Hesselbein and Cohen have assembled and brilliantly edited "enduring insights on leadership" from the Drucker Foundation's award-winning journal. What a superb selection of essays they offer! The Introduction by Hesselbein (all by itself) is well worth the cost of the book. As for the 37 individual essays, they are organized within seven Parts:

I. On Leaders and Leadership (eg Peter Drucker, Max DePree, and Herb Kelleher)

II. Leading Innovation and Transformation (eg Peter M. Senge, John P. Kotter, and Douglas K. Smith)

III. Leadership in the New Information Economy (eg Esther Dyson, Margaret Wheatley, and Kevin Kelly)

IV. Competitive Strategy in a Global Economy (eg Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ann Winblad, and Keniche Ohmae)

V. Leading for High Performance (eg Steven R. Covey, Jim Collins, and Noel Tichy)

VI. Building Great Teams (eg Warren Bennis, Jon R. Katzenbach, and J. Richard Hackman)

VII. Leadership Across the Sectors (eg John W. Gardner, Regina Hetzlinger, and James E. Austin)

I know of no other single volume in which so many great business thinkers are represented by so many of their landmark essays. The editors are to be commended for the selections; also for the structure within which those selections are organized. This is "must reading" for leaders and, especially, for whose who aspire to be leaders.

"People in both in this country and around the world have an enormous hunger for ideas; that's why three years ago the Drucker Foundation launched 'Leader to Leader', a journal of ideas by leaders for leaders."Frances Hesselbein writes, "This hunger among millions of working executives demonstrates their concern for the future and a commitment to make a difference. The incisive thinkers and remarkable leaders who have contributed to the journal and to this book open doors, spark ideas, raise signal flags, and help satisfy that universal hunger."

In this context, I summarized partially only four of the thirty-seven essays written by talented thinkers as follows:

I. Peter F. Drucker writes: "The three people from whom I learned the most in my work were all very different. The first two were exceptionally demanding; the third was exceptionally brillant. All three taught me a lot...Five lessons I learned from those remarkable men still apply today:

1. Treat people differently, based on their strengths.

2. Set high standards, but give people the freedom and responsibility to do their job.

3. Performance review must be honest, exacting, and an integral part of the job.

4. People learn the most when teaching others.

5. Effective leaders earn respect-but they don't need to be liked.

II. Doris Kearns Goodwin lists ten lessons from the stories of Lyndon Johnson, John Kennedy, and Franklin Roosevelt for leaders of today's organizations.

1. Timing is (almost) everything.

2. Anything is possible if you share the glory.

3. Trust, once broken, is seldom restored.

4. Leadership is about building connections.

5. Leaders learn from their mistakes.

6. Confidence-not just in oneself-counts.

7. Effective partnerships reqire devotion to one's partners.

8. Renewal comes from many sources.

9. Leaders must be talent brokers.

10. Language is one's most powerful tool.

III. Warren Bennis argues: "I belive that behind every Great Man is a Great Group, an effective partnership. And making up every Great Group is a unique construct of strong, often eccentric individuals. So the question for organizations is, How do you get talented, self-absorbed, often arrogant, incredibly bright people to work together?" And he suggests ten principles common to all Great Groups:

1. At the heart of every Great Groups is a shared dream.

2. They manage conflict by abandoning individual egos to the pursuit of the dream.

3. They are protected from the "suits".

4. They have a real or invented enemy.

5. They view themselves as winning underdogs.

6. Members pay a personal price.

7. Great Groups make strong leaders.

8. Great Groups are the product of meticulous recruiting.

9. Great Groups are usually young.

10. Real artists ship.

IV. J. Richard Hackman identifies a number of mistakes that managers make in setting up and leading work teams.

1. Use a team for work that is better done by individuals.

2. Call the performing unit a team but really manage members as individuals.

3. Fall off the authority balance team.

4. Dismantle existing organizational structures so that teams will be fully empowered to accomplish the work.

5. Specify challenging team objectives, but skimp on organizational supports.

6. Assume that members already have all the skills they need to work well as a team.

Not only these essays, but all of the book as a whole is strongly recommended.

