Review of the Effective Executive
The Effective Executive - Peter F Drucker
If you are ever stranded on that mythical deserted island, and can only have one management book, make this the book.
Peter Drucker died on November 11, 2005 at the age of 95. His life and work spanned sixty years and he left behind a body of knowledge and ideas that continue to influence all “knowledge workers” (a term Drucker coined back in the 60s) today. Drucker starts the book by stating that this book is about managing oneself and that executives who do not manage themselves cannot possibly expect to manage other people. He develops his ideas from real experience, supporting them using real-life stories of successes and failures taken from business and politics. The main premise is based on:
Efficiency vs. Effectiveness
"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things." For manual work, efficiency was enough. In today’s world, the center of gravity has shifted from the manual worker to the knowledge worker. For knowledge work, effectiveness is more important than efficiency.
Drucker is one of the most lucid and insightful writers. In this book, he applies those skills to analyzing the job of anyone who has to do knowledge work. In other words, this isn 't for the "executive" in the literal sense. If thinking is a large part of what someone does, this is a good book for them. He also demonstrates an uncanny ability to see organizations in all their complexity and reduce management problems to their essentials. Like a master musician, he rarely strikes the wrong chord, and each idea blends flawlessly with the next. He provides a complete model for management effectiveness that is sound and solidly based on his experience. The main points are strikingly simple:
• Know thy time
• Focus on contribution
• Make strengths productive
• Do first things first
• Make effective decisions
1. Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed -
If you are ever stranded on that mythical deserted island, and can only have one management book, make this the book.
Peter Drucker died on November 11, 2005 at the age of 95. His life and work spanned sixty years and he left behind a body of knowledge and ideas that continue to influence all “knowledge workers” (a term Drucker coined back in the 60s) today. Drucker starts the book by stating that this book is about managing oneself and that executives who do not manage themselves cannot possibly expect to manage other people. He develops his ideas from real experience, supporting them using real-life stories of successes and failures taken from business and politics. The main premise is based on:
Efficiency vs. Effectiveness
"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things." For manual work, efficiency was enough. In today’s world, the center of gravity has shifted from the manual worker to the knowledge worker. For knowledge work, effectiveness is more important than efficiency.
Drucker is one of the most lucid and insightful writers. In this book, he applies those skills to analyzing the job of anyone who has to do knowledge work. In other words, this isn 't for the "executive" in the literal sense. If thinking is a large part of what someone does, this is a good book for them. He also demonstrates an uncanny ability to see organizations in all their complexity and reduce management problems to their essentials. Like a master musician, he rarely strikes the wrong chord, and each idea blends flawlessly with the next. He provides a complete model for management effectiveness that is sound and solidly based on his experience. The main points are strikingly simple:
• Know thy time
• Focus on contribution
• Make strengths productive
• Do first things first
• Make effective decisions
1. Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed -