Peter Drucker, Austrian, born in Vienna on November 19, 1909, died on November 11, 2005 in the United States. American by adoption, his ancestors were printers in the Netherlands; In German Drucker means Printer, and from there derives his surname, he is considered the father of Management to which he dedicated more than 60 years of his professional life.
Drucker is considered the most successful of the exponents in administration issues, his ideas and idioms have been influencing the corporate world since the 1940s. Drucker is the first social scientist to use the expression "post-modernity". Peter Drucker is the world's most influential thinker in the field of business administration. The richness of your thoughts is a product of your personality.
He has been a regular contributor to magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly and was a columnist for The Wall Street Journal from 1975 to 1995. His first consulting job was in 1940. Since then he has worked extensively in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia, for large companies, government agencies and non-profit organizations.
He was Honorary President of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management. After teaching at Sarah Lawrence College in New York from 1939 to 1949, and at Bennington College in Vermont from 1942 to 194. In 1971 he was appointed professor (Clarke) of social sciences and administration at the graduate school of university administration. from Claremont.
He worked as a journalist in Germany, mixing his activity with politics from the year 1920 until the fall of the Weimar Republic. Doctor Honoris Causa from several Universities in the USA, Belgium, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. His lectures are massive, he hates all kinds of flattery. It is plain, simple, visionary, biting and vital. A long and fruitful life as a knowledge worker.
Between 1975 and 1995 he was an editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal, as well as a contributor to the Harvard Business Review.
A man who recognizes that his profile is not that of Economist or executive, his main interest is people. In 1933 he went to London, worked in a Bank, and was a student of Maynard Keynes, previously in Bonn he was a disciple of Joseph Schumpeter, today he is the last person who is alive and who took classes with these two great figures. "Both Keynes and Schumpeter have a lot to teach us, but more in the way that we must think economically, than in relation to their specific theories, as Keynesism failed the economic thesis where it was applied, Schumpeter never had an economic policy, if the concept was valid that imbalance is the normal state of health of the economy. »
At 31, he begins his life as a Consultant for Multinational Companies at General Motors, it is then that he begins to shape the theory of Management, Management trends, the knowledge society. »The best structure will not guarantee results or performance. But the wrong structure is a guarantee of failure »» Don't try to innovate for the future, innovate for the present », are some of his most popular phrases.
He considers that practice is the basis of management, this discipline attributed to him, requires practice in order to be applied. » Only when a practice is mature enough, academics can make important contributions, since without practice the academic cannot produce a contribution to Management.
He has published books and articles, all of them today are works that are used to consult innovative concepts. In his works, the scientific, the human, the economic, the historical, the art and the philosophical prevail.
In the 1940s, for 7 years he was Professor of Philosophy and Politics at Bennington College. Professor of Management at the University of New York for graduates of the Business School in the 1950s, currently a business school is named after him and he presides over it.
When thinking, he puts the truth on a tightrope, asking the most obvious, correct questions that help to think without prejudice, of a multidimensional and synthetic vision, characteristic of the authentic humanist.
Today his advice to companies and to the new generation of young people endures. He recognizes that in these times the old generations learn from the new, and humanism continues to be the mainstay of his speech. Our ideas have been disrupted in their concepts thanks to Drucker's innovative way of thinking and analyzing business issues.
A man with the virtue of reading between the lines, however, thanks to his intellectual rigor, he is distinguished in the group of futurist thinkers, and his ability to interpret the present enables him to expose his concepts. The business trends in the last 50 years have been exposed in his works, defining the knowledge society as the basis of the current company and that of the future. He was the first to give a clear definition of business. In his 90s he enjoyed swimming on a daily basis, his premise was to keep fit, although he used a cane, his pace when walking was the same as anyone's.
books
Over thirty books have been published in seventy years, covering management studies, socio-economic policy studies, and essays. Some were Best Sellers.
The end of economic man, It was his first book. Published in 1939.
The future of industrial man, It was his second book. Published in 1942.