"People both in this country and around the world also have an enormous hunger for ideas; that's why three years ago the Drucker Foundation launched 'Leader to Leader', a journal of ideas by leaders for leaders."Frances Hesselbein writes, "this hunger among millions of working executives demonstrates their concern for the future and a commitment to make a difference. The incisive thinkers and remarkable leaders who have contributed to the journal and to this book open doors, spark ideas, raise signal flags, and help satisfy that universal hunger."

In this context, I partially summarized only five of the thirty-seven essays written by thirty-seven talented thinkers.

I. Peter F. Drucker writes: "the three people from whom I learned the most in my work were all very different. The first two were exceptionally demanding; the third was exceptionally brillant. All three taught me a lot...Five lessons I learned from those remarkable men still apply today:

1. Treat people differently, based on their strengths.

2. Set high standards, but give people the freedom and responsibility to do their job.

3. Performance review must be honest, exacting, and an integral part of the job.

4. People learn the most when teaching others.

5. Effective leaders earn respect-but they don't need to be liked.

II. Doris Kearns Goodwin lists ten lessons from the stories of Lyndon Johnson, John Kennedy, and Franklin Roosevelt for leaders of today's organizations:

1. Timing is (almost) everything.

2. Anything is possible if you share the glory.

3. Trust, once broken, is seldom restored.

4. Leadership is about building connections.

5. Leaders learn from their mistakes.

6. Confidence-not just in oneself-counts.

7. Effective partnership require devotion to one's partners.

8. Renewal comes from many sources.

9. Leaders must be talent brokers.

10. Language is one's most powerful tool.

III. John P. Kotter argues: "No organization today-large or small, local or global-is immune to change. To cope with new technological, competitive, and demographic forces, leaders in every sector have sought to alter fundamentally the way their organizations do business. These change efforts have paraded under many banners-total quality management, reengineering, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, turnarounds. Yet according to most assessments, few of these efforts accomplish their goals. Fewer than fifteen of the one hundred or more companies I have studied have successfully transformed themselves." Hence, he lists eight critical steps to transform your organization:

1. Establish a sense of urgency.

2. Form a powerful guiding coalition.

3. Create a vision.

4. Communicate the vision.

5. Empower others to act on the vision.

6. Plan for and create short-term wins.

7. Consolidate improvements and produce still more change.

8. Institutionalize new approaches.

IV. Warren Bennis argues: "I believe that behind every Great Man is a Great Group, an effective partnership. And making up every Great Group is a unique construct of strong, often eccentric individuals. So the question for organizations is, How do you get talented, self-absorbed, often arrogant, incredibly bright people to work together?" And he suggests ten principles common to all Great Groups:

1. At the heart of every Great Group is a shared dream.

2. They manage conflict by abandoning individual egos to the pursuit of the dream.

3. They are protected from the "suits".

4. They have a real or invented enemy.

5. They view themselves as winning underdogs.

6. Members pay a personal price.

7. Great Groups make strong leaders.

8. Great Groups are the product of meticulous recruiting.

9. Great Groups are usually young.

10. Real artists ship.

V. J. Richard Hackman identifies a number of mistakes that managers make in setting up and leading work teams.

Mistake 1. Use a team for work that is better done by individuals.

Mistake 2. Call the performing unit a team but really manage members as individuals.

Mistake 3. Fall off the authority balance team.

Mistake 4. Dismantle existing organizational structures so that teams will be fully empowered to accomplish the work.

Mistake 5. Specify challenging team objectives, but skimp on organizational supports.

Mistake 6. Assume that members already have all the skills they need to work well as a team.

I highly recommend this excellent collection as a whole.

Excellent book on Management.

A compilation of the papers on the contemporary trends and what they indicate for the future as seen by Drucker in the mid-eighties. This revised edition with only slight changes stands good for the economic realities of even today. That's precisely the speciality of this book.

The chapter on economy deals with the economy as seen differently by Keynes and Schumpeter, two contemporary economists of which the latter is not very well known. The concept of Dynamic disequilibrium is elaborated in an easily understandible manner. Also the concept of profit as to be the future cost and the ethical questions attached with profit making are clearly answered.

Cartel theory with relevance to the oil cartel and the developments leading up to the fall of the same is also dealt with.

Chapters on the relevance of unions and their changing role in today's industry, inevitability of automation, need for the rationalisaing the salaries and wages of the blue collar workers, chapters on IBM Tom watson, dependence of Japanese economy on US economy and the exim policies of the successive governments in US and their effect on the competitiveness of US exports all make an interesting read.

The macro perspective one gets after reading the book will enable you appreciate the relevance of the projections and caveats sounded by Drucker long before today's events(and those of the recent past) showed any signs of occurence at all.

Bookstall 99 stands in awe of this collection of expessions of management genius. For a great tool in understanding Drucker as the master of management in America, this is your book. Great reading no matter who you are or what you do.

This is the book on how to make a business WORK! I am president of a small company and immediately took the ideas and practices out of this book and applied them to great success. This is not a quick read, and every item will not pertain to each individual person, but the observations presented explained a huge number of obstacles I was facing. If you are trying to manage any form of modern organization, buy this book and spend the time reading it. It made me a huge Drucker fan.

This book is only one of its kind! Written well over years ago, even today it is of utmost relevance to all businesses. Recently we have come across so many "management gurus" who propogate different theories which ordinary business managers cannot relate to. One is never sure what the assumptions have been in such studies, nor does one know the extent of their applicability to the ordinary business.

BUT WITH PETER DRUCKER, YOU ARE ALWAYS SURE!!!

Go for this book if you want to have a real insight into the challenges a company faces and the right questions to ask to overcome those. An absolute must read for anyone serious about business management!

The culmination of Peter Drucker's work. I am glad that 20 years after the book's first publication, a reprint is available. Still very relevant today.

Peter Drucker has hit the nail on the head. This is strategic planning at its best, particularly for nonprofit organizations. The process is simple and concise, based on Drucker's 5 basic questions. The approach is comprehensive and inclusive. I recommend it to the leadership of any nonprofit organization.

I am struck by its simplicity and by the depth of its value. Seeking to change the old paradigms of a beloved, yet antiquated traditional organization, while at the same time fostering the public support of long-time stakeholders, is daunting. But this no-nonsense approach perpetuates joint problem solving and ownership. DISCOVERY of the real, not assumed, answers to five essential questions helps to level the playing field. I am recommending its use and am seeking support for sponsorship of the two day seminars.

Great tool! The cards really work to help people talk about inclusivity and the issues that people don't want to say out loud in a group. I was surprised how fast people really got into it. The book has a very simple process to follow. Later, I used it myself and almost had fun figuring out what is wrong with our business environment.

Debbe Kennedy's newly released "Action Dialogues" is a BREAKTHROUGH in and of itself. I say this because I feel that Debbe has broken new ground and is helping to shape the future of how we will use books as tools, not just as repositories of ideas. It is so much more than a book. It is a Tool, Reference, a source of Inspiration and a Catalyst for change in organizations, not to mention that the process laid out is customizable, flexible, accessible, fun and action-oriented. The cards themselves are amazing - they convey the spirit of diversity and inclusion through their simple design and powerful use of graphics and quotes. The categories(leadership, culture, involvement, staffing & development, strategies & measures and business) listed on the bottom corner of each card let you perform a quick assessment of where the balance of your issues reside. My initial use of the tool confirmed my gut-feel --- and helped me craft the key message that I wanted to share with our leadership team. I was able to communicate what was working, what wasn't working and what we could do about it!

