As you know, my goal for this year is to read 18 books.
One of the books I finished recently is called “The Effective Executive”, which is written by Peter Drucker.
Peter Drucker is an author of more than 35 books and best described as the “founder of modern management”.
In his book, Drucker reminds us that the measure of the effective executive is ‘to get the right things done’. He identifies 5 practices essential to business effectiveness that can and must be learned:
- Know where your time goes
- Choosing what to contribute to the organization
- Build on strengths
- Setting the right priorities
- Knitting all of them together with effective decision making
“An executive is anyone who materially affects the capacity of the organization to perform and to obtain results”
What did I appreciate most?
I believe this book is a landmark when it comes to effective management. This book takes us back in time, when the knowledge worker was still emerging and a new style of leadership was needed to facilitate that worker. What amazed me was that this book’s first version was published in 1967, whilst the principles of Drucker still stand today. One of those principles, he coined ‘setting posteriorities’, which is listing tasks what not to do and what opportunities not to pursue.
Additionally, I appreciated how he defined the term ‘executive’. At first, one might consider an executive ‘someone who wears a suit all day and attends nothing but board meetings’. According to Drucker, the ‘executive’ is to be seen more broadly; he defines it as someone who “is responsible for a contribution that materially affects the capacity of the organization to perform and to obtain results”. This description applies to the major part of the workforce, which make this book applicable widely.
What is my tip?
Reading this book is not for everyone for a number of reasons. First of all, it is quite dry and I found it difficult to keep my focus on it. You gain the most of this book, by reading a few paragraphs and putting it away for a day or two.
Secondly, Drucker only refers to ‘he (‘she’ is not mentioned in his book). I don’t see this as a shortcoming of the book, I believe this is a depiction of how the world operated back then. This, amongst others, emphasizes the fact that this book needs an update.
What is my takeaway from this book?
In short, this book is a management classic; if you’re interested in the key principles of being an effective executive, this is your go-to book. This book has a large amount of useful information which will result in new insights, when you will re-read this book.
My biggest take-away of this book is twofold. Firstly, an effective executive focuses on contribution, not on achievement. Effective executives ask ‘what needs to be done’ and ‘how can I contribute’. The second take-away is ‘setting posteriorities’. This term has been redefined by Seth Godin in the 2000s as ‘strategic quitting’. Saying yes to everything that you are going to do is easy. Knowing what you are not going to do, is more important than ever before.
Do you want to know more?
Since information is irrelevant without application, contact me for more info on how to start Strategic Quitting, how to accelerate your effectiveness or how to Make Meetings Count.
As you know, my goal for this year is to read 18 books.
One of the books I finished recently is called “The Effective Executive”, which is written by Peter Drucker.
Peter Drucker is an author of more than 35 books and best described as the “founder of modern management”.
In his book, Drucker reminds us that the measure of the effective executive is ‘to get the right things done’. He identifies 5 practices essential to business effectiveness that can and must be learned:
- Know where your time goes
- Choosing what to contribute to the organization
- Build on strengths
- Setting the right priorities
- Knitting all of them together with effective decision making
“An executive is anyone who materially affects the capacity of the organization to perform and to obtain results”
What did I appreciate most?
I believe this book is a landmark when it comes to effective management. This book takes us back in time, when the knowledge worker was still emerging and a new style of leadership was needed to facilitate that worker. What amazed me was that this book’s first version was published in 1967, whilst the principles of Drucker still stand today. One of those principles, he coined ‘setting posteriorities’, which is listing tasks what not to do and what opportunities not to pursue.
Additionally, I appreciated how he defined the term ‘executive’. At first, one might consider an executive ‘someone who wears a suit all day and attends nothing but board meetings’. According to Drucker, the ‘executive’ is to be seen more broadly; he defines it as someone who “is responsible for a contribution that materially affects the capacity of the organization to perform and to obtain results”. This description applies to the major part of the workforce, which make this book applicable widely.
What is my tip?
Reading this book is not for everyone for a number of reasons. First of all, it is quite dry and I found it difficult to keep my focus on it. You gain the most of this book, by reading a few paragraphs and putting it away for a day or two.
Secondly, Drucker only refers to ‘he (‘she’ is not mentioned in his book). I don’t see this as a shortcoming of the book, I believe this is a depiction of how the world operated back then. This, amongst others, emphasizes the fact that this book needs an update.
What is my takeaway from this book?
In short, this book is a management classic; if you’re interested in the key principles of being an effective executive, this is your go-to book. This book has a large amount of useful information which will result in new insights, when you will re-read this book.
My biggest take-away of this book is twofold. Firstly, an effective executive focuses on contribution, not on achievement. Effective executives ask ‘what needs to be done’ and ‘how can I contribute’. The second take-away is ‘setting posteriorities’. This term has been redefined by Seth Godin in the 2000s as ‘strategic quitting’. Saying yes to everything that you are going to do is easy. Knowing what you are not going to do, is more important than ever before.
Do you want to know more?
Since information is irrelevant without application, contact me for more info on how to start Strategic Quitting, how to accelerate your effectiveness or how to Make Meetings Count.
