Peter Drucker on the Profession of Management is a collection of articles written, over a period of many years, for the Harvard Business Review and now published by the Harvard Business School Press. They were selected and organized by Nan Stone. 

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." At one point, Drucker observes that he is "not comfortable with the word manager any more, because it implies subordinates." 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. 

In The Leadership Engine, Noel M. Tichy shares these observations about leaders: “They have clear ideas of what it takes to win in their marketplaces and how the organization should operate....strong values that everyone understands and lives up to....are not only highly energetic people themselves, but they actively work to create positive emotional energy in others....are willing to make tough decisions, and they encourage and reward others who do the same....[leaders] personalize their visions and ideas by telling stories that touch people’s emotions as well as their intellects.” 

Presumably Drucker agrees. Once again, his emphasis falls on crystal clear, non-negotiable values. Executives who make a total commitment to “strong values” are (by definition) “professionals” whose values are steadfast in competitive environments in which change is the only other constant.

For Drucker, a manager worthy of the name simply does not think in terms of "senior and junior polarities", of achieving and then sustaining arbitrary control over others (i.e. subordinates), of gaining and defending "turf", of commanding rather than earning respect. He endorses mentors IF they are empathetic as well as competent. At one point in Peter Drucker on the Profession of Management, he observes: "Knowledge is power, which is why people who had it in the past often tried to make a secret of it. In post-capitalism, power comes from transmitting information to make it productive, not from hiding it. That means you have to be intolerant of intellectual arrogance. And I mean intolerant." 

Drucker asserts that a theory of business has three parts: assumptions about the environment of the organization; assumptions about the specific mission of the organization; and assumptions about the core competencies needed to accomplish the organization's mission. He then explains the specifications for each cluster of assumptions. Whether using the word "manager" or "executive", Drucker stresses the importance of making effective decisions, especially those concerning the management of others, and suggests a sequence of steps involved in the decision-making process.

In Chapter 4, he discusses "The Big Power of Little Ideas." In the subsequent chapters Drucker shifts his attention to 

• successful entrepreneurs, all of whom demonstrate "a commitment to the systematic practice of innovation;"
• the first duty and continuing responsibility of the business manager which is "to strive for the best possible economic results from the resources currently employed or available;"
• various kinds of information needed, of their sources, and of the strategies to make the most effective use of them;
• appropriate objectives for information-based companies, and the problems that they must overcome;
• explaining what business can learn from nonprofits (a great deal;)
• the first social responsibility of management in the knowledge society.

In response to that question, Peter 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." 

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.

Order Peter Drucker on the Profession of Management here. 

Find the full list of Robert Morris's Business Nuggets featured by Eastbook.com here.

 

Peter Drucker on the Profession of Management 1996 Hardcover Edition	Peter Drucker on the Profession of Management 1996 Hardcover Edition

 

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