What do you think?
Rate this book
The Drucker Lectures: Essential Lessons on Management, Society and Economy
Previously unpublished talks from the Father of Modern Management
Throughout his professional life, Peter F. Drucker inspired millions of business leaders not only through his famous writings but also through his lectures and keynotes. These speeches contained some of his most valuable insights, but had never been published in book form—until now.
The Drucker Lectures features more than 30 talks from one of management's most important figures. Drawn from the Drucker Archives at the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University, the lectures showcase Drucker's wisdom, wit, profundity, and prescience on such topics
Politics and economics of the environmentKnowledge workers and the Knowledge SocietyComputer and information literacyManaging nonprofit organizationsGlobalizationDuring his life, Drucker well understood that over the last 150 years the world had become a society of large institutions—and that they would only become larger and more powerful. He contended that unless these institutions were effectively managed and ethically led, the good health of society as a whole would be in peril. His prediction is unfolding before our eyes.
The Drucker Lectures is a timely, instructive book proving that responsible behavior and good business can, in fact, exist hand in hand.
Throughout his professional life, Peter F. Drucker inspired millions of business leaders not only through his famous writings but also through his lectures and keynotes. These speeches contained some of his most valuable insights, but had never been published in book form—until now.
The Drucker Lectures features more than 30 talks from one of management's most important figures. Drawn from the Drucker Archives at the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University, the lectures showcase Drucker's wisdom, wit, profundity, and prescience on such topics
Politics and economics of the environmentKnowledge workers and the Knowledge SocietyComputer and information literacyManaging nonprofit organizationsGlobalizationDuring his life, Drucker well understood that over the last 150 years the world had become a society of large institutions—and that they would only become larger and more powerful. He contended that unless these institutions were effectively managed and ethically led, the good health of society as a whole would be in peril. His prediction is unfolding before our eyes.
The Drucker Lectures is a timely, instructive book proving that responsible behavior and good business can, in fact, exist hand in hand.
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 14, 2010
33 people are currently reading
418 people want to read
About the author
Peter F. Drucker
574 books1,967 followersPeter Ferdinand Drucker was a writer, management consultant and university professor. His writing focused on management-related literature. Peter Drucker made famous the term knowledge worker and is thought to have unknowingly ushered in the knowledge economy, which effectively challenges Karl Marx's world-view of the political economy. George Orwell credits Peter Drucker as one of the only writers to predict the German-Soviet Pact of 1939.
The son of a high level civil servant in the Habsburg empire, Drucker was born in the chocolate capital of Austria, in a small village named Kaasgraben (now a suburb of Vienna, part of the 19th district, Döbling). Following the defeat of Austria-Hungary in World War I, there were few opportunities for employment in Vienna so after finishing school he went to Germany, first working in banking and then in journalism. While in Germany, he earned a doctorate in International Law. The rise of Nazism forced him to leave Germany in 1933. After spending four years in London, in 1937 he moved permanently to the United States, where he became a university professor as well as a freelance writer and business guru. In 1943 he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He taught at New York University as a Professor of Management from 1950 to 1971. From 1971 to his death he was the Clarke Professor of Social Science and Management at Claremont Graduate University.
The son of a high level civil servant in the Habsburg empire, Drucker was born in the chocolate capital of Austria, in a small village named Kaasgraben (now a suburb of Vienna, part of the 19th district, Döbling). Following the defeat of Austria-Hungary in World War I, there were few opportunities for employment in Vienna so after finishing school he went to Germany, first working in banking and then in journalism. While in Germany, he earned a doctorate in International Law. The rise of Nazism forced him to leave Germany in 1933. After spending four years in London, in 1937 he moved permanently to the United States, where he became a university professor as well as a freelance writer and business guru. In 1943 he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He taught at New York University as a Professor of Management from 1950 to 1971. From 1971 to his death he was the Clarke Professor of Social Science and Management at Claremont Graduate University.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 9, 2018
I'm a fan of Drucker's and I really liked "The Effective Executive", but this collection of essays still surprised me, and very pleasantly. He has a quote at a certain point:
"Every 3 or 4 years I pick a new subject. It may be Japanese art; it may be economics. So for more than 60 years I have kept on studying one subject at a time."
This is reflected in his lectures. He covers a great many topics, and I was constantly surprised at how prescient he was, from the 40s to the 2000s. There were a few faulty predictions here and there, and some odd statements (about how deregulation would make Japan richer, but was still socially unacceptable, as an example), but by and large many of his statements from over 40 years ago still apply today.
Some passages I highlighted:
"The Ford Motor Company, we say, abandoned the Edsel. Well, this is polite euphemism. You and I abandoned the Edsel."
"The moment you can manage, you are no longer underdeveloped. You may still be poor, but you know how to get out of poverty fast."
"for there is no more conservative cause in the most profound sense of the words than the maintenance of the balance between man and his environment."
"American education tomorrow will no longer assume that one stops working when one starts working"
"Until very recently, there was no industry around for which the basic technological foundations had not been laid before World War I"
"Information is something that is pertinent to the task that can be converted into knowledge. And knowledge is information in action."
"He found in the orchestra's contract that they had to play five evenings, and he said, "No, you are going to be on duty 5 evenings, but you play 4. The fifth evening you sit out in the audience and listen.""
"And let me say the greatest weakness of our nonprofit institutions is that they don't reimburse. They have tremendous resistance against acquiring additional knowledge and skill on the part of their people, and it's stupid. It's very, very shortsighted, and it doesn't save anything. It costs money."
"74% of the people who work for Toyota are not on the Toyota payroll but on the payroll of contractors, suppliers, and have been for a long time. This is what makes "life-time employment" possible in Japan"
5 fundamental questions that every enterprise, profit or nonprofit, should be required to answer: What is our mission? Who is our customer? What does the customer value? What are our results? What is our plan?"
"And when the job becomes simply a a place to hang your hat, when it's "Thank God It's Friday", when you being to play games with yourself so that it makes the job more complicated, then you are bored. And boredom is a deadly disease."
"If you had no Department of Agriculture, would we now start one?"
"Whenever you do something of significance, whenever you are making an important decision, and especially whenever you are making a decision about people, you write down what you expect the results to be."
"The department stores in the United States and Japan are in terrible trouble" (written in 1996)
"No organization can possibly survive if it is both labor intensive and capital intensive. This is Economics 101."
"Is there a world economy? The answer is both yes and no. Economically, the world is becoming steadily more integrated. But politically the world is more likely to splinter."
"Total sales have tripled, while employment is a quarter of what it was. They think the company has become more productive. No. It has outsourced."
"one of the major challenges ahead is the fact that politics, military might, and economics no longer move in complete parallel but diverge."
"the fewer farmers there are, the more protection they get in every country"
"Every 3 or 4 years I pick a new subject. It may be Japanese art; it may be economics. So for more than 60 years I have kept on studying one subject at a time."
This is reflected in his lectures. He covers a great many topics, and I was constantly surprised at how prescient he was, from the 40s to the 2000s. There were a few faulty predictions here and there, and some odd statements (about how deregulation would make Japan richer, but was still socially unacceptable, as an example), but by and large many of his statements from over 40 years ago still apply today.
Some passages I highlighted:
"The Ford Motor Company, we say, abandoned the Edsel. Well, this is polite euphemism. You and I abandoned the Edsel."
"The moment you can manage, you are no longer underdeveloped. You may still be poor, but you know how to get out of poverty fast."
"for there is no more conservative cause in the most profound sense of the words than the maintenance of the balance between man and his environment."
"American education tomorrow will no longer assume that one stops working when one starts working"
"Until very recently, there was no industry around for which the basic technological foundations had not been laid before World War I"
"Information is something that is pertinent to the task that can be converted into knowledge. And knowledge is information in action."
"He found in the orchestra's contract that they had to play five evenings, and he said, "No, you are going to be on duty 5 evenings, but you play 4. The fifth evening you sit out in the audience and listen.""
"And let me say the greatest weakness of our nonprofit institutions is that they don't reimburse. They have tremendous resistance against acquiring additional knowledge and skill on the part of their people, and it's stupid. It's very, very shortsighted, and it doesn't save anything. It costs money."
"74% of the people who work for Toyota are not on the Toyota payroll but on the payroll of contractors, suppliers, and have been for a long time. This is what makes "life-time employment" possible in Japan"
5 fundamental questions that every enterprise, profit or nonprofit, should be required to answer: What is our mission? Who is our customer? What does the customer value? What are our results? What is our plan?"
"And when the job becomes simply a a place to hang your hat, when it's "Thank God It's Friday", when you being to play games with yourself so that it makes the job more complicated, then you are bored. And boredom is a deadly disease."
"If you had no Department of Agriculture, would we now start one?"
"Whenever you do something of significance, whenever you are making an important decision, and especially whenever you are making a decision about people, you write down what you expect the results to be."
"The department stores in the United States and Japan are in terrible trouble" (written in 1996)
"No organization can possibly survive if it is both labor intensive and capital intensive. This is Economics 101."
