Effective Executive - PDF Room

Page 1. PETER F. DRUCKER "His writings are landmarks of the managerial profession." —Harvard Business Review THE Effective Executive The ... Home Blog Login Register Home Forum Login Register EffectiveExecutive 2011•202Pages•4.03MB•English PostedMarch01,2021•Submitted byosborne76 Report VisitPDFdownload Todownloadpage ViewonAmazon FreeonPerlego PREVIEWPDF Embedcode Summary ofEffectiveExecutive Page1 PETERF. DRUCKER "Hiswritingsarelandmarksofthemanagerialprofession." —HarvardBusinessReview THE Effective Executive TheDefinitiveGuideto GettingtheRightThingsDone The Effective Executive BooksbyPeterEDrucker&JosephA.Maciariello TheEffectiveExecutiveinAction BooksbyPeterEDrucker MANAGEMENT TheDailyDrucker(withJosephA.Maciariello) TheEssentialDrucker ManagementChallengesforthe21stCentury PeterDruckerontheProfessionofManagement ManaginginaTimeofGreatChange ManagingfortheFuture ManagingtheNon-ProfitOrganization TheFrontiersofManagement InnovationandEntrepreneurship TheChangingWorldoftheExecutive ManaginginTurbulentTimes Management:Tasks,Responsibilities,Practices Technology,ManagementandSociety TheEffectiveExecutive ManagingforResults ThePracticeofManagement ConceptoftheCorporation ECONOMICS,POLITICS,SOCIETY Post-CapitalistSociety DruckeronAsia TheEcologicalRevolution TheNewRealities TowardtheNextEconomics ThePensionFundRevolution Men,Ideas,andPolitics TheAgeofDiscontinuity LandmarksofTomorrow America'sNextTwentyYears TheNewSociety TheFutureofIndustrialMan TheEndofEconomicMan AUTOBIOGRAPHY AdventuresofaBystander FICTION TheTemptationtoDoGood TheLastofAllPossibleWorlds The Effective Executive PETERF. DRUCKER CCollins AnImprintofHarperCollinsPub/Zshers WhatMakesanEffectiveExecutivewasoriginallypublishedin theJune2004issueofHarvardBusinessReview. theeffectiveexecutive.Copyright©1967,1985,1996,2002,2006 byPeterEDrucker.Allrightsreserved.PrintedintheUnitedStates ofAmerica.Nopartofthisbookmaybeusedorreproducedinany mannerwhatsoeverwithoutwrittenpermissionexceptinthecase ofbriefquotationsembodiedincriticalarticlesandreviews. ForinformationaddressHarperCollinsPublishers, 10East53rdStreet,NY10022. HarperCollinsbooksmaybepurchasedforeducational,business, orsalespromotionaluse.Forinformationpleasewrite:SpecialMarkets Department,HarperCollinsPublishers,10East53rdStreet. NewYork,NY10022. TheLibraryofCongresshascataloguedtheprevious paperbackeditionasfollows: Drucker,PeterFerdinand,1909- Theeffectiveexecutive. (Harpercolophonbooks) Includesindex. 1.Executives—UnitedStates.2.Decision-making. I.Tide HD38.25.U6D781985,658.484-48156 ISBN0-06-051607-0 ISBN-10:0-06-083345-9 ISBN-13:978-0-06-083345-9 080910RRD(H)2019181716151413121110 Contents Preface Introduction:WhatMakesanEffectiveExecutive? xi 1. EffectivenessCanBeLearned 1 2. KnowThyTime 25 3. WhatCanIContribute? 52 4.MakingStrengthProductive 71 5. FirstThingsFirst 100 6.TheElementsofDecision-making 113 7. EffectiveDecisions 143 Conclusion:EffectivenessMustBeLearned 166 Index 175 IX Preface Managementbooksusuallydealwithmanagingotherpeople.The subjectofthisbookismanagingoneselfforeffectiveness.Thatonecan trulymanageotherpeopleisbynomeansadequatelyproven.Butone canalwaysmanageoneself.Indeed,executiveswhodonotmanage themselvesforeffectivenesscannotpossiblyexpecttomanagetheir associatesandsubordinates.Managementislargelybyexample. Executiveswhodonotknowhowtomakethemselveseffectiveintheir ownjobandworksetthewrongexample. Tobereasonablyeffectiveitisnotenoughfortheindividualtobe intelligent,toworkhardortobeknowledgeable.Effectivenessissome thingseparate,somethingdifferent.Buttobeeffectivealsodoesnot requirespecialgifts,specialaptitude,orspecialtraining.Effectiveness asanexecutivedemandsdoingcertain—andfairlysimple—things.It consistsofasmallnumberofpractices,thepracticesthatarepresented anddiscussedinthisbook.Butthesepracticesarenot"inborn."In forty-fiveyearsofworkasaconsultantwithalargenumberofexecu tivesinawidevarietyoforganizations—largeandsmall;businesses, governmentagencies,laborunions,hospitals,universities,community services;American,European,LatinAmericanandJapanese—Ihave notcomeacrossasingle"natural":anexecutivewhowasborneffec tive.Alltheeffectiveoneshavehadtolearntobeeffeaive.Andallof themthenhadtopracticeeffectivenessuntilitbecamehabit.Butall theoneswhoworkedonmakingthemselveseffectiveexecutivessuc ceededindoingso.Effectivenesscanbelearned—anditalsohastobe learned. Effectivenessiswhatexecutivesarebeingpaidfor,whetherthey workasmanagerswhoareresponsiblefortheperformanceofothersas x PREFACE wellastheirown,orasindividualprofessionalcontributorsresponsible fortheirownperformanceonly.Withouteffectivenessthereisno"per formance,"nomatterhowmuchintelligenceandknowledgegoesinto thework,nomatterhowmanyhoursittakes.Yetitisperhapsnottoo surprisingthatwehavesofarpaidlittleattentiontotheeffectiveexec utive.Organizations—whetherbusinessenterprises,largegovernment agencies,laborunions,largehospitalsorlargeuniversities—are,after all,brandnew.Acenturyagoalmostnoonehadevenmuchcontact withsuchorganizationsbeyondanoccasionaltriptothelocalpost officetomailaletter.Andeffectivenessasanexecutivemeanseffec tivenessinandthroughanorganization.Untilrecendytherewaslittle reasonforanyonetopaymuchattentiontotheeffectiveexecutiveor toworryabouttheloweffectivenessofsomanyofthem.Now,how ever,mostpeople—especiallythosewithevenafairamountofschool ing—canexpecttospendalltheirworkinglivesinanorganizationof somekind.Societyhasbecomeasocietyoforganizationsinalldevel opedcountries.Nowtheeffectivenessoftheindividualdepends increasinglyonhisorherabilitytobeeffectiveinanorganization,to beeffectiveasanexecutive.Andtheeffectivenessofamodernsociety anditsabilitytoperform—perhapsevenitsabilitytosurvive—depend increasinglyontheeffectivenessofthepeoplewhoworkasexecutives intheorganizations.Theeffectiveexecutiveisfastbecomingakey resourceforsociety,andeffectivenessasanexecutiveaprimerequire mentforindividualaccomplishmentandachievement—foryoung peopleatthebeginningoftheirworkinglivesfullyasmuchasforpeo pleinmid-career. introduction: WhatMakesanEffectiveExecutive? byPeterF.Drucker Aneffectiveexecutivedoesnotneedtobealeaderinthesensethat thetermisnowmostcommonlyused.HarryTrumandidnothave oneounceofcharisma,forexample,yethewasamongthemost effectivechiefexecutivesinU.S.history.Similarly,someofthebest businessandnonprofitCEOsI'veworkedwithovera65-yearcon sultingcareerwerenotstereotypicalleaders.Theywerealloverthe mapintermsoftheirpersonalities,attitudes,values,strengths,and weaknesses.Theyrangedfromextrovertedtonearlyreclusive,from easygoingtocontrolling,fromgeneroustoparsimonious. Whatmadethemalleffectiveisthattheyfollowedthesameeight practices: •Theyasked,"Whatneedstobedone?" •Theyasked,"Whatisrightfortheenterprise?" •Theydevelopedactionplans. •Theytookresponsibilityfordecisions. •Theytookresponsibilityforcommunicating. •Theywerefocusedonopportunitiesratherthanproblems. •Theyranproductivemeetings. •Theythoughtandsaid"we"ratherthan"I." Thefirsttwopracticesgavethemtheknowledgetheyneeded. Thenextfourhelpedthemconvertthisknowledgeintoeffective action.Thelasttwoensuredthatthewholeorganizationfeltrespon sibleandaccountable. XII INTRODUCTION GettheKnowledgeYouNeed Thefirstpracticeistoaskwhatneedstobedone.Notethatthe