take the drucker test

vinay kamat

If management writing can be simple and clear, why make it complex and intimidating? And, if solutions are obvious, why do writers brand themselves as gurus? You’ll get the answers if you read Peter Ferdinand Drucker, the man who created his muse.

Although he invented the discipline of management, Druckersphere is shorn of hype, fad, mantra, buzz, paranoia, wow. It is a place to unravel yourself; know how to manage your time; realize the value of learning; and understand why results are important. Filled with powerful characters like GM’s Alfred Sloan and AT&T’s Theodore Vail, Drucker’s prose is as understated as Tom Peters’ forewards. When you finish Drucker, you are quietly bewitched by the clarity and linearity of his plot.

Drucker, who died on November 11, could well have passed off as a travel writer. With his acute observations and fascinating anecdotes, he rediscovered the organization for the reader. He peopled it with knowledge workers—resources in quest of superior results. In doing so, he exalted work; it was always something to be contributed, not executed.

In his 1966 book, The Effective Executive, Drucker said his would be the first word. If you read the book, you’ll realize that it’s the last word. Indeed, it’s the most convincing word in management literature. Read it before you read The Concept of the Corporation (the 1946 work based on GM) and The Practice of Management (the 1954 publication focused on tomorrow’s managers). The Effective Executive is the quintessential Drucker because it’s not just an idea; it’s a how-to manual and self-motivation tool as well.

Drucker’s anecdotal touch is the glue that holds the text. One anecdote tells how a President focused on deliverables, not weaknesses. “Lincoln, when told that General Grant, his new commander-in-chief, was fond of the bottle, said: ’If I knew his brand, I’d send a barrel or so of it to some other generals.’” In Grant, Lincoln saw what he wanted: a winner, not a guzzler.

“The first rule in decision-making is that one does not make a decision unless there is a disagreement,” explains Drucker. He elevates this rule with an anecdote from GM. “Alfred Sloan is reported to have said at a meeting of one of his top committees: ‘Gentlemen, I take it we are all in complete agreement on the decision here…Then, I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until our next meeting to give ourselves time to develop disagreement and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about.’”

In The Practice of Management, Drucker quotes Jonathan Swift to describe the essence of management: “Whoever makes two blades of grass grow where only one grew before deserves better of mankind than any speculative philosopher or metaphysical system builder.”

Drucker grew two blades of grass too by contributing to the growth of the new corporation. It was an effort worth applauding. For, it also created a benchmark for ideating and writing.