Peter Drucker on the Profession of Management [Paperback]

Peter F. Drucker is known as the "management guru's management guru". The articles in this book explain the reason. Each article is a landmark in the field of management.
In the preface Drucker shows why he has become so famous. He shows his strength of recognising trends and how these trends will affect business, people, and society. This preface is followed by a short introduction from the editor.

The book consists of two Parts, The Manager's Responsibilities and The Executive's World, with each consisting of 6 Harvard Business Review-articles (out of 32 articles and growing). The book also includes an interesting preface, an introduction by Harvard Business Review-editor Nan Stone, and an interview with Peter Drucker.

In Part I - The Manager's Responsibilities, the articles discuss the managerial responsibilities of the manager, although Drucker prefers the term "executive". The articles discuss general management such as the decision-making process, effective management, strategic management, and innovation.

Part II - The Executive's World, Drucker discusses the history of management, the transformation from the traditional command-and-control model to knowledge-based organizations, information technology, and non-profit management.

The book concludes with an interview with Peter Drucker, which is based on his 1995-book 'Post-Capitalist Society'.

The book deserves the five-star rating since each article is fantastic. Perhaps some of them overlap, but it is amazing that some of the articles written in the 1960s are still very valid today. Drucker's writing style is simple US-English.

This book was very useful, it covered what I required for a college course

I recently re-read several of Peter Drucker's books before reading Elizabeth Haas Edersheim's recently published account of his last 16-18 months, in The Definitive Drucker. What amazes me (although it probably should not) is how relevant his perspectives and insights continue to be, even after several decades. Although Drucker gave form and direction to understanding management as a discipline, he disliked the word "manager" because "it implies subordinates." On frequent occasions when meeting a stranger who asked him what he did, Drucker said he was a "student." He seemed most proud of what he learned from others. Of course, they possessed a significant advantage: They had Peter Drucker and he did not.

This is a collection of articles written, over a period of many years, for the Harvard Business Review and later published by the Harvard Business School Press. They were selected and organized by Nan Stone. Each is a classic. Other business books three times greater in length offer about a third of what this anthology does in terms of substance. In Part I, Drucker examines "The Manager's Responsibilities" and in Part II, "The Executive's World." When nearing his 90th birthday, Drucker acknowledged his discomfort with the word manager. This is a revealing comment in light of what the word profession literally means: "to make a public declaration or vow." For Drucker, professionals are those who have crystal clear, non-negotiable values and make a total commitment to them. Drucker may have had doubts about the word "manager" but certainly had no doubts about the absolute importance of having impeccable integrity. He was also a relentless pragmatist. This is indicated by my personal favorite among his comments, expressed in an article he published in the Harvard Business Review in 1963: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all."

In one of the essays in this volume, Drucker reaffirms his conviction that the "fundamental task of management remains the same: to make people capable of joint performance by giving them common goals, common values, the right structure, and the ongoing training and development they need to perform and to respond to change." (Here in a single statement is a core concept that many other business authors require an entire book to explain.) Are there any predictions in Peter Drucker on the Profession of Management? No. Rather, Drucker examines the implications of a future "that has already happened." Only time will tell who prove equal to the challenges he has so eloquently identified. Authentic professionals are those who combine talent and skill with character. The challenges which await them will surely test their talent and skill but must never be allowed to compromise their character.

How fortunate executives are to have so many of Peter Drucker's books and articles readily available and hopefully they will continue to be available to later generations of executives. There is so much of value to be learned from one of history's most inquisitive "students."