Synopses & Reviews
Praise for Drucker on Leadership“Cohen has written with clarity and authority about the major challenges facing leaders today. And Cohen, like Drucker, emphasizes responsibility and integrity in leadership, qualities so desperately needed today. I strongly recommend this book to you.”
—Joseph A. Maciariello, Horton Professor of Management, Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, and coauthor (with Peter Drucker), The Daily Drucker and Management by Peter F. Drucker
“Cohen’s unique relationship with Peter Drucker, as student and friend, allows him to extract valuable leadership lessons from Drucker’s writings and teachings on management. Cohen’s ‘labor of love’ provides the essential lessons for leaders straight from the Father of Modern Management.”
—Ronald E. Riggio, director, Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College
“For those who aspire to lead—and we need a new generation of Drucker-like leaders in organizations in every country around the world—Bill Cohen distills the essential leadership lessons from the world’s greatest management thinker.”
—Ira A. Jackson, dean and professor of management, Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University
“Through a blend of anecdote and analysis, Bill Cohen has given us great insight into Peter Drucker’s thinking on leadership—an aspect of Drucker’s work that many have misconstrued or overlooked altogether. This is a new prism through which to view Drucker and, as such, a valuable contribution to the field.”
—Rick Wartzman, executive director, The Drucker Institute
“What Cohen learned as Peter Drucker’s student, and their personal relationship afterwards, changed Bill’s life. Reading Drucker on Leadership will change the way you look at and apply leadership forever.”
—Bruce Rosenstein, author, Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker's Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life
Synopsis
Although Peter Drucker, “The Father of Modern Management,” died in 2005, his timeless teachings are studied and practiced by forward-thinking managers worldwide. His lessons and wisdom on the topic of leadership—the central element of management—are in constant demand, yet he wrote little under that actual subject heading.
In Drucker on Leadership, William A. Cohen explores Drucker’s lost leadership lessons—why they are missing, what they are, why they are important, and how to apply them. As Cohen explains, Drucker was ambivalent about leadership for much of his career, making it clear that leadership was not by itself “good or desirable.” While Drucker struggled with the concept of leadership, he was well aware that it had a critical impact on the accomplishment of all projects and human endeavors. There is no book from Drucker specifically dedicated to leadership, but a wealth of information about leadership can be found scattered throughout his 40 books and hundreds of articles. Drucker’s teachings about leadership have saved many corporations from failure and helped guide others to outstanding success.
Many of the leadership concepts revealed in this book will surprise and perhaps shock Drucker’s followers. For example, who would have thought that Peter Drucker taught that “leadership is a marketing job” or that “the best leadership lessons for business or any nonprofit organization come from the military”?
Written for anyone who values the insights of the man whose name is synonymous with excellence in management, Drucker on Leadership offers a deeper understanding of what makes an extraordinary leader.
About the Author
William Cohen, Ph.D., president of the Institute of Leader Arts, was the first graduate of Drucker’s executive Ph.D. program. About him, Drucker wrote: “My colleagues on the faculty and I learned at least as much as we could teach him.” Cohen served as major general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, has held executive positions in several companies, and was president of two universities. He is the author of many management books, including
The Art of the Leader and
A Class With Drucker.For more information, please visit www.stuffofheroes.com.
Table of Contents
Foreword (
Frances Hesselbein).
Introduction: Peter Drucker and Leadership.
Part One: The Leader's Role in Shaping the Organization's Future.
1 The Fundamental Decision: Determining the Business of the Organization.
2 The Process: Creating a Strategic Plan
3 Look, Listen, and Analyze: The Information the Leader Needs.
4 Methodology: Developing Drucker-Based Strategies.
5 Taking Action: What It Takes to Implement Your Plan.
Part Two: Ethics and Personal Integrity.
6 Drucker's Views on Business Ethics.
7 Effective Leadership and Personal Integrity.
8 The Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership.
9 Effective Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility.
10 The Responsibility of a Corporation: First, Do No Harm.
Part Three: The Military: Drucker's Model Organization.
11 Leadership Lessons from Xenophon.
12 Training and Developing Leaders.
13 Promotion and Staffing.
14 The Heart of Leadership.
15 Leadership for Upper Management.
Part Four: Motivation and Leadership.
16 Leadership Style as a Motivator.
17 Motivating to Peak Performance.
18 Charisma as a Motivator.
19 The Volunteer Paradigm.
Part Five: The Marketing Model of Leadership.
20 Applying Marketing to Leadership.
21 Applying Segmentation to Leadership.
22 Applying Positioning to the Organization and the Leader.
23 The Role of Infl uence and Persuasion on Strategy and Tactics.
Epilogue Drucker's Legacy.
Notes.
About the Author.
Index.