The measure of the
executive, Peter Drucker reminds us, is the ability to 'get the right things done'.
Usually this involves doing what other people have overlooked, as well as avoiding what is
unproductive. He identifies five talents as essential to effectiveness, and these can be
learned; in fact, they must be learned just as scales must be mastered by every piano
student regardless of his natural gifts. Intelligence, imagination and knowledge may all
be wasted in an executive job without the acquired habits of mind that convert these into
results. One of the talents is the management of time. Another is choosing what to
contribute to the particular organization. A third is knowing where and how to apply your
strength to best effect. Fourth is setting up the right priorities. And all of them must
be knitted together by effective decision-making. How these can be developed forms the
main body of the book. The author ranges widely through the annals of business and
government to demonstrate the distinctive skill of the executive. He turns familiar
experience upside down to see it in new perspective. The book is full of surprises, with
its fresh insights into old and seemingly trite situations.
Table of Contents
Preface; Effectiveness can be learned; Know thy time; What can I contribute?; Making
strength productive; First things first; The eleme
About Author
Peter Drucker , Clarke
Professor of Social Science, Peter F Drucker Graduate Management School, Claremont
Graduate University, California
148 pages