is an affiliate of the Drucker school of management
Peter Drucker once remarked
that “ citizenship in and through the
social sector is not a panacea” for
the ills of society, “ but it may be a
prerequisite for tackling these ills.”
We saw those words in action
on October 28 at our conference and
award dinner focused on nonprofit
effectiveness and innovation.
One highlight of the daytime
event was Karen Baker, California’s
Secretary of Service and
Volunteering, the first such cabinet-level
appointment in the country.
Karen recalled how she first
stumbled on Peter Drucker’s work
when she was in her mid- 20s and
interviewing for the directorship of
an L. A.- area nonprofit.
Many of the trustees on the
search committee worked in the
private sector and were steeped in
management thinking. Karen was, by
her own admission, totally green.
“ You are familiar with Drucker’s
work, aren’t you?” one of the
trustees asked. “ Of course, of
course,” Karen replied, before racing
to the library, where she checked out
every Drucker book she could find—
and, she says now, quickly came to
appreciate their insights.
Today, the state agency that
Baker oversees is helping to advance
the sector with an opportunity search
tool that helps volunteers find
meaningful work. People with time
and expertise to give want to make
an impact, not meet a need, Drucker
wrote. And this tool Karen
introduced us to is an important first
step toward organizing volunteer
effort for maximum effectiveness.
Later that evening, we listened
in rapt attention as Frances
Hesselbein, a Presidential Medal of
Freedom winner and former CEO of
the Girl Scouts of the USA,
introduced the Innovation Award
dinner’s keynote speaker: Wendy
Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach for
Rick Wartzman, director of the Drucker
Institute, writes a bimonthly column for
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:
• What Obama Shouldn’t Do Nov. 7, 2008
• No Magic Bullet for the Economic Crisis Oct. 24, 2008
• Financial Leadership, the Missing Ingredient Oct. 14, 2008
• The Financial Crisis: What Drucker Would Have Said Sept. 26, 2008
Letter from Claremont
“ The Drucker Difference” on BusinessWeek. com
Drucker Society Spotlight
How Drucker Societies worldwide are
advancing ethical leadership and effective
management.
Coming soon to a high school near
you: Peter Drucker.
The Drucker Society of Los Angeles,
together with the Drucker Institute, has
crafted a presentation that aims to teach
11th- and 12th- graders about the
fundamental importance of good
management— that management is the
way to turn ideas into action and results;
it’s the way to make dreams come true.
“ Students will learn from Peter
Drucker that dreaming big has a practical
aspect, and that intelligent, hard work can
change the world,” says Elisa Mann, co-president
of the Drucker Society of L. A.
The presentation uses three inspiring
narratives— that of César Chávez, NBA-star-
turned- inner- city- developer Earvin
“ Magic” Johnson, and Teach for America
founder Wendy Kopp— to explain what
Drucker called “ The Five Most Important
Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your
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claremont graduate university
The Drucker Institute commissioned an original documentary short on KickStart International, winner of the 2008
Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation. You can watch it at www. DRUCKERinstitute. com.
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 Nov/ Dec 2008
is an affiliate of the drucker school of management
America. Wendy told us the remarkable story of how her organization evolved from
a senior thesis 20 years ago into a national powerhouse in public education today.
Across those two decades, she said, TFA has held fast to two core Drucker
values: innovation and effectiveness. Drucker defined innovation as “ endowing
human and material resources with new and greater wealth- producing capacity,”
and there is no doubt that helping millions of underachieving kids to reach their full
academic potential enriches us all.
But “ contrary to popular belief in the romance of invention and innovation,”
Drucker wrote, what really drives innovation is “ analysis, system, and hard work.”
“ Whether or not Teach for America met its goals,” Wendy has written, “ would
depend on whether or not our organizational leaders— and I myself— were
effective managers.” Drucker’s principles, she added, “ have, in fact, proven to be
the key.”
Rick Wartzman and Zach First
Director and Assistant Director
The Evidence
The need for ethical
leadership and effective
management— that is, the
need for Peter Drucker’s
principles and practices— has
never been greater.
Of ING Direct’s 100,000 mortgages—
worth $ 26 billion— a mere
15 have resulted in foreclosure.
Are your values
keeping you focused on
the right things?
Source: BusinessWeek
In the midst of the current economic
crisis, it’s reassuring to know that some
financial companies are still doing the
right things well.
Edward Jones, which the St. Louis
Business Journal recently said has
" avoided the problems plaguing Wall
Street firms mainly by sticking to…
Midwest values," owes its current
stability in large part to the
longstanding relationship between
Peter Drucker and Jones senior
partner John Bachmann.
In the midst of planning
sessions in the 1970s with Edward
D. Jones, the founder’s son,
Bachmann picked up a copy of
Drucker’s Management: Tasks,
Responsibilities, Practices. For
Bachmann, it was a revelation.
In 1981, he persuaded Drucker
to sign on as a consultant to the
company. Drucker’s relationship with
Edward Jones continued for more
than two decades, and Bachmann
credits Drucker with shaping the
company as it exists today.
In a 2000 note to Drucker,
Bachmann wrote, “ You taught and still
teach us how to lead and manage,
demanding that we think and ultimately
see differently… It is my hope that in
Edward Jones you see a laboratory for
your ideas about organization,
management, and treating people.”
Organization.” The students will then
design their own community- service
project guided by these questions:
What is Our Mission? Who is Our
Customer? What Does the Customer
Value? What Are Our Results? What
is Our Plan?
Drucker Society volunteers will
continue to be available to work with
students, teachers, and school
administrators as they shape and
carry out their projects.
The Drucker in High Schools
program is expected to be rolled out
at several pilot sites in the next
couple of months. In addition to the
Drucker Society of L. A., the Drucker
Society of New York has also been
laying the groundwork to unveil the
program in that city. And though the
presentation has been designed with
an American student audience in
mind, versions can also be tailored
for Drucker Societies abroad by
telling the stories of their own local
heroes.
Society Spotlight, cont’d
Letter from Claremont, cont’d
The newsletter of the Drucker Institute www. druckerinstitute. com Nov/ Dec 2008
FROM THE ARCHIVES