questionisnot"WhatdoIwanttodo?"Askingwhathastobedone, andtakingthequestionseriously,iscrucialformanagerialsuccess. Failuretoaskthisquestionwillrendereventheablestexecutiveinef fectual. WhenTrumanbecamepresidentin1945,heknewexacdywhat hewantedtodo:completetheeconomicandsocialreformsof Roosevelt'sNewDeal,whichhadbeendeferredbyWorldWarII.As soonasheaskedwhatneededtobedone,though,Trumanrealized thatforeignaffairshadabsolutepriority.Heorganizedhisworking daysothatitbeganwithtutorialsonforeignpolicybythesecretaries ofstateanddefense.Asaresult,hebecamethemosteffectivepresi dentinforeignaffairstheUnitedStateshaseverknown.Hecon tainedCommunisminbothEuropeandAsiaand,withtheMarshall Plan,triggered50yearsofworldwideeconomicgrowth. Similarly,JackWelchrealizedthatwhatneededtobedoneat GeneralElectricwhenhetookoveraschiefexecutivewasnotthe overseasexpansionhewantedtolaunch.ItwasgettingridofGE businessesthat,nomatterhowprofitable,couldnotbenumberone ornumbertwointheirindustries. Theanswertothequestion"Whatneedstobedone?"almost alwayscontainsmorethanoneurgenttask.Buteffectiveexecutives donotsplinterthemselves.Theyconcentrateononetaskifatallpos sible.Iftheyareamongthosepeople-asizableminority—whowork bestwithachangeofpaceintheirworkingday,theypicktwotasks. Ihaveneverencounteredanexecutivewhoremainseffectivewhile tacklingmorethantwotasksatatime.Hence,afteraskingwhat needstobedone,theeffectiveexecutivesetsprioritiesandsticks tothem.ForaCEO,theprioritytaskmightberedefiningthecom pany'smission.Foraunithead,itmightberedefiningtheunit'srela- INTRODUCTION XIII tionshipwithheadquarters.Othertasks,nomatterhowimportantor appealing,arepostponed.However,aftercompletingtheoriginal top-prioritytask,theexecutiveresetsprioritiesratherthanmoving ontonumbertwofromtheoriginallist.Heasks,"Whatmustbe donenow?"Thisgenerallyresultsinnewanddifferentpriorities. ToreferagaintoAmerica'sbest-knownCEO:Everyfiveyears, accordingtohisautobiography,JackWelchaskedhimself,"What needstobedonenow?Andeverytime,hecameupwithanewand differentpriority. ButWelchalsothoughtthroughanotherissuebeforedeciding wheretoconcentratehiseffortsforthenextfiveyears.Heasked himselfwhichofthetwoorthreetasksatthetopofthelisthehim selfwasbestsuitedtoundertake.Thenheconcentratedonthattask; theothershedelegated.Effectiveexecutivestrytofocusonjobs they'lldoespeciallywell.Theyknowthatenterprisesperformiftop managementperforms-anddon'tifitdoesn't. Effectiveexecutives'secondpractice—fullyasimportantasthe first—istoask,"Isthistherightthingfortheenterprise?"Theydo notaskifit'srightfortheowners,thestockprice,theemployees,or theexecutives.Ofcoursetheyknowthatshareholders,employees, andexecutivesareimportantconstituencieswhohavetosupporta decision,oratleastacquiesceinit,ifthechoiceistobeeffective. Theyknowthatthesharepriceisimportantnotonlyfortheshare holdersbutalsofortheenterprise,sincetheprice/earningsratiosets thecostofcapital.Buttheyalsoknowthatadecisionthatisn'tright fortheenterprisewillultimatelynotberightforanyofthestake holders. Thissecondpracticeisespeciallyimportantforexecutivesat familyownedorfamilyrunbusinesses—themajorityofbusinessesin everycountry—particularlywhenthey'remakingdecisionsabout people.Inthesuccessfulfamilycompany,arelativeispromotedonly ifheorsheismeasurablysuperiortoallnonrelativesonthesame XIV INTRODUCTION level.AtDuPont,forinstance,alltopmanagers(exceptthecontroller andlawyer)werefamilymembersintheearlyyearswhenthefirm wasrunasafamilybusiness.Allmaledescendantsofthefounders wereentitledtoentry-leveljobsatthecompany.Beyondthe entrancelevel,afamilymembergotapromotiononlyifapanel composedprimarilyofnonfamilymanagersjudgedthepersontobe