A Class with Drucker: The Lost Lessons of the World’s Greatest Management Teacher
By William A. Cohen
AMACOM, 2007
While A Class with Drucker is an easy read, it is the time spent away from the text, digesting the nuggets of knowledge and leadership, when the nutrition value of the meal is realized.
The book provides examples from real life encounters between author William Cohen and renowned management consultant and professor Peter Drucker, allowing his wisdom, thoughts, and insight to illustrate timeless management and leadership issues. The anecdotal stories used throughout the book are appropriate and timely as we move into the age of the global knowledge worker.
Reading this book is like being a fly on the wall during a Drucker lecture or a casual conversation between friends. Drucker, who some have titled the father of modern management, illustrates leadership not by citing well-known companies but rather by focusing on companies where management have built their products and reputation on trust, commitment, and long-term success. These values allow management and labor to not only coexist but to prosper in a global economy, where the first response to higher labor costs is often to outsource and gain a “strategic advantage.”
In a world full of skeptics, Drucker knows that to hold others accountable, you must be willing to hold yourself accountable. Without that ethical and value-driven construct, day-to-day managerial decisions are made without true leadership.
