is an affiliate of the drucker school of management
Summer has never felt so
welcome.
Given the state of our world—
the environmental disaster in the
Gulf, ongoing turmoil in global
financial markets and continued
strife in the Middle East—who
couldn’t use a break?
But we also know that, as much
as we’d like this challenging time to
simply give way to a more stable
period, that isn’t likely. Indeed, as we
talk with people from all sectors
(public, private and nonprofit), one
consistent theme emerges: Volatility
in our world—and, by extension, in
our organizations—seems here to
stay.
With that in mind, we thought
we’d share seven lessons from Peter
Drucker to help leaders (once they
get back from vacation) be effective
through these turbulent times.
1. Face facts.
“A time of turbulence is a
dangerous time. But its greatest
danger is a temptation to deny
reality.”
2. As things change around
you, there is an even greater
need to be clear and consistent.
“To trust a leader, it is not
necessary to like him. Nor is it
necessary to agree with him. Trust is
the conviction that the leader means
what he says.”
3. Especially during periods
of turmoil, remind others why
they’re doing what they’re doing.
“A fundamental responsibility of
leadership is to make sure that
everybody knows the mission,
understands it, lives it.”
4. This is the perfect time to
plan what you’re going to stop
doing.
“Planned, purposeful
abandonment of the old and of the
unrewarding is a prerequisite to
successful pursuit of the new and
highly promising.”
Rick Wartzman, executive director of
the Drucker Institute, writes a column for
Bloomberg Businessweek online that ties
Peter Drucker’s work to today’s headlines.
For a list of all of his columns, click here.
Rick’s recent “Drucker Difference” columns:
• Wal-Mart’s Blended Learning Plan June 18, 2010
• Peter Drucker and the Hon Hai Suicides June 4, 2010
• When Retirement Is Not an Option May 21, 2010
• Goldman Sachs: Failure of Innovation May 7, 2010
Letter from Claremont
“The Drucker Difference” on Bloomberg Businessweek
Drucker Society Spotlight
How Drucker Societies worldwide are
advancing effective management and
responsible leadership.
In late May, the world descended
upon Claremont.
Representatives from 28 Drucker
Societies in 18 countries gathered
together for our fourth annual Global
Symposium.
Over the course of three days,
Symposium participants received training
in programs designed to better their local
communities through the universal
insights found in Peter Drucker’s work. By
coming together in one place, Society
members learn of “the variety of options
we have to accomplish our mission,” said
Rafael Estrada, who has applied to form a
Drucker Society in Peru.
From wherever the Society members
came—Auckland or Austria, Dallas or
Dubai, Bangkok or Brazil—they went
home prepared to make a difference.
“If my objective is to trigger a wave
of positive change through a Drucker
Continued on the next page Continued on the next page
claremont graduate university
rucker Apps 2.0 is a new social-media tool that ties Drucker’s timeless wisdom to the hottest issues of today.
Right now, readers are talking about teamwork and about leadership in the wake of BP’s crisis in the Gulf.
1021 n dartmouth ave, claremont, ca 91711
THE WINDOW “I don’t predict. I just look out the window and see what’s visible but not yet seen.”
— Peter F. Drucker
The newsletter of the Drucker Institute www.druckerinstitute.com July/Aug 2010
is an affiliate of the drucker school of management
5. Have the courage to experiment—even amid the turbulence.
“Everything improved or new needs first to be tested on a small scale, that is,
it needs to be piloted… Everything new gets into trouble. And then it needs a
champion.”
6. When resources are tight, spend your money on what matters most.
“No organization can do better than the people it has. The yield from the
human resource really determines the organization’s performance.”
7. Be mindful that some things never change.
“Any organization…needs a commitment to values and their constant
reaffirmation, as a human body needs vitamins and minerals.”
May you have a safe and restful summer—one that restores you and steels
you for whatever lies ahead.
Rick Wartzman and Zach First
Executive Director and Managing Director
Learn more about the
Drucker Management Path at
www.DruckerUnpacked.com.
This summer, McGraw-Hill will
release The Drucker Lectures, a
collection of classroom talks and other
speeches from Peter Drucker. Here is a
brief excerpt from Rick Wartzman’s
introduction to the book:
❧
You can picture him
perched on the edge of a
classroom table, peering
through thick glasses at
the students who hang on
his every word. His
baritone voice washes over
the room, his Austrian
accent as thick as a
Sachertorte.
He doesn’t refer to any
written notes. But every
now and again, his eyes
roll back in his head and he pauses,
almost like a computer downloading a
store of information, before returning to
his point and underscoring it with a new
set of facts and figures.
His protean mind meanders from
topic to topic—a discussion on cost
accounting bleeding into a riff on
Mesopotamian city-states before he
veers into a lesson on the history of
higher education or health care. But,
somehow, he magically ties it all
together in the end. In his hands,
discursiveness becomes a fine art.
Peter Drucker, widely
hailed as the greatest
management thinker of all
time, is best known for the
39 books he wrote. But
those who had the
pleasure of attending a
Drucker lecture, before he
died in 2005 just shy of his
ninety-sixth birthday, got to
see another side of him.
Featuring lectures
from the dawn of the
television age straight through to the
Internet age, from World War II to the
aftermath of September 11, 2001, from
the ascent into office of Chiang Kai-shek
to the emergence of China as a global
economic power, this book is designed
to provide a taste of what that was like.
