The Daily Drucker
366 Days of Insight and Motivation for Getting the Right Things Done
Peter F. Drucker
20041026
About This Book
Revered management thinker Peter F. Drucker is our trusted guide in this thoughtful, day-by-day companion that offers his penetrating and practical wisdom. Amid the multiple pressures of our daily work lives, The Daily Drucker provides inspiration and advice to meet the many challenges we face. With Drucker’s trademark clarity, vision, and humanity, Drucker sets out his ideas on a broad swath of key topics, from time management to innovation to outsourcing, providing useful insights for each day of the year.
These 366 daily readings have been harvested from Drucker’s lifetime of work. The reader will find an action point at the bottom of each page that spells out exactly how to put Drucker’s ideas into practice. It is as if the as if the world’s wisest and most action-oriented management consultant is in the room, offering his timeless gems of advice. This book is for anyone who seeks to understand and put to use Drucker’s powerful words and ideas.
Introduction
In putting together The Daily Druker, I (Joseph A. Maciariello) have tried to distill and synthesize the “tapestry” that Peter Drucker has woven and continues to weave. I have done this by constructing 366 readings, each addressing a major topic, one for every day of the year. Each reading starts with a topic and a “Drucker Proverb” or other quote capturing the essence of the topic. These proverbs, wise sayings, and quotes are mnemonic constructs that remind one of the teaching on each topic. Then follows a teaching taken directly from the works of Peter Drucker. Next comes the action step, where you are asked to “act on” the teaching and apply it to yourself and your organization.
After each reading, the original source or sources from which the reading was excerpted are cited as references. Unless indicated otherwise, the page references provided in “Sources by Day” refer to the latest edition of each book. The status of each reference is contained in the “Annotated Bibliography,” at the end of the book. Most Drucker books referenced are in print, especially those referred to most often. If you wish to go deeper into a specific topic, you may.
One word of advice: Look for “the future that has already happened.” If you can identify and act upon trends that are just now emerging, you will carry forward in practice the Drucker Tradition.
I have many times listened to Peter Drucker address executives, and I have on a few occasions seen him in action as a consultant. In his teaching and consulting he has impressed me most by the consistency and effectiveness of the approach he uses. First, he always makes sure he has defined the problem correctly. Next, he seems to weave a tapestry, bringing his vast knowledge to bear upon the specific problem, and putting in “stitches,” or specific portions of the solution to the problem. Finally, once the problem has been circumscribed and the tapestry woven, he outlines the specific actions that should be taken to solve the problem. He then tells his audiences, “Don’t tell me you enjoyed this; tell me what you will do differently on Monday morning.”
While his approach is consistent, any single Drucker book or article is different. By the time Peter Drucker has worked through the many drafts, outcomes a systematic and insightful discussion of a major topic “in society” or “in management.” But, if one studies his many writings completed over the past sixty-five years, the same tapestry that I refer to as “The Tapestry of Drucker on Society and Management” is seen.
Since graduating from college in 1962, I have been studying and using Drucker’s work. Even so, distilling and synthesizing Drucker’s work and giving thought to appropriate Action Points for each reading has been a transformative experience for me. It is my wish that the book also will be transformative for you.
Joseph A. Maciariello
Claremont, California
Summer 2014