“The Effective Executive” by Peter F. Drucker
This book is a classic for a reason. It is filled with an abundance of wisdom from Drucker’s decades of experience in consulting some of the biggest names in the business world.
And although the examples are understandably slightly outdated (Jack Welch, Robert McNamara, Harry Truman, etc) the lessons are still very much relevant today.
And it comes down to these 10 main points, as perfectly summarized by Jim Collins in the 50th anniversary foreword (and I took the elaborations from all over the book):
- Manage thyself: If you want the performance around you to go up, first you must improve your own performance.
- Do what you’re made for: Focus on your distinctive competences, and then navigate your life and career in direct alignment.
- Figure out how you work best (and let others do the same): Some people work better at night, some in the morning. Some absorb information better through reading, others by listening. Etc.
- Manage your time and make it count: what gets measured gets managed. “But before springing into action, the executive needs to plan his course. He needs to think about desired results, probable restraints, future revisions, check-in points, and implications for how he’ll spend his time.”
- Prepare better meetings that are more efficient and effective: “The key to running an effective meeting is to decide in advance what kind of meeting it will be.” Moreover, “Good executives don’t raise another matter for discussion. They sum up and adjourn. Good follow-up is just as important as the meeting itself.” And listen first, speak last.
- Don’t make a hundred decisions if one will do: “But effective executives do not splinter themselves. They concentrate on one task if at all possible. If they are among those people—a sizable minority—who work best with a change of pace in their working day, they pick two tasks. I have never encountered an executive who remains effective while tackling more than two tasks at a time. Hence, after asking what needs to be done, the effective executive sets priorities and sticks to them.”
- Find your one distinctive impact: “What made them all effective is that they followed the same eight practices: 1. They asked, “What needs to be done?” 2. They asked, “What is right for the enterprise?” 3. They developed action plans 4. They took responsibility for decisions 5. They took responsibility for communicating 6. They were focused on opportunities rather than problems 7. They ran productive meetings. 8. They thought and said “we” rather than “I.””
- Sunk cost fallacy: Stop what you’re doing now that in hindsight you would not start again.
- Run the company with a small team and stay lean as you grow, to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.
- Be useful: Ask yourself “what can I contribute?”
The further elaboration from these 10 points are what makes this book one of the first books that come to mind when anyone ask about the best book on management.
It is refreshing to read that in 45 years of his work as a consultant for executives, he said that he has never met with a “natural”, or an executive that was born effective. And instead, they are all had to practice effectiveness until it becomes a habit.
As Drucker remarks, “Effective executives differ widely in their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs. All they have in common is that they get the right things done. Some are born effective. But the demand is much too great to be satisfied by extraordinary talent. Effectiveness is a discipline. And, like every discipline, effectiveness can be learned and must be earned.”
Indeed, effectiveness can be learned. And this book shows us how.
Hence, even if you’re not an executive you can still use all the knowledge from this book to make yourself a more effective person. Because, when other management books are focusing on managing other people, this book is about managing yourself for effectiveness. And I actually learned a lot from it.
THE CHAOS THEORY 