review: Ever since his first book was published some six decades ago, Peter Drucker has been essential to everyone serious about the "management of an enterprise (and) the self-management of the individual, whether executive or professional, within an enterprise and altogether in our society of managed organizations." This distinguished 30-year Claremont University professor has continuously identified critical principles in management, economics, politics, and the world in general. And he has redirected our thinking about them through more than two dozen books, including an autobiography and a couple of works of fiction. Now, with The Essential Drucker, he has overseen the compilation of his most important fundamentals into one indispensable book. Reaching back as far as 1954 with his treatise "Management by Objectives and Self-Control" ("Each manager, from the 'big boss' down to the production foreman or the chief clerk, needs clearly spelled-out objectives" that clarify expected contributions "to the attainment of company goals in all areas of the business"), Drucker's now-established ideas take on a surprising new relevancy when remixed equally pioneering ideas from the 1960s, '70s, '80s, and '90s. Between the thoughtful "Management as Social and Liberal Art" through the provocative "From Analysis to Perception--The New Worldview" (both originally published in 1988's The New Realities), this book revisits some of modern management's most inspired writing and presents it in a way that should appeal to both newcomers and those needing a refresher course on Drucker's basic beliefs. --Howard Rothman Father of modern management, social commentator, and preeminent business philosopher, Peter F. Drucker analyzed economics and society for more than sixty years. Now for readers everywhere who are concerned with the ways that management practices and principles affect the performance of organizations, individuals, and society, there is The Essential Drucker—an invaluable compilation of essential materials from the works of a management legend. Containing twenty-six core selections, The Essential Drucker covers the basic principles and concerns of management and its problems, challenges, and opportunities, giving managers, executives, and professionals the tools to perform the tasks that the economy and society of tomorrow will demand of them. "In one volume a selection of the essential writings from Peter F. Drucker's sixty years of work on management. The first selection of Drucker's management work from The Prctice of Management (1954) to Management Challenges for the 21st Century (1999), this book offers, in Drucker's words, ""a coherent and fairly comprehensive Introduction to [and] gives an overview of my works on management and thus answers a question I have been asked again and again: . . . which of my writings are essential?"" The Essential Drucker contains twenty-six selections on management in the organization, management and the individual, and management and society. It covers the basic principles and concerns of management and its problems, challenges, and opportunities, giving managers, executives, and professionals the tools to perform the tasks that the economy and society of ,==otherwise ungrammatical== tomorrow will demand of them. " By: Peter F. Drucker List Price: $16.95 Amazon Price: $11.53 Editorial Review: Peter Drucker's classic book on innovation and entrepreneurship This is the first book to present innovation and entrepreneurship as a purposeful and systematic discipline that explains and analyzes the challenges and opportunities of America's new entrepreneurial economy. Superbly practical, Innovation and Entrepreneurship explains what established businesses, public service institutions, and new ventures need to know and do to succeed in today's economy. |
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