The concept of Corporation, Published in 1946.
Management practice. He unveils his theory of objective management. The self-government of the community of Companies. Numerous management books appear after this publication. The only function of a business is to create customer value and innovate.
The era of discontinuity. Published in 1969. Introduces the concept of knowledge worker. Innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. It speaks of a new discipline that can be taught and learned, innovation.
The Entrepreneur. there he finds the best advice.
The effective executive. Published in 1985. It focuses on personal effectiveness. Changes in the direction of the 21st century. The forces that guide these changes are the foundation of this publication.
The Management of the Future. When everyone was talking about the new economy, he says that it was society that changed, and that it was doing it faster and faster, the computer revolution turns out to be one of those changes, demographic changes, the fall of the industry as a provider of wealth and work. Terrorism has radically changed world politics. Executives must understand new realities in order to be successful in this new society.
The society of the future. Edited in 2002. It reflects all its humanism there. She currently lives in Claremont near Los Angeles.
Some of his most influential works
1. The End of Economic Man (1939).
This is Drucker's first extensive book. He explains his reasons for the causes of fascism and analyzes the failures of established institutions. He adduces vigorous reasoning in favor of the need for a new social and economic order. “In thinking, the only thing I did well was observe phenomena and wonder what they meant.
In 1933 I already knew how Hitler would end, and then I started my first book, 'The End of Economic Man', which could not be published until 1939, because no publisher wanted to accept such horrible visions. It was perfectly clear to me that Hitler would end up killing the Jews and it was also clear that he would end up signing a treaty with Stalin. ”
2. The Future of Industrial Man (1942).
The author investigates the topic, can individual freedom be preserved in an industrial society? The dominance of big business, the power of managers, automation, and the dangers of monopoly and totalitarianism are important topics covered in this book. “In my second book, 'The Future of Industrial Man' I came to the conclusion that the integrative principle of modern society had become organization on a large scale. At that time, however, only the company organization existed. In this country, the business enterprise was the first modern institution to emerge. I decided that I needed to be inside, to really study a great company from the inside; as a human, social, political organization - as an integrating mechanism ».
3. Concept of the Corporation (1946).
The author discloses how, through decentralization, General Motors becomes one of the largest American corporations. Drucker said decentralization was good because he created small groups where people felt that their contribution was important.
The success of this work showed that in those years there was an enormous interest in management. Alfred Sloan Jr., its president (1923-1956), would also tell about his experiences in the company he directed in his work: "My years with General Motors" (1962).
4. The New Society (1950).
In this important book, Drucker brings together the themes of his first two books, The End of Economic Man and The Future of Industrial Man. He refines his impression of the new world order. It is extended in the concept of the great company, like the representative social institution.
It presents an image of the way the world will function in the last decades of the 20th century, an image that became a remarkable reality.
5. Practice of Management (1954).
He did it for the common people to learn to manage, something that at that time could only be done by an elite. Thereafter Administration became a true discipline and the book the first "bible" in management.
His analysis of Management is a valuable guide for business leaders who need to study their own performance, diagnose their own failures, and improve their own productivity, as well as that of their company. Illustrative examples are taken from companies such as Sears Roebuck & Co., General Motors, Ford, IBM, Chrysler, and American Telephone & Telegraph. This work also exposes about «Administration by Objectives», considering Drucker as one of the main pioneers of the concept.
6. Landmarks of Tomorrow (1959).
In the first two chapters, Drucker describes New World standards, the fruit of recent years. The following is the evidence that we will have to overcome in education, government and political economy. The book ends with Drucker's remarks about the spiritual reality of human existence.
7. Managing for Results (1964).
It was the first book to explain business strategy. Drucker shows how existing businesses have to focus on opportunities rather than problems to be effective, so opportunities grow and develop. "'Managing for Results' was the first book to address what is now called 'Business Strategy'.