"Is there a world economy? The answer is both yes and no. Economically, the world is becoming steadily more integrated. But politically the world is more likely to splinter."
"Total sales have tripled, while employment is a quarter of what it was. They think the company has become more productive. No. It has outsourced."
"one of the major challenges ahead is the fact that politics, military might, and economics no longer move in complete parallel but diverge."
"the fewer farmers there are, the more protection they get in every country"
November 5, 2019
Some surprisingly deep reflecetions on, no less than, Soren Kiekegaard kick this series of lectures off from the world's still premier business man.
Drucker then proceeds to honestly describe the myth of the state, immediately opening up more interesting conversations by shattering a number of sacred cows.
Afterwards, and because he can see beyond the limitations of our statist models, he offers a number of smart methods for education.
The strong foundations provided by these early lectures places his later ones in context, reorienting us away from many lazy assumptions about learning, business and life that are stuck in crude industrialist and ideological models. Which belong more to a villain in Charles Dickens' work.
Peter also reminds us that a lot of these institutions, schools and universiities do not even aim to serve a real flesh and blood community as an explicit goal. Points like this matter even more in the age of social media and where community means those who agree with my ten-point ideology online.
Later on, he goes on to share some of his more familiar nuggets, drawn from a life of measurable success, and immeasurable greatness in leadership, society and economy.
Drucker then proceeds to honestly describe the myth of the state, immediately opening up more interesting conversations by shattering a number of sacred cows.
Afterwards, and because he can see beyond the limitations of our statist models, he offers a number of smart methods for education.
The strong foundations provided by these early lectures places his later ones in context, reorienting us away from many lazy assumptions about learning, business and life that are stuck in crude industrialist and ideological models. Which belong more to a villain in Charles Dickens' work.
Peter also reminds us that a lot of these institutions, schools and universiities do not even aim to serve a real flesh and blood community as an explicit goal. Points like this matter even more in the age of social media and where community means those who agree with my ten-point ideology online.
Later on, he goes on to share some of his more familiar nuggets, drawn from a life of measurable success, and immeasurable greatness in leadership, society and economy.
December 4, 2019
Good selection of Drucker's lectures introducing some of Drucker's ideas by decade. I really loved the format of the book and the historical perspective of how Drucker's work and ideas evolved over time. Reading this book prompted me to get "My years at General Motors" by Alfred P. Sloan, a historical book on how modern management came into being through one of the first big and successful corporations in the US history.
July 25, 2020
Like a long-form Q&A session after a presentation by the great business philosopher, except where the Q&A is better than the actual presentation itself. Fills in a lot of gaps from Drucker’s other works, especially regarding globalization and its ramifications on politics, economy, and “the future of the corporation.”
Drucker explained globalization this way: “It is not an economic event, it is a psychological phenomenon.” This was the “MTV effect” which Daniel Dale Davidson and William Rees Mogg wrote about in their book ‘The Sovereign Individual’ — yet, Drucker always seemed to get there first.
He called quality guru W. Edwards Deming “totally irrelevant” due to the rise of the knowledge worker, or how highly skilled positions would take over from the manual factory worker (Deming’s specialty).
It is my firm belief that this man was a true genius and one of the wisest men who has ever lived. Polymath just doesn’t go far enough to explain how enlightened he was about how the world works.
One of the best, If not THE best work that I’ve read from Drucker, although it should be read more of as a companion to his other books — or like the cherry on top, rather than the sundae itself.
Drucker explained globalization this way: “It is not an economic event, it is a psychological phenomenon.” This was the “MTV effect” which Daniel Dale Davidson and William Rees Mogg wrote about in their book ‘The Sovereign Individual’ — yet, Drucker always seemed to get there first.
He called quality guru W. Edwards Deming “totally irrelevant” due to the rise of the knowledge worker, or how highly skilled positions would take over from the manual factory worker (Deming’s specialty).
It is my firm belief that this man was a true genius and one of the wisest men who has ever lived. Polymath just doesn’t go far enough to explain how enlightened he was about how the world works.
One of the best, If not THE best work that I’ve read from Drucker, although it should be read more of as a companion to his other books — or like the cherry on top, rather than the sundae itself.
June 2, 2019
This collection of 33 short lectures captured by the book editor, serves as a very useful guide to the breadth of topics covered by Peter Drucker over his lengthy career.
Obviously, not all of Drucker's idea's and predictions were accurate but some really big and important ones were (such as the rise of the knowledge worker), highlighting his ability to observe and understand his present time and to place correct interpretation on those current events. This is something most of us can only do fairly poorly and in hindsight.