When I first opened the box and began working with the book and the companion card deck, I instantly felt empowered to take action. I have now used "Action Dialogues" to prepare for and execute a dialogue with a small group of leaders focused on a key culture change project. In addition to testing this powerful new tool in the corporate setting, I have also found it to be a great way to open conversations in both non-profit and public sector environments. In one instance, a particular card and the associated issu and quote really hit a nerve with a collegue who works for a city in Northern California. We used that one issue to build around it a focused dialogue session. There are no complex theories that need to be grasped or detailed preparation. If you have a issue that needs to be discussed and you have been putting it off because you don't feel comfortable facilitating the necessary dialogue - don't wait. Buy this book. It will take you by the hand and show you step by step how to be successful and get busy changing the world!

You don't need more meetings or brainstorming sessions to identify what needs to be done and what the issues are. Leaders of the future need to enable themselves and their teams to work successfully among people with differences. Debbe Kennedy has heard it all, collected the best ideas and solutions, and has prepared this easy to use and understand tool kit. It allows you to get to work, start talking and build a deeper understanding of people. Most managers and human resource professionals do not know how to tackle the subject of diversity and inclusion and let their own sensitivities and lack of knowledge and experience get in the way. The Action Dialogues will more than get you started and keep you talking and thinking and doing.

If you enjoyed Management Challenges for the 21st Century as much as I did, read this book! If you have never read Drucker before, read this book!

Drucker's work has influenced my consulting work and writing for years. I invoke his concepts frequently in my recent book, Work Naked: Eight Essential Principles for Peak Performance in the Virtual Workplace, so I am pleased that he has produced another important reference for business leaders.

This new book provides an excellent sense of the evolution of his point-of-view and of the very nature of work over several decades. He is one of the few authorities with a broad, deep perspective and that is even more valuable in less than optimal economic conditions. As always, it is refreshing and rewarding to read his clear, insightful ideas -- a true master at work!

This is the first book of Drucker that I had read. This is the book for all those people out there who have heard, read or come across Drucker's work in their professional life , but didn't know where to start . It takes you through almost all of Drucker's works on management right from the Management's tasks and responsibilities to the currently very popular but least understood concept of knowledge worker and their productivity. It can serve as the ideal reference book for going into depth on any of the topics discussed. Speaking for myself after reading this book I have read 3 more Drucker's books and crave for more of his works.

Recently, I read JACK by GE's Jack Welch. In it, he praises Drucker as one of the best management minds ever. High praise from the person most consider to be THE best CEO America has ever produced. This collection of the best of Drucker's writings is amazing in its clarity, depth, and breadth. To consider that many were written years ago but remain SO current in today's globalized world is truly amazing.

I found myself unable to resist highlighting with my magic marker this passage or that passage. This book is extremely readable and would make a wonderful gift to your favorite manager or to that manager you would like to see develop. My copy, only a few weeks old, is already "dog-earred" from repeatedly going back to read and re-read Drucker's wonderful insights, inspirations, and chastisements.

You will be really sorry if you do not get this book for yourself. You, your work team, and your organization need/deserve it. Invest in a resource that really will have a meaningful return for you.

Peter Drucker begins this book by pointing out that there is no science of how to improve executive effectiveness, nor any naturally-occurring effective executives. The redeeming point of this problem is that he argues that executive effectiveness can be learned.

The principles begin with a focus on time management. We can get greater quantities of every other resource we need, except time. Drucker reports that executives spend their time much differently than they think they do and much differently than they would like to. His solution is to begin by measuring how you spend your time, and compare it with an ideal allocation. Than begin to systematically get rid of the unimportant in favor of the important. His suggestions include stopping some things, delegation, creating policy decisions to replace ad hoc decisions, staying out of things that others should do, and so forth. Any student of time management will recognize the list he suggests. One of the best points is to give yourself large blocks of uninterrupted time to do more significant tasks. He also cautions us not to cut down on time spent with other people. If an hour is required, don't try to do it in 15 minutes.

Next, Drucker argues that we should focus on what will make a difference rather than unimportant questions. Otherwise, we will fill our time with motion rather than proceeding towards results.

Beyond that, he points out that we have to build on our own strengths and those of the people in our organization. That is how we can outperform the competition and accomplish much more.

We also need to be systems thinkers, getting to the core of the issue first. If we are weak on new products, we need to work on the new product development process before fine-tuning our marketing. If we reverse the order of these activities, our results will be far less.

Perhaps the best section in the book has to do with executive decision-making, when to make a decision, about what, and what principles to apply. If you only read this section, you would be well rewarded for studying this fine book.

I especially liked the familiar Drucker use of important historical examples to make his points. You'll remember the principles better because the examples are so vivid.

Although this book was written some time ago, it retains the strength of its insight today. Truly , this is a timeless way to achieve greater effectiveness.

You may be concerned about how you are going to learn to apply these concepts. That is actually quite easy. Drucker provides questions in each section that will guide you, step-by-step, to focus your attention on the most promising areas.

If you only read one book about how to improve your personal effectiveness as an executive, you will find this to be a rewarding choice.

One of his classics, and among the few that focuses on the practicioner (the manager) instead of the practice itself (management). Drucker delivers in his classic lucid style, insightful but never pedantic. There are lots of truisms in this book, but the one that stands out is the power of focus -- do one thing at a time. In practice, this is among the hardest things to do for a manager. As owner of a growing consulting firm, I am strecthced in all directions at all times. Applying this simple principle -- focusing on a "rock", as opposed to the "pebbles", not only increased my productivity -- and thus revenues -- but level of personal satisfaction as well. We all know what needs to be done. It's how to get it done (being effective) that's often the problem. Read this book and learn.

The content of this book is very timely and applicable to anyone who is considered to be a 'knowledge worker'. Regardless of title, the knowledge worker really is an executive. Several pages in the first chapter are dedicated to setting up this argument and scoping out the audience.

Drucker is very methodical in laying out his 5 principles of effectiveness. These are the basis for his two arguments in the book - executives must be effective and effectiveness must be learned. In each chapter that supports his principles, he lays the foundation for the principle, builds walls around it with countless real-life examples, and then drives them home with even more real-life examples.

Perhaps the greatest asset within this book is the rich examples that Drucker has provided. He is the oracle of management that has real experience as a strategist and theorist. He has no qualms with hitting common textbook theory head on in his books and has countless examples to back him up.

One drawback is that it can become tiresome to read some parts. Drucker really drives home some points and if you've already got it, you lose appreciation for the extra examples.

Ok, so it's not like reading a Grisham novel, but I promise you will take some valuable nuggets away from this book that can help you in building your career.

REVIEW: It has been said that the non-profit sector has been slow to accept the value of management education and practices basically because of the assumption that "management" means "business management". This book clearly bridges that gap and explains lucidly what makes for achieving non-profit leaders and effective non-profit institutions. The book is not a theoretical work or an academic one. It is rather an extremely practical show-and-tell about being a great manager in a non-profit organization. It is almost a "how-to" but doesn't stoop to the level of the ubiquitus but never effective "10 step program". You will be more effective by absorbing this material.

Drucker has done an excellent job at extracting material from three of his management books: The Effective Executive, Managing for Results, and a little bit of Innovation and Entrepreneurship [Note, these three are available as a collection called The Executive in Action]. The material is presented simply, concisely and is completely targetted to the non-profit sector with many examples including interviews with about 6-7 non-profit leaders. Highly recommended.

STRENGTHS: The book is fairly short, consise, easy to read yet full of great content. Each section includes a brief summary at the end and has at least one interview with a non-profit manager that makes the ideas even more practical.

WEAKNESSES:The book could use some select references to his other works and some graphics. But this is not Drucker's style.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Managers/leaders in the non-profit sector should consider this a must read. Other fans of Drucker that would like a refresher on some of his concepts.

Having sat on the boards of two international nonprofit organizations for decades, I can say that this book could have saved me years of confusion and ineffectiveness, had I come upon it earlier in my career. I am purchasing it for all the people I am mentoring, and highly recommend it as basic but indispensable reading to anyone working or planning on working in the nonprofit sector. Thanks, Peter!