It is still the most widely used book on the subject. When I wrote it over twenty years ago, my original title was, in fact, 'Business Strategies', but 'Strategy' in those days was not a commonly used term. Indeed, when my publisher and I decided to test the title with well-known executives, consultants, management professors, and booksellers, we were strongly recommended to drop that term. "Strategy," they told us over and over, belongs to the military or perhaps to political campaigns, but not to businesses.
8. In The Effective Executive (1967).
It talks about the executive's obligation to be efficient, but that effectiveness can be learned, considering that effectiveness is a set of habits, that is, a sum of repeated actions that end up internalizing the executive's way of being.
For Drucker there are 5 practices and habits that must be learned to become an effective executive:
1 ° every efficient executive controls his time,
2 ° every effective executive directs his efforts towards predetermined results,
3 ° the efficient executive builds with forces: his own and those of his superiors, colleagues and subordinates and those of the circumstances,
4 ° the effective executive focuses on a few major areas, therefore prioritizes;
5 ° the efficient executive makes effective decisions, knows that he has to apply a system for it.
9. The Age of Discontinuity (1969).
Main discontinuity spheres are studied:
a) the explosion of new technology, the fruit of which are important new industries,
b) the change from the international economy to the world economy,
c) a new social and political reality of pluralistic institutions and;
d) the new universe of knowledge based on mass education.
By clearly pointing out the changes we are experiencing, -like the role of the manager-, it is impressive how he analyzes the economic, technological, political and cultural changes, it seems that the book had been written last year and not more than 30 years ago. He talks about privatization and the "knowledge worker" and its impact on the economy and society. To serve as a basis for action, Drucker asks: What must we do today to forge tomorrow?
10. Technology, Management and Society (1970).
It is a collection of essays covering the technological trends of the 20th century, such as: long-term planning, reciprocal relationships between technology, science and culture; and those of the old and future administrator.
11. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (1974).
The Administration is an organized body of knowledge. "This book," says Drucker, "is about equipping the manager with the understanding, thought, knowledge, and skills for jobs today and tomorrow." Drucker discusses the tools and techniques for a successful management practice; "Well, it should be repeated, the effective administration of our institutions is the only option against the tyranny of our pluralistic society of institutions and the goal, motive and purpose of this work are to prepare the effective action of current and future managers". A true classic, essential reference work for the executive.
12. Managing in Turbulent Times (1980).
This important and timely book concerns the immediate future of business, society, and the economy. We are - says Drucker - entering a new economic era with new trends, new markets, new currencies, new principles, new technologies and new institutions. How will the administrators and the Administration deal with these new realities?
The author explains that this work is concerned with action rather than with understanding, with decisions rather than with understanding, with decisions rather than with analysis. It deals with the necessary strategies to transform rapid changes into opportunities, to change the threat of change into productive and profitable action that contributes positively to our society, the economy and the individual.
13. Innovation and Entrepreneurship (1985).
The first book to present innovation and entrepreneurship as a determined and systematic discipline that explains and analyzes the challenges and opportunities of the new entrepreneurial economy in America. It is an excellent practical book that explains that established businesses, public service institutions and new risks have to know, learn and do to prepare and create the successful businesses of tomorrow. "I wrote that book because I felt the time had come to get a little more serious about that topic than most papers were and partly also because, abruptly, most of the things you read and hear me They give the impression, based on my 30 years of work and experience, of being misunderstood. The entrepreneur - the person with the entrepreneurial personality of George Gilder - exists, yes, there are people like that,but it rarely succeeds. On the other hand, individuals Gilder would never accept as entrepreneurs are often very successful. ”
14. Managing the Non-Profit Organization (1990).
Talk about service and non-profit organizations, rapidly growing sectors of our society that create a greater need for experts to manage them effectively. Drucker gives examples and explanations about mission,
leadership, resources, marketing, goals, person development, decision making, and much more.
