“Great managers may
be charismatic or dull, generous or tightfisted, visionary or numbers oriented.
But every effective executive follows eight simple practices.” — Peter F.
Drucker
An effective
executive does not need to be a leader in the sense that the term is now most
commonly used. Harry Truman did not have one ounce of charisma, for example,
yet he was among the most effective chief executives in U.S. history.
Similarly, some of the best business and nonprofit CEOs Drucker has worked with
over his 65-year consulting career were not stereotypical leaders. They were
all over the map in terms of their personalities, attitudes, values, strengths,
and weaknesses. They ranged from extroverted to nearly reclusive, from
easygoing to controlling, from generous to parsimonious.
What made them all
effective is that they followed the same eight practices:
They asked, “What
needs to be done?”
They asked, “What is right for the enterprise?”
They developed action plans.
They took responsibility for decisions.
They took responsibility for communicating.
They were focused on opportunities rather than problems.
This concise
audiobook is based on Mr. Drucker’s summary of The Effective Executive done
at the request of Harvard Business Review and is now one of their bestselling
published works. This article is a perfect way to learn about the subject
broadly in a short period of time. Unlike many articles of this kind,
summarizing a book’s contents, this article was written and crafted by the author
himself.
The Audiobook has
nine tracks. 1. Introduction. 2. Get the Knowledge You Need. 3. Write an Action
Plan. 4. Act. 5. Take Responsibility for Decisions. 6. Take Responsibility for
Communicating. 7. Focus on Opportunities. 8. Make Meetings Productive. 9. Think
and Say “We.”
Download and start listening now!