Peter Drucker (1909-2005) has been described as the person who "invented management." His contributions to the field of organizational development are felt today in both the for-profit and nonprofit worlds. Many of today's practitioners, including one of my favorites, Jim Collins, cite Drucker as an influence on their research and study. Drucker has been quoted thousands of times, and there are dozens of "Druckerisms" that are wonderful. Here are a few of my favorites:
- “Doing the right thing is more important than doing the thing right.”
- “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.”
- “There is nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency something that should not be done at all.”
- “What gets measured gets improved.”
- “Results are gained by exploiting opportunities, not by solving problems.”
- “So much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to work.”
- “People who don't take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.”
- “Meetings are by definition a concession to a deficient organization. For one either meets or one works. One cannot do both at the same time.”
- “Long-range planning does not deal with the future decisions, but with the future of present decisions.”
- "Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things"
I'm particularly fond of #3 and #7. What are your favorites? Please let me know!
I'm at ewoolfe@intuitionconsult.com.