I wonder if you’ve come across Peter F. Drucker’s latest article in the June issue of the Harvard Business Review entitled “What Makes A Successful Executive?” The undisputable patriarch of modern management theory and the man Warren Bennis calls “the most important management thinker of our time”, Professor Drucker needs no introduction. With an unparalleled gift for clear thinking and writing, what Thomas A. Stewart describes as an extraordinary ability “to arrange atoms of detail into luminous crystals of insight”, Drucker’s recent article caught my eye for both its simplicity and relevance to our work place.

For many years now, management theorists and practitioners have wondered what it takes to be a successful manager. Many have been puzzled by the fact that effective managers come in all shapes and sizes: some have the gift of the gab, others don’t; some are tall and impressive, others aren’t; some are good with figures and others aren’t – the discrepancies go on and on.

<B>Eight Practices</B>

To make some sense out of all this, Drucker digs into his 65-year consulting career and argues that if we are all able to adopt the following eight practices, we would all become effective. Take your time as you read them – they are worth some serious soul-searching.

<B>1</B>. Effective managers always ask: “What needs to be done?” Next, they focus on one crucial task and postpone all others until it’s accomplished. Once completed, they go back and ask again: “What must be done now?”

<B>2.</B> They always ask: “What is the right thing for the company?” They do not ask, Drucker emphasizes, what’s right for the owners, shareholders, stock price or employees – but what is right for the enterprise as a whole.

<B>3.</B> They develop action plans. They are doers. They execute. But before they spin into action, they plan ahead by thinking of the desired results, possible constraints, restraints and implications. And at no stage, warns Drucker, must their final plan become an inflexible straightjacket.

<B>4.</B> They take responsibility for their decisions. A decision is perfect, says Drucker, if others know the name of person who will carry it out, the deadline, the names of those who will be affected and those who have to be informed.

<B>5.</B> They take responsibility for communicating. Effective managers ensure that they share their plans with and ask for comments from all their colleagues. They let all concerned know what information they’ll need to get the job done, says Drucker.

<B>6.</B> They focus on opportunities. Good managers focus on opportunities rather than problems. Problem solving, argues Drucker, does not automatically produce results – it merely prevents damage. Exploiting opportunities does.

<B>7</B>. They make meetings productive. This requires a good deal of self-discipline, warns Drucker. He quotes the case of Alfred Sloan of General Motors who used to begin his formal meetings by stating clearly its purpose; rarely spoke but listened; and at the end, summed up. Next, he wrote a short memo summarizing the decisions made and allocating responsibility.

<B>8</B>. They think and say “We”. Effective managers don’t think or say “I”. They know that they have authority because they have the trust of the organisation. This means that they think about the company before they consider their own needs and opportunities.

Get hold of this article and keep it on your desk – it’s worth mulling over these practices.

<B>Prof Eric Charoux

[email protected]</B>