Peter Drucker preached to help foster an enlightened business world. As far as I can tell, he had almost no impact on most retailing companies. He felt that the most important resource of any business is the employees. Given how most retailers recruit and manage their employees, proven by the appalling turnover and poor performance, it’s clear that Peter had minimal influence.

Few, if any, of the elite management gurus have had the ability to see and proclaim the value of the ecological or “soft” dimension of building a successful economic enterprise as did Peter Drucker. For all his economic theories and writings, his whole life seemed to be ecological and I had the privilege of seeing this first hand.

Dr. Drucker and I were the two speakers at a “Re-engineering and Finance” Conference in Geneva. We arrived at the hotel at the same time. Drucker looked every bit the average little old man as he checked in; no entourage in sight. His wife sat in the lobby patiently knitting. He refused help with his bag and the two of them trudged slowly to their room. When we were formally introduced, I stood there awestruck while he, with genuine humility, acted as though he was actually glad to meet me. It’s that humility part that’s stayed with me.

I can’t navigate Drucker’s writings without constantly being reminded of the principles and practices of the U.S. Military. (Note: For those who knee-jerk into apoplexy regarding violence, imperialism, sexism, etc. when the U.S. Military is mentioned, relax. This is about management techniques.) Our military operates with the idea that every member has the power to protect or cost lives, so the stakes are high. Therefore, the training is complete, consistent, and ongoing. Further, performance reviews are frequent and predictable, promotion paths are clear, expectations are clear, and everyone has value. Consider our policy of retrieving all of our wounded or dead from battlefields (still ongoing in Southeast Asia and elsewhere after decades). When was the last time a failed corporation had a plan to rescue their employees? In the U.S. military, there is no such thing as “cannon fodder,” a centuries-old term from foreign militaries referring to expendable troops sent charging into the teeth of enemy artillery to die or “feed” the cannon. U.S. companies have expendable employees, but not the U.S. Military. With the… Read more »

I think that Mr. Cowgill likely, yet sadly, has it about right. When I think about writings as mentioned, such as Drucker, Peters and others, in relationship to the discussions we have here, we discuss the principles, yet the impact is very limited. In just the topics mentioned, think of the examples in retail that may go with them. Is there real risk-taking at retail? Well sure, just being in it is risky. But how much real risk is there to be innovative? How much real leadership is really out there? The countless examples of horrendous leadership totally outweigh the greatness that can be named. Think of the countless abuses of rank – they are endless. Great decisions? Great communication? Organizations that allow the average to achieve what could be considered great? Certainly, as I write this, it seems a bit pessimistic. Yet, while few, there are the contrary that exist and continue to create excitement and inspire passion. Yet, the impact has been limited. As I continue to age and to learn, I understand… Read more »

Heck I don’t know. Why? Because when I was in college 30 years ago, I was too burned out to read his books that were required reading. I couldn’t drink enough Mountain Dew to stay awake during his lectures at 8am. Even back then, he was older than baseball. And now I deeply regret it. I’m going to get some of those books and read them.

I agree completely, Mark. In my view, Drucker had hundreds of creative and incisive ideas and observations. The one thing all this tremendous output lacked was the idea that would make his concepts useable and widely used. In a way, Drucker never really hit on the thinking that would make his ideas truly powerful (i.e., powerful = impactful). This is the same problem that has plagued, in my view, Deming, Covey, Crosby, Juran, Peters, and every other well-known business thinker I can name at the moment. I’ll turn once again to our research, since we have been studying and measuring this issue for the past four decades. The problem is that MOST TYPES OF INFORMATION do not have this kind of power; the power to enable people to make significant change. Some types of information do have this power, but not the types Drucker, Peters, and all the rest deal in. I believe that, as a business world, we operate under the assumption that information is power, IN ALL OR MOST CASES. This doesn’t prove… Read more »

Back in the early 80’s, the management concepts of Peter Drucker and Tom Peters were incorporated in some retail businesses. Unfortunately, his ideas of empowerment and management by objectives were lost due to humans being humans or, to be more precise, egos being egos.

These concepts died, not because they were wrong, but because they interfered with management’s desire to make decisions in their own best interest, instead of the best interest of their organization.

Peter Drucker had much the same influence on business as Jesus has on Christianity and probably other religions. We respect and revere both for their insightful teachings and great ideas, but following them seems to have lagged behind the respect we extend.

Should we now ask if it is too late for not only retailers and related businesses but for all of us to follow Drucker’s lead as we go about managing our business lives?