There is enough material in this collection for the reader to decide if they would wish to purchase and read more of Drucker's works or if the musings of this 'management consultant' is not to their taste. I will definitely be identifying some of his work to put on my reading list!
Obviously, not all of Drucker's idea's and predictions were accurate but some really big and important ones were (such as the rise of the knowledge worker), highlighting his ability to observe and understand his present time and to place correct interpretation on those current events. This is something most of us can only do fairly poorly and in hindsight.
There is enough material in this collection for the reader to decide if they would wish to purchase and read more of Drucker's works or if the musings of this 'management consultant' is not to their taste. I will definitely be identifying some of his work to put on my reading list!
April 1, 2019
What an amazing man? Wow... This collection illustrates the breadth and depth of his intellectual contribution to mankind.
Ranging from 1943 to 2005, it is impossible to do justice to the insights he so frequently shared with the world.
This is an amazing collection of his insights. The editing was thoughtful, and the additional context from the editor properly contextualises Drucker’s thoughtful and insightful contributions to intellectual discourse.
I’ve so far read about 4 of his 39 books, and I’ll work my way through the rest before long.
Ranging from 1943 to 2005, it is impossible to do justice to the insights he so frequently shared with the world.
This is an amazing collection of his insights. The editing was thoughtful, and the additional context from the editor properly contextualises Drucker’s thoughtful and insightful contributions to intellectual discourse.
I’ve so far read about 4 of his 39 books, and I’ll work my way through the rest before long.
June 1, 2019
I first encountered Drucker, as most do I suppose, in the pages of the Harvard Business Review. That drew me to this book as I wanted to learn more about his philosophy. The opening essay/lecture on Kiekergaard's approach to faith is certainly worth a read (the unedited version of that essay can be found in the link I pasted below). Drucker's points can appear dated but, he is always interesting. The lecturers stretch from 1933 until the early 21st century.
https://www.sorenkierkegaard.nl/artik...
https://www.sorenkierkegaard.nl/artik...
February 4, 2018
People love talking about "how quickly things are changing" and how different entrepreneurship and management is today. We really love believing this rubbish, but the truth is that "there is nothing new under the sun". As Drucker so eloquently puts it, the tools might have changed, but the principles have not. We are not as clever or as advanced as we like to portray ourselves with our views on the "cutting edge of how things are done today".
June 17, 2019
wow, just wow. Peter Drucker is considered the father of management theory, and I can now see why. His ability to understanding the organization dynamics of companies, non-profits, governments, and societies positions him really well to provide many valuable insights into the future of our world. He even coined the term “knowledge workers”! This is one of the books every leader should read, especially politicians.
November 22, 2019
Excellent book on fundamental principles of management and economics, most of the corporates and governments live in a superficial stage not asking the basic questions, the fundamentals. Management inside the company starts outside, by looking from the eyes of the customer. Must recommended for someone wanting to know how to manage products, people and organizations as a whole.
June 14, 2022
Wow, what a great collection that organizes Drucker's talks by decade. Not only do you get to see his ideas evolve over time, but I was surprised at the amount of topics that he touches on. In addition to what you might expect (organization, management, and education), he also speaks on the environment, the social sector, government, volunteering, religion, and globalization.
January 6, 2018
Excerpt from author bio:
Winston Churchill described Drucker as “one of those authors to whom almost anything can be forgiven because he not only has a mind of his own, but has the gift of starting other minds along a stimulating line of thought.”
Winston Churchill described Drucker as “one of those authors to whom almost anything can be forgiven because he not only has a mind of his own, but has the gift of starting other minds along a stimulating line of thought.”
June 19, 2017
Very much inspired ....I can go back to this book my entire life....and learn something every time .
November 22, 2017
Wow, slow start - but I’m really surprised that his approach was so forward thinking for his time. For me it was like finding kindred spirit in philosophy of approaches to business.
September 15, 2019
The audiobook version is worth listening to imho.
Very intelligent professor, while most advices have become common knowledge, I find it worth to know when certain ideas started being born.
Very intelligent professor, while most advices have become common knowledge, I find it worth to know when certain ideas started being born.
March 21, 2020
Very good - love the idea of feedback analysis and planned abandonment.
May 10, 2020
3.25. Good but a little outdated.
August 13, 2020
Very useful business book, full of mind-provoking practical insights.
October 20, 2022
Great introduction to Druckers work. The topics are very broard and that makes the approach so unique that Drucker had to management and business.
May 24, 2023
Best lectures from a lifetime as the godfather of mangement sprinkled with perspectives unlike any other. Very informative
October 31, 2023
useful abstract high level insights for people who run businesses and manage employees in large companies. mostly irrelevant to me
February 23, 2015
For me the knowledge gained is a 5-star but the layout falls short at a 1-star.