A tremendous book. This book has to be one of the main titles in any library of the non-profit or future non-profit manager. The amount of expertise that Mr. Durcker relates is amazing. His conversational style, as well as conversations are very engaging and easy to read. Although this is not a "pleasure" read, it is pleasurable to read. One never feels preached at or lectured to, just informed by THE MAN!!!

There are many, many inmportant theories that are related in this book. I feel that the for-profit manager can also gather good knowledge reading this book. I also liked the format of the written chapter seperated by the Q & A discussion chapter. The chapter discussion with Philip Kotler and Dudley Hafner were my favorites. There is good, solid advice on management practices, and there are also many items that can be used to improve personal management style. Marketing and "Fund Development" are also presented in a knowledgeable and engaging fashion.

I don't like to talk too much about the contents of a book, but I feel very comfortable telling you that if your are studying to be a non-profit manager, or sharpening your current techniques, then read this book, as well as all the other Peter Drucker books you can. One cannot go wrong with this kind of intelligence. A hearty thanks to you Mr. Drucker....

It's really susprising how a book dated 54 can be so modern. Throughout its pages you can see paragraphs that simply are the source of many later killing books. Mac Gregor's theory, Hertzberg's ergonomic factor, the vision of Ted Levitt about marketing myopia, the search for simplicity, the moder concept of ethical behavior of companies and so many others. Really amazing how Drucker already peeked on these points many years ago. what new have all those new gurus been speaking about?.

Nevertheless, the most striking issue it's his lookout for human vertues in managers. Integrity anf character are the main tools of the right manager. We are still on the search for them!!!.

Peter Drucker needs no introduction. His works have shaped the management thought and philosophy for the last half a century. What he discusses in this volume, other management thinkers will find only 40 years later. A must read for understanding- What management and business is all about.

Forget the fact that the book was written in the 1950s. It is just as relevant today as it was back then. The analysis of decision making and organizational design is pretty good. It's a seminal book worth reading.

Drucker's covers a spectrum of topics which is not easily organized, but his wealth of experience (first business book written in 1939, this one written 60 years later) makes it worth reading regardless.

"One cannot manage change. Once can just be ahead of it." (pg 73)

An outline might look like this:

1) For starters, people must understand that a) Management does not only pertain to business. 90% of organizations are the same. b) There is no such thing as a RIGHT ORGANIZATION. The organization fits the task. c) In the knowledge economy, you cannot manage people. Only lead them. d) Management focus is external, not internal. "Management exists for the sake of its institution's results." (pg 39)

2) For knowledge workers, money is not enough. They require a challenge for motivation and must believe in the company mission to really perform. It is the quality of their work, not the quantity that matters.

3) Management needs to clearly define WHAT SHOULD BE DONE, rather than HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE. For manual labor, HOW matters because there are minimum quality requirements. For knowledge work, quality is a given.

4) Increasingly a company's comparative advantage will be its ability to attract and retain the most talented people. Likewise, knowledge workers should be treated as a capital asset, not as a cost.

5) Successful companies have a culture of organized abandonment. People are encouraged to abandon what does not work. It is innovation in motion. Opportunities are fed and problems starved.

6) The new Information Revolution is about concepts, not data. Going forward, IT will focus less on the T (Technology) and more on the I (Information). Once again, it is a question of quality ~ not quantity. Likewise, the ultimate test of any information system is that there are no surprises.

7) Since knowledge workers have a long working life (evidence, the author), they must actively manage their careers. To achieve this, Drucker gives straightforward advice: Know yourself. What are my strengths? How do I perform? What are my values?

8) Everyone should develop secondary interests (volunteer work, different job, hobbies) to challenge, and motivate themselves. Do not get stuck mid-career without any alternatives.

