Peter Drucker on the Profession of Management

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Peter Drucker On The Profession of Management

Without any apology, we think that Peter Drucker should head any list of essential management reading. In our view his work typifies what thought leadership should be - providing insight, challenge, and fresh thinking. He wrote in a compelling style, and thought widely and deeply about the world of management and business.
Drucker wrote about management in a wide context. As well as asking "how" we should manage and organise, he also asked questions such as "what is the role of a manager" and "why" does management matter? Why is it important to society?

All of these perspectives come together in this book which is a collection of his landmark articles in the Harvard Business Review. Here, gathered together and framed by a thoughtful introduction from the Review's editor Nan Stone, is a priceless collection of his most significant work.

One of the leading thinkers on the practice and study of management, and an essential for any set of thought leadership resources, Drucker has sought out, identified, and examined the most important issues confronting managers, from corporate strategy, to management style, to social change. Through his unique lens, this volume gives us the rare opportunity to trace the evolution of the great shifts in our workplace patterns, and to understand more clearly the role of managers.

Some of the articles were written back in the 1960's, but still hold relevance today. These essays represent Drucker at his best: direct, wise, and challenging. Peter Drucker on the Profession of Management, is an essential read, to be enjoyed, studied, and debated by everyone concerned with management.

Three examples from this book show Drucker's ability to address major concerns for managers.

Firstly, the excellent essay "Managing for Business Effectiveness", written in 1963, in which Drucker articulates what managers really want to know. "How to organise the task; how to tell the important from the time-wasting, the potentially effective from the merely frustrating". This work still resonates today.

In "The New Productivity Challenge", written in 1991, Drucker addresses "the single greatest challenge facing managers in the developed countries of the world. What is that challenge? "To raise the productivity of knowledge and service workers".

Thirdly, in "The Big Power of Little Ideas", he raises a great question: "What major changes in economy, market, or knowledge would enable our company to conduct business the way we'd like to do it, the way we would really obtain the best economic results?"

In Drucker's own words he challenges us all:

"By not daring to take the risk of making the new happen, management takes, by default, the greater risk of being surprised by what will happen."

Some Suggestions to Get the Most Out of This Book.

We have no hesitation in recommending "Peter Drucker On The Profession of Management". You'll find several articles on this site based on many of his ideas. Take a look at some Happy Manager pages which have used the wisdom of Peter Drucker:

Peter Drucker Quotes: Wisdom From The Giant of Giants
Business Goal Setting: Using the F-Plan
Valuing a Good Manager? People Leave Managers Not Companies
Manage Your Boss

Or look at our other recommended Peter Drucker books....

Interested in Other Leadership Books?

Interested in other books on leadership and management? Then click on the blue header on our Happy Manager bookshop link, in the left hand margin (UK visitors click on the red box). You'll find many of the books on offer with up to 30% off list price.

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