Society in Egypt, then the
Symposium was the right place to
start,” said Khaled Wahba, who
traveled from Cairo for the event.
The Symposium, he explained,
allowed him “to be among those
who created the vision” for what the
Societies could accomplish and “to
learn how others are [transforming]
their communities” through
programs such as the “Closing the
Responsibility Gap” presentation,
the Drucker-in-High-Schools
initiative and a workshop on
innovation and entrepreneurship.
Jack Bergstrand, whose
Atlanta-based Drucker Society of
Georgia is looking to improve the
lives of 1 million children by sharing
Drucker’s ideas on effective
management with nonprofits,
described the Symposium as “a
great opportunity to engage with a
truly remarkable group of people so
that we can collectively make a
systematic and sustainable
difference in the world.”
Society Spotlight, cont’d
Letter from Claremont, cont’d
The newsletter of the Drucker Institute www.druckerinstitute.com July/Aug 2010
FROM THE ARCHIVES
DRUCKER
lectures
The
P r e v i o u s ly u n p u b l i s h e d ta l k s f r o m
t h e Fat h e r o f Mo d e r n Manag eme n t
P E T E R F. D R U C K E R
E d i t e d and wi th an I nt roduc t i on b y
R i c k W a r t z m a n
Executive Director of The Drucker Institute
E s s e n t i a l L e s s o n s o n
Manag e m e nt, S oc i ety, and E conomy
“In many ways, the new capacity to organize
and to manage is a great strength. But it is
very recent—not even a hundred years old.”
!Peter F. Drucker, 1967
Hailed by BusinessWeek as “the man
who invented management,” Peter F.
Drucker approached the topic from a stun-ning
number of angles—drawing on lessons
from sociology, culture, politics, econom-ics,
religion, psychology, and literature—and
molded them into a clear, coherent vision:
The ultimate health of society depends on
whether our corporations and other institu-tions
are effectively run and responsibly led.
Over many decades, Drucker’s books
and articles have influenced countless busi-ness,
nonprofit, and government leaders,
and his principles continue to help steer the
most successful organizations in the world.
But even his most avid fans will find a new
Peter Drucker in these pages. The Drucker
Lectures presents thirty-three of his most im-portant
speeches and talks delivered at profes-sional
gatherings and in the classroom. They
showcase a great thinker at work—exploring,
testing, and refining his ideas.
Containing sixty years worth of oratory—
from World War II and the dawn of television
to the internet age and the rise of China as
an economic power—The Drucker Lectures
includes:
���
At times humble and self-deprecating, at
times boldly authoritative, Drucker always
kept his audience spellbound; this book is sure
to have the same effect on readers. The Drucker
Lectures is an important new addition to the
oeuvre of the man who laid the foundation of
management as we know it.
Rick Wartzman is the execu-tive
director of the Drucker
Institute at Claremont Graduate
University and a columnist for
Bloomberg Businessweek online.
He is the author of Obscene in the Extreme:
The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck’s The
Grapes of Wrath and the coauthor of the best-seller
The King of California: J.G. Boswell and the
Making of a Secret American Empire. He lives in
Los Angeles, California.
( cont i nue d on bac k f lap )
TheDRUCKER LECTURES DRUCKER
WARTZMAN
ISBN 978-0-07-170045-0
USD $29.95
MHID 0-07-170045-5
9 780071 70045 0
5 2 9 9 5>
( cont i nue d f rom f ront f lap ) Business $29.95 USD
Jacket design by Ty Nowicki
Jacket illustration by Opoku Acheampong
“Rick Wartzman has brought Peter Drucker alive again, and vividly so, in his own words.
These samples of his talks and lectures, because they were spoken not written,
will be new to almost all of us. A great and unexpected treat.”
—Charles Handy, author of Myself and Other More Important Matters
“Drucker’s ideas continue to resonate powerfully. His lectures on effectiveness, innovation, the
social sector, education and so much more provide fresh insights
and provide lessons for us all. This book is a gem.”
—Wendy Kopp, CEO and founder of Teach for America
“This collection is as far-ranging as Drucker’s thinking and writing. If you have sampled
Drucker before, you will find things you haven’t seen. Peter’s ideas live on.
You will be energized by reading them anew.”
—Paul O’Neill, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
“This superbly edited collection captures both the range of Drucker’s thinking and the sweep of
history that informed it. The Drucker Lectures is a riveting read that reveals the depth and subtlety
of one of America’s most remarkable minds.”
—Daniel H. Pink, author of A Whole New Mind and Drive
“Thank you, Rick Wartzman, for the pleasure of learning from the witty,
informal Peter Drucker as his ideas unfold and his remarkable mind grapples with
challenges of management that are still with us today.”
—Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School Professor and author of
Confidence and SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation,
Profits, Growth, and Social Good
“These lectures are as vital today as they were when Peter delivered them.
The Drucker Lectures is a classic collection that belongs on every manager’s bookshelf.”
—Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager®
and Leading at a Higher Level
“ Peter Drucker shined a light in a dark and chaotic world, and his words remain as relevant
today as when he first spoke them. Drucker’s lectures and thoughts deserve to be considered
by every person of responsibility, now, tomorrow, ten years from now, fifty, and a hundred.”
—Jim Collins, bestselling author of Good to Great