First published in Forbes magazine, California Management Review and Harvard Business Review, the six chapters in this book contain nothing that is an excerpt from Peter Drucker's earlier management books. Indeed, this book supplements Drucker's many earlier management books by looking ahead to the future of management thinking and practice.

At 90, Peter Drucker is, by all accounts, the most enduring management thinker of our time. Born in Vienna, educated in Austria and England, he has worked since 1937 in the United States, first as an economist for a group of British banks and insurance companies, and later as a management consultant to several leading companies. Drucker has since had a distinguished career as a teacher, including more than twenty years as Professor of Management at the Graduate Business School of New York University. With a long-term business perspective second to none, Drucker's books span sixty years of modern history beginning with The End of Economic Man (1939) and Managing in a Time of Great Change; Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; The Effective Executive; Managing for Results and The Practice of Management.

This book looks afresh at the future of management thinking and practice and defines new ways of delivering success. It deals exclusively with tomorrow's hot management issues-the crucial, central, life-and-death issues that are certain to be the major challenges of tomorrow. The biggest challenge will be knowledge worker productivity-what is it; how can it work; how do we manage knowledge workers and ourselves? Two fundamental issues addressed are changes in the world economy and the subsequent changes in management practice which will bring about new realities requiring new corporate policies as well as presenting new opportunities for the individual knowledge worker.

Many of the individual knowledge workers affected by these challenges will be employees of business or working with business. Yet this is a management book rather than a business management book. The challenges it presents affect all organisations of today's society, particularly the more rigid and less flexible, i.e. the ones more rooted in the concepts, assumptions and policies of the 19th century. The challenges and issues discussed in this book are not new and are already with us in every one of the developed countries and in most of the emerging ones. They can already be identified, discussed, analyzed and prescribed for. Some people, someplace, are already working on them. But so far very few executives and even less organisations are. Those who do work on these challenges today, and thus prepare themselves and their organisations for the new challenges, will be the leaders and will dominate tomorrow.

MANAGEMENT CHALLEGES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY is a breakthrough work, even for Peter Drucker. Through 6 impressive essays, Professor Drucker sets the agenda for the next several decades, for every organization and individual. He begins by pointing out that the way most people think about management is all wrong, and immediately needs to be changed. He outlines the needed changes. He then picks the key strategy issues that will strongly affect all organizations for the next 50 years. Next, he points out that we live in turbulent times and that one must lead the changes that one's organization must make so they occur faster than for the competition. There is no choice for any organization, except to fail to survive. From there, he points out that we have information TECHNOLOGY, but very little information worth looking at on the devices the technology brings us. He goes on to define what must be done to create the right information. In a remarkable section, he then tells how to create knowledge worker productivity (something he has said in the past that no one knows how to do). Finally, he provides a remarkable essay on how to get the most out of yourself, for yourself. These essays were previewed in leading publications, and substantially improved from the originals. There is no repetition of his work and thinking from earlier books. This is like finding a whole new Peter Drucker. I especially loved the new examples that he included, as well as his historical references that only Peter Drucker can make. YOU ARE MAKING A BIG MISTAKE IF YOU FAIL TO BUY, READ, AND APPLY THE IMPORTANT LESSONS OF THIS BOOK. If you read only one book by Peter Drucker, read this one! I was especially pleased to see that he addressed the stalls that delay organizational progress such as the old habits reinforced by tradition, unwillingness to address the new through disbelief, poor communications at all levels (he states the rules that you must follow to be a better communicator and be more effective), needless interactions fostering mindless bureaucracy, the temptation to procrastinate (standing still in front of a truck about to run you over is a mistake you will not repeat), avoiding the unattractive key issues of your organiztion (he recommends doing the dirty jobs yourself for several weeks a year in order to understand how to improve), and failing to set high standards. As always, the book is filled with powerful questions that you can answer for yourself in order to accomplish much, much more and feel great while you do so. Read and apply the lessons of this book and you will have many more 2,000 percent solutions (achieving 20 times the usual results with the same resources or getting the same results 20 times faster).