• December 02, 2005  |  2:27 PM MST

Peter Drucker

If you’re not familiar with his name, it’s one you should get to know. Peter Drucker. For decades, Drucker was considered among the world’s foremost thinkers in the area of management theory.  Regularly, commentators called him a "management guru," and reportedly, this was a moniker that Drucker particularly disliked. Without doubt, he was a prolific writer. Go to any major bookstore and seek out the business section. There you will find shelf after shelf of books that Drucker authored, most of which are readable and chock full of valuable insights.

Drucker passed away last month. Since that time, I have taken the opportunity to revisit a few of his writings. Increasingly, I am struck by the application of Drucker’s insights to all of us who lead, from the CEO of a major multinational corporation, to the head of departmental group, and even to the head of a family. Consider these:

1.  "Successful leaders don’t start out asking, ’What do I want to do?’," Drucker said. "They ask, ’What needs to be done?’" Drucker recommended that leaders clearly establish priorities, preferably no more than two, and pursue those priorities with a vengeance. 

2.  Drucker further argued that once priorities are clearly identified, a leader should ask "Of those things that would make a difference, which are right for me?" Leaders don’t tackle things they aren’t good at. They make sure other necessities get done, but not by them.

3.  Finally, Drucker maintained that leaders must constantly ask themselves, "When do you stop pouring resources into those near-successes where everybody says that if you just give it another big push it will go over the top." A true leader knows when to walk away from a project. Sometimes it’s the things a leader stops doing that are the most important.