superiorinabilityandperformancetoallotheremployeesatthe samelevel.Thesamerulewasobservedforacenturyinthehighly successfulBritishfamilybusinessJ.Lyons&Company(nowpartof amajorconglomerate)whenitdominatedtheBritishfood-service andhotelindustries. Asking"Whatisrightfortheenterprise?"doesnotguarantee thattherightdecisionwillbemade.Eventhemostbrilliantexecu tiveishumanandthuspronetomistakesandprejudices.Butfailure toaskthequestionvirtuallyguaranteesthewrongdecision. WriteanActionPlan Executivesaredoers;theyexecute.Knowledgeisuselesstoexec utivesuntilithasbeentranslatedintodeeds.Butbeforespringing intoaction,theexecutiveneedstoplanhiscourse.Heneedstothink aboutdesiredresults,probablerestraints,futurerevisions,check-in points,andimplicationsforhowhe'llspendhistime. First,theexecutivedefinesdesiredresultsbyasking:"Whatcon tributionsshouldtheenterpriseexpectfrommeoverthenext18 monthstotwoyears?WhatresultswillIcommitto?Withwhatdead lines?"Thenheconsiderstherestraintsonaction:"Isthiscourseof actionethical?Isitacceptablewithintheorganization?Isitlegal?Is itcompatiblewiththemission,values,andpoliciesoftheorganiza tion?"Affirmativeanswersdon'tguaranteethattheactionwillbe effective.Butviolatingtheserestraintsiscertaintomakeitboth wrongandineffectual. INTRODUCTION XV Theactionplanisastatementofintentionsratherthanacom mitment.Itmustnotbecomeastraitjacket.Itshouldberevisedoften, becauseeverysuccesscreatesnewopportunities.Sodoeseveryfail ure.Thesameistrueforchangesinthebusinessenvironment,inthe market,andespeciallyinpeoplewithintheenterprise—allthese changesdemandthattheplanberevised.Awrittenplanshould anticipatetheneedforflexibility. Inaddition,theactionplanneedstocreateasystemforcheck ingtheresultsagainsttheexpectations.Effectiveexecutivesusually buildtwosuchchecksintotheiractionplans.Thefirstcheckcomes halfwaythroughtheplan'stimeperiod;forexample,atninemonths. Thesecondoccursattheend,beforethenextactionplanisdrawn up. Finally,theactionplanhastobecomethebasisfortheexecutive's timemanagement.Timeisanexecutive'sscarcestandmostprecious resource.Andorganizations—whethergovernmentagencies,busi nesses,ornonprofits—areinherentlytimewasters.Theactionplan willproveuselessunlessit'sallowedtodeterminehowtheexecutive spendshisorhertime. Napoleonallegedlysaidthatnosuccessfulbattleeverfollowedits plan.YetNapoleonalsoplannedeveryoneofhisbattles,farmore meticulouslythananyearliergeneralhaddone.Withoutanaction plan,theexecutivebecomesaprisonerofevents.Andwithoutcheck- instoreexaminetheplanaseventsunfold,theexecutivehasnoway ofknowingwhicheventsreallymatterandwhichareonlynoise. Act Whentheytranslateplansintoaction,executivesneedtopay particularattentiontodecisionmaking,communication,opportuni ties(asopposedtoproblems),andmeetings.I'llconsidertheseoneat atime. XVI INTRODUCTION Takeresponsibilityfordecisions •Adecisionhasnotbeenmadeuntilpeopleknow: •thenameofthepersonaccountableforcarryingitout; •thedeadline; •thenamesofthepeoplewhowillbeaffectedbythedecision andthereforehavetoknowabout,understand,andapprove it—oratleastnotbestronglyopposedtoit—and •thenamesofthepeoplewhohavetobeinformedofthe decision,eveniftheyarenotdirectlyaffectedbyit. Anextraordinarynumberoforganizationaldecisionsruninto troublebecausethesebasesaren'tcovered.Oneofmyclients,30years ago,lostitsleadershippositioninthefast-growingJapanesemarket becausethecompany,afterdecidingtoenterintoajointventurewith anewJapanesepartner,nevermadeclearwhowastoinformthepur chasingagentsthatthepartnerdefineditsspecificationsinmetersand kilogramsratherthanfeetandpounds—andnobodyeverdidrelay thatinformation. It'sjustasimportanttoreviewdecisionsperiodically—atatime