The content was great, it was a smattering of "the best of" lectures that Dr. Drucker has given through the years. I was never lucky enough to hear Dr. Drucker speak so I had hoped this would give me the feeling of what it might have been like. Contrary to the editor's opening remarks that "purists" may protest at some editing, I thought it was excellent and each passage flowed (within itself) very nicely.
My biggest disappointment was that the topics were not in any logical sequence, they were strictly chronological. So in one aspect you could see his interests as they came about, but topics very very scattered and were hard to follow. One passage from 1950's may talk about education then several passages, and a couple decades, later he discusses education again. Meanwhile in-between there are topics on Economy and Non-Profits.
I would have much preferred it if the editor had decided to categorize into sections, call them genres. Topics like: Management, Non-Profit, Education, Economy, etc. Then within that genre a chronological sequence of Dr. Drucker's lectures would have been appropriate. I believe this would have given the reader a single focus topics to compare and contrast, rather than trying to remember that passage from 2 decades ago and what he said about education.
The content was great, it was a smattering of "the best of" lectures that Dr. Drucker has given through the years. I was never lucky enough to hear Dr. Drucker speak so I had hoped this would give me the feeling of what it might have been like. Contrary to the editor's opening remarks that "purists" may protest at some editing, I thought it was excellent and each passage flowed (within itself) very nicely.
My biggest disappointment was that the topics were not in any logical sequence, they were strictly chronological. So in one aspect you could see his interests as they came about, but topics very very scattered and were hard to follow. One passage from 1950's may talk about education then several passages, and a couple decades, later he discusses education again. Meanwhile in-between there are topics on Economy and Non-Profits.
I would have much preferred it if the editor had decided to categorize into sections, call them genres. Topics like: Management, Non-Profit, Education, Economy, etc. Then within that genre a chronological sequence of Dr. Drucker's lectures would have been appropriate. I believe this would have given the reader a single focus topics to compare and contrast, rather than trying to remember that passage from 2 decades ago and what he said about education.
September 19, 2014
This is not a "light reading" book, but the way the content is broken up (since it is a collection of speeches) makes it easy to read this book in pieces over time. After reading the first few speeches, I almost gave up on the book since I didn't find the subject matter particularly interesting. I persisted, though, and found that about half-way through the book I was genuinely interested and enjoying the presentation.
It is amazing to note the many things Drucker saw far ahead of his time. What I found particularly useful was his observation--made almost 2 decades ago--that a problem with enterprise information systems is that they tell you everything you might want to know about the inside of your company, but nothing at all about things external. Although the speeches were made well before the creation of Twitter, Facebook, or the like, his speech caused me for the first time to see real value in activities such as sentiment analysis which attempts to bring external points of view into an organization.
It is amazing to note the many things Drucker saw far ahead of his time. What I found particularly useful was his observation--made almost 2 decades ago--that a problem with enterprise information systems is that they tell you everything you might want to know about the inside of your company, but nothing at all about things external. Although the speeches were made well before the creation of Twitter, Facebook, or the like, his speech caused me for the first time to see real value in activities such as sentiment analysis which attempts to bring external points of view into an organization.
January 20, 2016
Very impressive to read the thoughts of peter Drucker most of which have come into realization in the future he saw. Its a pity that he is no more to write such gems. The challenge in reading the book is that you are reading the past lectures which can only make you admire the guru for his insightful thinking.
October 6, 2013
While the lectures are insightful and pioneering, this book faces the same problem that an Alfred Hitchcock movie might face. The same concepts have entered the mainstream, and we have heard and seen them to death, and hence they are not as groundbreaking as they were
October 13, 2013
Great collection of talks by Drucker, with a wide selection of topics ranging from nonprofits and the environment to the management of oneself. Packed with insights (not new ideas anymore) and just a joy to read. Plowed through it in two session over the weekend, with two highlight pens going dry.
Read
October 30, 2016Sagacious Lectures as it's eye opening to give the wisdom that multi-disciplinary knowledge is required to understand the changes adequately. Also studying on subject deeply for 3 years is something I'm also thinking to take seriously !!
March 14, 2012
This was interesting for the most part. Especially the essays on information and education. Very prescient insights.
January 2, 2013
Loved it, some of his lectures are so insightful. When you look at what Drucker predicted and now what has come about he was the modern day visionary.
September 11, 2014
Peter Drucker was a true pioneer and it's interesting to hear a selection of his lectures throughout the years, from post World War 2 to the internet age.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews