The Effective Executive

202 Pages·2002·18.834 MB·English

by  Peter F. Drucker

PETER F.
D R U C K E R
"Hiswritings are landmarks ofthe managerial profession."
—HarvardBusinessReview
THE
E f f e c t i v e
E x e c u t i v e
The Definitive Guide to
Getting the Right Things Done
The
Effective
Executive
Books by Peter E Drucker &Joseph A. Maciariello
The EffectiveExecutiveinAction
Books by Peter E Drucker
MANAGEMENT
The DailyDrucker (withJosephA.Maciariello)
TheEssentialDrucker
ManagementChallengesforthe 21stCentury
PeterDruckeron the Profession ofManagement
Managingin aTime ofGreatChange
Managingforthe Future
Managingthe Non-Profit Organization
The Frontiers ofManagement
InnovationandEntrepreneurship
The ChangingWorldofthe Executive
Managing inTurbulentTimes
Management:Tasks,Responsibilities,Practices
Technology,Management andSociety
TheEffectiveExecutive
Managing forResults
The Practice ofManagement
Conceptofthe Corporation
ECONOMICS, POLITICS, SOCIETY
Post-Capitalist Society
DruckeronAsia
The EcologicalRevolution
The NewRealities
Toward the NextEconomics
The PensionFundRevolution
Men,Ideas, andPolitics
TheAge ofDiscontinuity
Landmarks ofTomorrow
America's NextTwentyYears
The NewSociety
The Future ofIndustrialMan
TheEndofEconomicMan
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Adventures ofaBystander
FICTION
TheTemptation to Do Good
The LastofAllPossibleWorlds
T h e
E f f e c t i v e
Executive
PETER F.
DRUCKER
C Collins
AnImprintofHarperCollinsPub/Zshers
WhatMakes an EffectiveExecutivewasoriginallypublishedin
theJune 2004issue ofHarvardBusinessReview.
the effectiveexecutive. Copyright © 1967,1985,1996,2002,2006
byPeterEDrucker.Allrights reserved.PrintedintheUnitedStates
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The LibraryofCongresshascataloguedthe previous
paperbackeditionasfollows:
Drucker,PeterFerdinand,1909-
The effective executive.
(Harper colophonbooks)
Includes index.
1.Executives—UnitedStates.2.Decision-making.
I.Tide
HD 38.25.U6D78 1985,658.4 84-48156
ISBN 0-06-051607-0
ISBN-10:0-06-083345-9
ISBN-13:978-0-06-083345-9
080910RRD(H) 20191817161514131211 10
Contents
Preface
IX
Introduction:What Makes an Effective Executive? xi
1. Effectiveness Can Be Learned 1
2. KnowThyTime 25
3. What Can I Contribute? 52
4. Making Strength Productive 71
5. FirstThings First 100
6. The Elements ofDecision-making 113
7. Effective Decisions 143
Conclusion: Effectiveness Must Be Learned 166
Index 175
Preface
Management books usually deal with managing other people. The
subjectofthisbookismanagingoneselffor effectiveness.Thatonecan
trulymanageother peopleis byno means adequately proven. Butone
can always manage oneself. Indeed, executives who do not manage
themselves for effectiveness cannot possibly expect to manage their
associates and subordinates. Management is largely by example.
Executiveswhodo notknowhowto makethemselveseffectivein their
ownjob andworksetthewrongexample.
Tobereasonablyeffectiveitis notenough for theindividualtobe
intelligent,toworkhardortobeknowledgeable. Effectivenessissome
thing separate, something different. Buttobeeffective also does not
require special gifts, special aptitude, orspecial training. Effectiveness
as an executive demands doingcertain—and fairly simple—things. It
consistsofasmallnumberofpractices, thepracticesthatare presented
and discussed in this book. Butthese practices are not "inborn." In
forty-five years ofwork as aconsultantwith alarge number ofexecu
tives in awidevariety of organizations—large andsmall; businesses,
governmentagencies, labor unions, hospitals, universities, community
services; American, European, Latin American andJapanese—I have
not come across asingle"natural": an executive who was born effec
tive. All the effective ones have had to learn to be effeaive. And all of
them then hadto practice effectiveness untilit became habit. But all
theones whoworked on making themselves effective executives suc
ceededindoingso. Effectiveness can belearned—and it also hasto be
learned.
Effectiveness iswhat executives are being paid for, whether they
workas managerswhoare responsible for theperformanceofothers as
x PREFACE
wellastheirown,orasindividual professionalcontributorsresponsible
for theirown performanceonly.Without effectivenessthereisno"per
formance," nomatterhowmuchintelligenceandknowledge goes into
thework, nomatterhowmanyhoursittakes.Yetitisperhaps nottoo
surprisingthatwehave so far paidlittleattention tothe effectiveexec
utive. Organizations—whether business enterprises, large government
agencies, labor unions, large hospitals or large universities—are, after
all, brand new. A century ago almost noone had even much contact
with such organizations beyond an occasional trip to the local post
office to mail a letter. And effectiveness asan executive means effec
tiveness inandthrough an organization. Until recendytherewas little
reason for anyone to pay muchattention totheeffective executive or
toworry about thelow effectiveness ofso many ofthem. Now, how
ever, most people—especiallythosewitheven afair amountofschool
ing—can expect tospend all theirworking lives inan organization of
some kind. Society has become asocietyoforganizations inall devel
oped countries. Now the effectiveness of the individual depends
increasingly onhis orher ability tobeeffective inan organization, to
beeffectiveasanexecutive.And the effectiveness ofamodern society
anditsabilitytoperform—perhapsevenitsabilitytosurvive—depend
increasingly ontheeffectiveness ofthepeoplewhoworkas executives
in theorganizations. The effective executive is fast becoming a key
resource for society, andeffectiveness as anexecutive aprimerequire
ment for individual accomplishment and achievement—for young
peopleatthebeginningoftheirworkinglives fully as muchas for peo
plein mid-career.
introduction:
What Makes an Effective Executive?
by Peter F. Drucker
An effective executive does not need to be a leader in the sense that
the term isnow most commonly used.HarryTruman did not have
one ounce of charisma, for example, yet he was among the most
effective chief executives in U.S. history. Similarly, some ofthe best
business and nonprofitCEOs I'veworkedwith overa 65-yearcon
sultingcareerwere not stereotypical leaders.They were allover the
map in terms of their personalities,attitudes, values,strengths, and
weaknesses.They ranged from extroverted to nearly reclusive, from
easygoing to controlling, from generous to parsimonious.
Whatmadethem alleffectiveisthattheyfollowedthe sameeight
practices:
(cid:127) They asked,"What needs to be done?"
(cid:127) They asked, "What isright for the enterprise?"
(cid:127) They developed action plans.
(cid:127) They took responsibilityfor decisions.
(cid:127) They took responsibility forcommunicating.
(cid:127) They werefocusedon opportunitiesrather than problems.
(cid:127) They ran productive meetings.
(cid:127) They thought and said"we" rather than "I."
The first two practices gave them the knowledge they needed.
The next four helped them convert this knowledge into effective
action.The lasttwo ensuredthat the whole organizationfeltrespon
sible and accountable.
XII INTRODUCTION
Get the KnowledgeYou Need
The first practice isto askwhatneeds to be done.Note thatthe
questionisnot"What doIwanttodo?"Askingwhathas tobedone,
and taking the question seriously, is crucialfor managerial success.
Failure toaskthisquestionwillrendereventheablest executiveinef
fectual.
WhenTrumanbecamepresidentin 1945,he knew exacdywhat
he wanted to do: complete the economic and social reforms of
Roosevelt's New Deal,which had been deferred byWorldWar II.As
soon ashe askedwhat needed to be done, though,Truman realized
that foreignaffairs had absolute priority. He organizedhis working
daysothatit beganwith tutorialsonforeignpolicybythe secretaries
ofstate and defense.Asa result,he became the most effective presi
dent in foreign affairs the United Stateshas ever known. He con
tainedCommunismin both EuropeandAsia and,with the Marshall
Plan,triggered50years ofworldwide economicgrowth.
Similarly,JackWelch realized that what needed to be done at
General Electric when he took over as chiefexecutive was not the
overseas expansion he wanted to launch. It was getting rid of GE
businesses that, no matter how profitable, could not be number one
or number two in their industries.
The answerto the question"What needs to be done?" almost
always contains more than one urgent task.But effectiveexecutives
do not splinterthemselves.Theyconcentrateon one taskifatallpos
sible. Iftheyareamongthosepeople-a sizable minority—who work
bestwith achangeofpacein theirworkingday,theypick two tasks.
I have never encountered an executive who remains effective while
tackling more than two tasks at a time. Hence, after askingwhat
needs to be done, the effective executive sets priorities and sticks
to them. For a CEO, the priority taskmight be redefining the com
pany's mission. Foraunit head,itmightbe redefining the unit'srela-