that'sbeenagreedoninadvance—asitistomakethemcarefullyin thefirstplace.Thatway,apoordecisioncanbecorrectedbeforeit doesrealdamage.Thesereviewscancoveranythingfromtheresults totheassumptionsunderlyingthedecision. Suchareviewisespeciallyimportantforthemostcrucialand mostdifficultofalldecisions,theonesabouthiringorpromoting people.Studiesofdecisionsaboutpeopleshowthatonlyone-thirdof suchchoicesturnouttobetrulysuccessful.One-thirdarelikelyto bedraws—neithersuccessesnoroutrightfailures.Andone-thirdare failures,pureandsimple.Effectiveexecutivesknowthisandcheckup (sixtoninemonthslater)ontheresultsoftheirpeopledecisions.If theyfindthatadecisionhasnothadthedesiredresults,theydon't concludethatthepersonhasnotperformed.Theyconclude,instead, INTRODUCTION XVII thattheythemselvesmadeamistake.Inawell-managedenterprise,it isunderstoodthatpeoplewhofailinanewjob,especiallyafterapro motion,maynotbetheonestoblame. Executivesalsooweittotheorganizationandtotheirfellow workersnottotoleratenonperformingindividualsinimportantjobs. Itmaynotbetheemployees'faultthattheyareunderperforming,but evenso,theyhavetoberemoved.Peoplewhohavefailedinanew jobshouldbegiventhechoicetogobacktoajobattheirformer levelandsalary.Thisoptionisrarelyexercised;suchpeople,asarule, leavevoluntarily,atleastwhentheiremployersareU.S.firms.Butthe veryexistenceoftheoptioncanhaveapowerfuleffect,encouraging peopletoleavesafe,comfortablejobsandtakeriskynewassignments. Theorganization'sperformancedependsonemployees'willingness totakesuchchances. Asystematicdecisionreviewcanbeapowerfultoolforself- development,too.Checkingtheresultsofadecisionagainstits expectationsshowsexecutiveswhattheirstrengthsare,wherethey needtoimprove,andwheretheylackknowledgeorinformation.It showsthemtheirbiases.Veryoftenitshowsthemthattheirdecisions didn'tproduceresultsbecausetheydidn'tputtherightpeopleonthe job.Allocatingthebestpeopletotherightpositionsisacrucial, toughjobthatmanyexecutivesslight,inpartbecausethebest peoplearealreadytoobusy.Systematicdecisionreviewalsoshows executivestheirownweaknesses,particularlytheareasinwhichthey aresimplyincompetent.Intheseareas,smartexecutivesdon'tmake decisionsortakeactions.Theydelegate.Everyonehassuchareas; there'snosuchthingasauniversalexecutivegenius. Mostdiscussionsofdecisionmakingassumethatonlysenior executivesmakedecisionsorthatonlyseniorexecutives'decisions matter.Thisisadangerousmistake.Decisionsaremadeateverylevel oftheorganization,beginningwithindividualprofessionalcontribu torsandfrondinesupervisors.Theseapparentlylow-leveldecisions Relatedbooks EffectiveExecutiveCompensation:CreatingaTotalRewardsStrategyforExecutives 2008•544Pages•1.64MB DoingtheRightThingsRight:HowtheEffectiveExecutiveSpendsTime 2016•257Pages•2.34MB TheEffectiveExecutive:TheDefinitiveGuidetoGettingtheRightThingsDone 2006•197Pages•4.15MB TheEffectiveExecutive:TheDefinitiveGuidetoGettingtheRightThingsDone 2017•193Pages•968KB ExecutiveSummary 2017•12Pages•966KB AdvancingExecutiveCoaching 2011•546Pages•1.57MB ExecutiveSummary 2005•280Pages•5.97MB ExecutiveSummary 2015•13Pages•4.6MB ExecutiveSummary 2005•260Pages•2.97MB ExecutiveCompensation 2017•28Pages•541KB AssistedLivingExecutivetoSeniorLivingExecutive 2013•65Pages•7.26MB ExecutivePersonalityTypes 2017•115Pages•2.07MB UNITEDSTATESGOVERNMENTEXECUTIVEOFFICERS 2008•48Pages•3.48MB 2018globalexecutivecoachingsurvey 2018•30Pages•2.63MB HandbookofExecutiveFunctioning 2014•565Pages•7.97MB ExecutiveCompensationandRelatedPersonDisclosure 2006•436Pages•1.85MB Popular categories Comics Manga DCComics Marvelcomics Physics Hacking Bitcoin Drawing Spidermancomics Batmancomics