Why Read Drucker?
As a developing leader of a family business, where should you seek the fundamental knowledge and wisdom to contribute most to developing a solid background for leadership thinking? Read on to find out.
The leading management and leadership periodicals and books are full of material about Peter Drucker’s incredibly wise and balanced directions for being an influence for good in the field of management and leadership. We suggest you start with a Harvard Business Review article, “Why Read Peter Drucker.” The author, Professor Alan M. Kantrow, suggests you read Drucker to see the way he thinks in addition to profound combinations of pure common sense and forward leaning thinking by citing his “integrative, holistic thinking; fair-mindedness, and dispassionate objectivity.” Kantrow continues his identification of some of the Drucker “gifts” by suggesting as learners we observe the discipline of his mind more than studying the content of his thought.
A major development occurred in Drucker’s writing, The Practice of Management, when he distilled the five functions of management to the following:
1. Sets objectives
2. Organizes
3. Motivates and communicates
4. The job of measurement
5. Develops people
IMAGINE THAT! Only 5 functions and you can manage just about anything! Simple and effective! A well-developed management model developed around these functions can create a robust model for guiding an organization through the critical functions of operational effectiveness.
Where does this come from? Creative Leadership. The Academy of Family Business has developed a comprehensive curriculum to help deliver this kind of leadership. To learn more about the training available to strengthen leadership, discipline, and performance, please visit us at: info@myAFB.org