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The Effective Executive (平装)
by Peter F. Drucker
| Category:
Management, Leadership, Business |
| Market price: ¥ 180.00
MSL price:
¥ 158.00
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MSL rating:
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| MSL Pointer Review:
A required reading for all managers and a perfect manual to help you improve your executive effectiveness. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
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Wall Street Journal (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-27 00:00>
The dean of this country's business and management philosophers. |
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Christian Science Monitor (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-27 00:00>
An imaginative book, arguing, for instance, for reliance on intuitions rather than 'facts'...a survival manual on how to escape organization traps. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-27 00:00>
This is a superbly written guide for executives regarding how to become more effective. After reading this book, I adopted several suggestions that Drucker made and I must say that the results have been quite dramatic. For instance, I was able to cut down unproductive meetings considerably by eliminating things like "no meetings without a clear agenda." Common sense but rarely followed in the corporate world. |
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Gregory McMahan (MSL quote), Japan
<2006-12-27 00:00>
I always learn a lot from Drucker. Every single book he has written has become a classic in its own right, with basic prescriptions for many problems one often comes across in business and in life. Although his book Innovation and Entrepreneurship is my all-time favorite, The Effective Executive, at least for me, is a very close second.
Drucker starts by defining who and what the executive is, and places him (and increasingly her) in the most appropriate context. He is very careful to distinguish the executive from the more typical laborer. Essentially, Drucker tells us that the executive is someone who is paid for what he or she knows, and not what he or she does. The executive is supposed to know, for any situation, the following: what is the right thing to do, how to do it, and how to do it effectively. Once this is identified, the executive has to make certain that those who do the right thing can do it well. That is essentially the difference between management and labor.
Some executives do manage and supervise, as these terms are traditionally used, but an executive has to do more than this. He or she has to identify problems and opportunities, and in the case of problems, solve them, while in the case of opportunities, marshal all available resources to pursue them. While decision-making is part of the executive's domain, it is what goes into the decision-making that is critical. The real task of the executive is to think, make judgments, take focused action and ultimately bear the consequences of his or her actions. In too many institutions, whether they are universities, corporations or government agencies, this action chain often breaks down, typically at the first step. More often than not, however, actions are de-coupled from (bearing) the consequences. As a result, Drucker spends a lot of time going over what it means to be an Effective Executive, as opposed to one of the many hangers-on who merely treads water and tries to curry favor through flattery, subterfuge or other devious and unsavory methods.
Drucker, I believe, is very likely the first to make the important distinction between effort and results. Lots of people work hard, put in long hours on the job, yet have nothing to show for their effort. Many will advance in rank and pay, but not based on merit, for they will get their promotions and pay raises based on time served. Results are the end-product of effort- be it large or small, but effort, no matter how great or how dedicated, does not necessarily lead to results, issues of what constitutes 'results' (or even 'effort') aside. This is why Drucker admonishes one to occupy himself or herself with results, and not efforts. That said, Drucker emphasizes that every executive looking to be a better executive should spend a little time thinking about where his or her most important resource- time, goes.
Speaking of resources, Drucker also states that the two most important resources in any organization are knowledge and time. Painful experience forces me to agree with his assertion. The two once combined can equal favorable and positive results, if combined properly. However, both of these resources have to be put to work through an organization, and with the assistance of other (hopefully like-minded) people. The danger here is not that knowledge and time will be misapplied, but that first, knowledge within an organization will go unutilized and second that some knowledge, such as that internal to the organization, will take precedence over the information and knowledge coming from the outside. Too many institutions have grown stale simply because they have consciously chosen to emphasize what is going on inside the organization than what is occurring on the outside, and acting upon it. Once again, painful experience forces me to agree with this brilliant insight.
However, Drucker also points out that information and knowledge exist pretty much outside of the organization, and for this he gets my undying respect. People are the source of all knowledge, and in the global economy, people are mobile, so all knowledge, to some extent, will also be mobile. An institution's success or failure then hinges on what comes through and walks out of the door every day. This valuable insight ties into Drucker's last admonishment- focus on contribution. Every executive should ask: 'What can I contribute of value?'; however, this question should be considered well within the context of the organization. Yet again, painful experience forces me to admit that many institutions have specifically organized themselves so as not to have its personnel contribute something of value, no matter what their mission statements profess. In such situations, it is best for the effective executive or those wishing to become effective executives to part ways with such an institution.
But fear not, while the book is a thinly veiled extended lecture on the importance of competence and good judgment in business relations, these things can be learned. The path to becomig an effective executive demands some tribute upon the Altar of Bad Experience, but as for the rest, you can acquire it through careful study of history, anecdotal experience and the exercise of a few simple habits to be found in the book. As Will Rogers once said, "Good judgment comes from experience. And a lot of experience comes from bad judgment."
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Mark Savage (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-27 00:00>
First of all, if you're looking for a highly detailed review of the content of this book, nope, wrong place! I review books with the enjoyment factor being of number 1 importance. What I learn after my enjoyment comes next. There's another review of this title that you can read for high level stimulation. So, let's get going...
I liked this book a lot, how's that for intellectual. It reads well, I was entertained and I learned a lot more then I expected, which is good for I planned on learning a lot about becoming an effective executive. But history lessons, hey, this is a bonus.
Mr. Drucker uses, as have other leadership teachers, many important history lessons of this century to illustrate his effective executive points. He includes life adventures of Gen. Marshall, Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy, even Bach, Mozart, Verdi and Haydn to illustrate points. One of my favorite comments is from Chapter 5 (First Things First), "Executives can hardly assume that they are 'executive Mozarts'". No more hints, you'll understand when you read the book. The chapter addressing "The Elements of Decision Making" is the best of the book, although the others are not far behind.
If you are in the market for a book on executive leadership, you better put this close to the top of your short reading list. If you are searching for an insightful look at some 20th Century history, then this is a good stop for the political scientist. Whatever your reason, buy and read this book, and see how it helps you become a more decisive and better leader, oops, "Executive".
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Walter Bock (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-27 00:00>
If you are ever consigned to that mythical desert island, and can only have one management book, make this the book.
I got my first copy of Peter Drucker's Effective Executive right after I started my first management job after getting out of the Marines in 1968. I read and re-read my hardbound copy, dipping into it again and again for more than three decades until that copy finally fell apart two years ago, and I had to buy another copy. Even though I've read it - cover to cover - several times and dipped into it, literally, hundreds of times, I always find something valuable.
Drucker is one of the most lucid and insightful writers there is. In the Effective Executive, he applies those skills to analyzing the job of anyone who has to do knowledge work. In other words, this isn't for the "executive" in the classic sense. If thinking is a large part of what you do, this is a good book for you. The main points are staggeringly simple. Know thy time. What can I contribute? Making strength productive. First things first. Making effective decisions.
For each key point, Drucker gives you, in his usual straightforward way, both examples and ideas. This is the book that first taught me to schedule my work in ninety-minute blocks. It's the one that taught me not only about the importance of setting priorities, but how to do it. It's a book that taught me the basics of decision making, but also that the most important thing about decision making is to have a method for it.
I recommend this to all my students in supervision, management, and leadership classes. I recommend it to you, even if you are not bound for a desert island. |
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Jeff Lippincott (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-27 00:00>
What a wonderful book! I read it soon after reading Walter Pidgeon's book entitled The Not-For-Profit CEO, and I thought it really added to it. Pidgeon touched upon what it takes to be successful as a CEO, and the author here tells us in a narrative format comprising of 192 pages how to be effective/successful. I recommend this book to anyone who is responsible for leading a sole proprietorship, a small business, a nonprofit, a department in a for-profit, or a large for-profit. In short, I recommend it for an executive/leader.
Most, if not all, of the points in this book are obvious. No rocket science here. The five main points I got from the book are that a leader must:
1. Understand what she was hired to do and do it
2. Stick to doing things that add value
3. Play on her strengths, and don't worry too much about her weaknesses
4. Strategize, plan, prioritize and focus
5. Lead by making rational decisions based on fact rather than opinion
A leader or executive is someone whose work requires tasks of his or her head. He or she does knowledge work. The author states that other workers do tasks of the legs that amount to physical or manual work. He points out time and time again that performing knowledge work is hard to do and still be effective at doing it. A leader who keeps the above five points in mind when doing her work will do it effectively. She will be achieving results - not merely appearing to be busy.
I had a few problems with the book even though I liked it. One is that it is dated. At page 139 the author states "Decisions are made by men." If this were an isolated incident of focusing on men to the exclusion of women, then I would have let it slide. However, there are numerous references indicating that the book was written as though only men are leaders/executives.
Another problem I had with the book was that the author was telling the reader what he thinks it takes to be "effective," and the organization of his book was not all that effective in making his points. The narrative format dragged out the message. I would like to have seen a better introduction as to what to expect from the book. I would have liked the main body of the book to be structured more in an outline style. And I would have liked a conclusion that reiterated the introduction and tied the main body of the book together. He failed to do this in my opinion.
Early in the book the author tells us that being an effective executive must to be learned. Well, ok - now tell me something I don't know. There was no need to talk about the need for learning - everything a person does has to be learned at some time or another. See the titles of Chapter 1 and the Conclusion to see what I am talking about. Those sections of the book should be renamed and rewritten to make the book more coherent.
I would have enjoyed the book more if it had only four points rather than five. The first two points in the book seem to me to really be just one. Leaders are hired to add value to the company that hires them, and they need to understand what they are hired to do. Clearly these two concepts are so intertwined that they should have been discussed as one point. |
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An American reader, USA
<2006-12-27 00:00>
Many bright ideas in the book had been further developed, elaborated and marketed.
To me, the author is the topmost management guru ever. His ideas in this 1966 book, say, First Thing First (now seemingly to be originated from Stephen Covey, what a shame), time management through task prioritization, systematization of the decision making process, being effective by getting the right things done etc simply form the skeleton of contemporary self/business management thoughts. However, I had rated it with four stars for two reasons. First, the great concepts put forth by the author were just too good to be put in one single 174 page book. He could elaborate further on any one of them. Second, the examples adopted in the revised version were still those historical cases near the WWI, the WWII and the Vietnamese War era. Some may like that but I find them too remote and aged to relate to.
After all, it's still a very good book for any executive (somebody expected to get the right things done, per the author) or executive to be. Recommended, but not on the top ten priority list if you have already read more than five self management/improvement books!
Below please find some of my favorite passages for your reference.
Brilliant men are often strikingly ineffectual; they fail to realize that the brilliant insight is not by itself achievement. They never have learnt that insights become effectiveness only through hard systematic work. (pg 1)
Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge are essential resources, but only effectiveness converts them into results. By themselves, they only set limits to what can be attainted. (pg 2)
Every knowledge worker in modern organization is an executive if, by virtue of his position or knowledge, he is responsible for a contribution that materially affects the capacity of the organization to perform and to obtain results.....In a guerrilla war, every man is an "executive". (pg 5-6)
The five practices/habits of the mind that have to be acquired to be an effective executive:
1. Know where their time goes.
2. Focus on outward contribution.
3. Build on strengths - their own, of their superiors, colleagues...
4. Concentrate on the few major areas where superior performance will produce outstanding results, set priorities.
5. Make effective decisions and know that this is above all, a matter of system - of the right steps in the right sequence. (pg 23-25)
People kept in a room in which they cannot see light and darkness outside rapidly lose all sense of time. Even in total darkness, most people retain their sense of space. But even with the lights on, a few hours in a sealed room make most people incapable of estimating how much time has elapsed. (pg 26)
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1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
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