If there were only two writers on management you must read, Peter Drucker would certainly be one of them (Mary Parker Follett would be the other). And if there were only two of his books that you should read, this would be one (we will review the other next month).
In the past several posts, we have reviewed what a manager is and what he or she does. The purpose was to help determine how to develop managers and train them to do these things better. In order to help illustrate the force of our arguments, we resorted frequently to this book by Peter Drucker, written over 30 years ago.
“Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices” is, as its title implies, focused on the duties of managers, and the approaches to them that can make managers successful – not on their putatively singular personal characteristics. It is more than a refreshing change from the self-absorbed dross that litters the shelves today – it is a viewpoint that is essential to the self-development of a woman or man into a successful manager at any level.
Divided into three parts, it begins with a comprehensive discussion of the tasks of the manager. The reader learns not only what these are, but why they are so unique and important in a society of organizations – that is, why they are so distinct from what we have traditionally (and still do) think of the role of a boss or “leader.” The next part uses this perspective as traction for focusing on the manager’s roles and skills. The book concludes with an important discussion of how the previous two manifest in the tasks and organization of top management, including an especially cogent chapter on the importance of effective boards.
The book seems imposing, containing 61 chapters organized in three parts and 9 subdivisions, totalling over 800 pages. However, it is organized with the sense and lucidity that characterizes Drucker’s thinking on management, and will serve as a valuable consultant on your shelf, offering easy to identify and access advice on whatever your organizational or managerial concerns may be at any given moment.
At first, spend some time browsing, picking and choosing what to read. Start with the last chapter, if you wish, on innovation, or one from the middle, on effective decisions or management and quality of life. You will be amazed at how incisive and clear is the logic you are presented with, and how immediately useful it will be to you in your daily practice as a manager. Undoubtedly, you will be drawn to read the whole thing.
But at the very least, pick up this essential member of your manager’s library today. Make this comprehensive gathering of Drucker’s unique and mutually integrated combination of insight, observation, and logical assessment available to help you become a better manager. Read and ponder it, and that is what you will find yourself becoming.
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Please be sure see all the posts in this series!
- Marketing Management
- Defining Management
- Understanding what we do
- Understanding who we are
- Faith or deeds?
- Doing “certain – and fairly simple – things”
- The fundamental requirements
- The basic resource of the business enterprise
- Making tasks meaningful
- Making it matter
- Setting the rules
- Book Review: Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices
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