15. Post-Capitalist Society (1993).
Post-capitalist society is a knowledge society. In a capitalist system, capital is the critical production resource and is totally separate and even in opposition to "work." In this society where we are heading very quickly, it is knowledge and not capital that is the key resource. It cannot be bought with money or created by investment capital. It broadly explains the emerging economy, the knowledge economy, its protagonist (the knowledge worker) and the implications for organizations. An incisive analysis of the greatest world transformation taking place from the age of capitalism to the knowledge society.
Examine the radical influences on society, politics and business now and in the years to come.
16. Management Challenges for the 21st. Century (1999).
He talks about self-management, that is, he asks a series of questions such as: What are my strengths? How do I perform? Am I a reader or am I a listener? How do I learn? What are my values? Where do I belong ?, How can I contribute ?, giving us the answers in a very simple and brilliant way. This is not a book on predictions. It is not a book about the future. The challenges and issues discussed here already accompany us in all developed and most emerging countries (for example, Korea and Turkey). They can already be identified, discussed, analyzed, and prescriptions can be formulated for them. Some people are already working on them somewhere. ”
17. The Essential Drucker (2001).
Peter Drucker is perhaps the best known author on Administration and Economics. His first book was written in 1939 and since then he has published so many books that people wonder, where can I start reading Drucker? Which of his works are essential? The answer is The Essential Drucker, which contains 26 chapters taken from his various works published between 1954 and 1999, offering in Drucker's words "a coherent and reasonably comprehensive 'Introduction to Administration' and gives an overview of my Administration work".
From manager to leader
Although the aspects dealt with up to now form the foundation, the artisan base that, as such, can be taught and learned, there are still some differences between the figure of the manager and that of the leader. Now, no leader will be able to subsist without that artisanal base; moreover, no organization will be able to function without it.
True leaders are not content with the base; they take another step, small, but significant. They master certain skills with special mastery - not because they were born with them (although this may be the case, which gives many advantages over other human beings), but because they are aware or intuit that, as for all mortals, the means do not abound for them either. available to mobilize human forces. That is why they systematically focus on the essentials and work tirelessly and consequently to acquire the decisive competencies of management.
The true leaders:
1. They force themselves to listen to others
The emphasis is on "force yourself" because it is not easy for anyone to listen. Most leaders are impatient, and many of them are deeply convinced that they are doing the right thing. However, they know how important information is that they can only get from others, especially from the organization's base. They have enough willpower and self-discipline to, at least apparently, listen carefully and patiently because they know that by not doing so they would lose the trust of their organization.
At least they know how to appear to be very interested in what others tell them, and those who are really good not only appear to be interested, they really are.
2. They continually strive to make themselves understood
They are aware that what is clear to them, their vision of things, is clear to others. For this reason, they often repeat over and over again what they consider important, with enormous patience and perseverance, possibly so systematically that they are often considered stubborn. In their efforts to make themselves understood, they simplify their discourse and make it similar to the language of the interlocutor or use graphic analogies. Sometimes they tend to oversimplify, consciously or unconsciously, because they know very well that complicated things are not understood and therefore cannot materialize.
In their efforts to be understood, they resort, whenever it is within their reach, to the best form of communication: they demonstrate things and set an example of the behavior they expect from others. In any case, every leader has had to go through the experience that, after all, he can only lead by example. Leaders must practice with special scrupulous those rules that they are interested in imposing. Some privileges may be allowed in less important areas, but they must strictly observe the basic rules so as not to jeopardize their credibility within the organization. The moment this principle is violated, the erosion of your leadership position will begin.
3. They give up the alibi and the subterfuge
Leaders are interested in results, and where there are none, there is no need to take refuge in vain justifications and excuses. This aspect shows very clearly the point at which so many historical figures have failed.
Their leadership competence began to erode as they tried to use alibis and subterfuges, scapegoats and distorted images of the enemy, to justify their failure. Certainly, these methods allow them to continue working for some time, but they already contain the germ of failure, causing the loss of credibility and persuasion.
Sometimes it can take a considerable time for failure to become latent to its full extent and extent, but the signs of failure show up when the leader is no longer genuine and frank in this regard. Any tactical maneuver in other respects can be tolerated, which can even be taken as a sign of intelligence or cunning, except in this one, which does not admit tactics to the
4. They accept their own insignificance regarding the mission
As inseparable as the cult of the person of the figure of the leader is, which many times and against the will of the leader constitutes a requirement of the environment that strives to establish it, the true leader submits to the mission, which is always greater and more significant than himself. This is the only viable method, knowing how to preserve despite and due to the uniqueness of the situation, the necessary objectivity to be able to form a clear image of the circumstance. This leader accepts the mission with all his weight, but does not identify with it. The mission will always be differentiated from him and his person. Here is another critical point that has caused many historical leaders to fail. Whenever the attitude of "l'Etat, c'est moi" came to the fore, it was possibly the beginning of a period of great splendor for the person,but as a general rule it also marked the beginning of the end of leadership.
5. Give the organization the best of them, minus their own life
The leader constantly strives for perfection and gives (almost) everything for the cause. He demands of himself and others the maximum performance, the highest level; does not make offers, but demands. He knows that it is the achievements of the organization that give rise to pride, respect and self-esteem in its members, and that is why he can expect the maximum from them. And even if he is sometimes forced to demand life from others, he never gives up his own, unless he is forced to do so.
6. They don't steal success from their people
No matter how used to success, no matter how convinced the leader is of knowing how to do many things better than others, he does not adorn himself with the sweat of others. Always think in terms of "we" instead of "me." You know the achievements of your collaborators and your organization, and you recognize them.
7. They don't fear the strong
The leader knows that only the best are enough to carry out the organization's great missions, and he spares no effort to attract, promote and use the best. Possibly he will react harshly, even brutally, against any attempt to question and undermine his authority, but he does not eliminate strong people for fear of losing his authority. Surrounding yourself with weak and protected is a clear sign of weak leadership.
8. They are not utopian
It is possible that the leader has his own vision, better still, his mission, but he does not aspire to recreate heaven on earth, but rather concentrates his forces on avoiding hell. The true leader is realistic in the face of the nature of men, and strives to learn the lesson of history. He knows that despite so many fascinating utopian philosophies, it is not possible to create a new man, but the only possible thing is to alleviate the misery of this world step by step and in very modest dimensions. Although in his appearances to public opinion he can use a breath of utopia, since he knows the fascination that utopian projects have for men, in his actions, however,it is strictly guided by its knowledge of the risks involved in any interference in a complex social fabric and of the unintended side effects that emanate from the change, no matter how well intentioned it may be. He knows that utopias are ultimately not achievable.
9. True leaders are not born or made
They practically always make themselves, and the path is almost always the same: the starting point is the circumstance in which the person finds himself. It may be a historically significant situation, which would later be the subject of historiography, or it may be an ordinary situation, which would not receive any mention from historians.
In this circumstance, the leader recognizes the decisive mission that must change a situation or take advantage of an opportunity. And this is where the so-called "vision" of the leader is reflected, which is so often required of it, but which does not consist in the least in that transcendental and creative spark that emerges, but rather in a sober, but careful, reflection on all alternatives and priorities. From there, the leader makes himself available to the mission, without compromise or ambiguity.
Indeed, circumstance and mission can be as historically significant as Churchill's, after years of anonymous existence as a second-rate politician; Or the mission may be as routine as that of a mother, who takes care of her sick child night after night, without thinking about herself, until the child has overcome the crisis.
In both cases all the elements of the true direction are given. The historian's appreciation of both situations can be very different. The appreciation on the part of human beings will always be the same. Finally, the leader assumes responsibility for this decisive mission. Drucker, to illustrate, quotes American President Harry Truman: "I am president now and the buck stops here."
Bibliography
- FLAHERTY, John. Peter Drucker. The essence of modern administration. Ed. Prentice Hall. Mexico 2001.STEIN, Guido. The Art of Governing according to Peter Drucker. Ed. Gestión 2000. Madrid, Esp. 1999.
