Last week I spoke briefly about Peter Drucker's book The Effective Executive. This week I will
quickly run through the main elements of the book.
There
are five, main prescriptions in Drucker's masterful book. They are:
1.
Know Thy Time – I think we have all heard the Delphic maxim, “Know
thyself.” It is wise advice. And, it plays a large roll in
effectiveness. Effective executives always start with their time.
Because, if you cannot control your time, you will not be very
effective. Here is a little hint, time management is largely a
function of self-discipline. Specifically, effective time management
is highly dependent upon your ability to say, “No.” Simply in
theory. Difficult in practice.
2.
What Can I Contribute? – Peter would say, to focus on
contribution is to focus on effectiveness. A lot of people are
focused on success. And, Drucker would suggest focusing on success is a mistake.
Success, like happiness, is a byproduct not a destination. Success
comes from acting on the question, “What should my contribution
be?” And, in order to answer that question, we need to possess
self-knowledge. Which leads us to Peter's next point.
3.
Making Strength Productive – Drucker would say most people are not
aware of their strengths. People think they know their strengths.
But, more often than not, they are incorrect. I will give you two
ways to identify your personal strengths. The first comes from Peter.
Drucker recommended what he called “Feedback Analysis.” The
technique goes like this. Whenever you make a significant decision,
or make a big change in your life, write down the expectations you
have. Meaning, write down the reason for your decision and the
decisions' expected outcomes. Then, 9-12 months later, review what
you had written and compare it is what actually happened. The other
method, for identifying your strengths, comes from Professor Martin
Seligman. If you go to Marty's website you can take a free,
strengths test. Simply visit authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu and
create a free profile. On Seligman's site, there are numerous tests you can take. And,
for our purposes, I am recommending the test titled, “VIA Survey of
Character Strengths”
4.
First Things First – This is, very simply, a question of
priorities. When I say “very simply,” I most certainly do not
mean “easy.” In fact, keeping first things first is very
difficult. Like time management, keeping first things first is largely
a function of self-discipline. Which ain't easy. However, part of the
problem is confusion. When we lack focus, we are much more easily
distracted. Focusing on your strengths, and contribution, will help
you to stay focused on the important stuff. Because, like Heidi Grant
Halvorson says, successful people, “Don't Tempt Fate.” Drucker
writes, “If there is any one “secret” of effectiveness, it is
concentration. Effective executives do first things first and they
do one thing at a time.”
5.
Decision-making – Effectiveness is a function of action. It is all
about action. And, in as much as we can only do so many things,
action is a function of decision. Drucker writes, “Effective
executives do not make a great many decisions. They concentrate on
the important ones. They try to think through what is strategic and
generic, rather than “solve problems.” They know that the
trickiest decision is that between the right and the wrong compromise
and have learned to tell one from the other. They know that the most
time-consuming step in the process is not making the decision but
putting it into effect.”
I
will leave you with Drucker's five elements for effective
decision-making:
1.
The clear realization that the problem was generic and could only be
solved through a decision which established a rule, a principle.
2.
The definition of the specifications which the answer to the problem
had to satisfy, that is, of the “boundary conditions.”
3.
The thinking through what is “right,” that is, the solution which
will fully satisfy the specifications before
attention is given to the compromises, adaptations, and concessions
needed to make the decision acceptable.
4.
The building into the decision of
the action to carry it out.
5.
The “feedback” which tests the
validity and effectiveness of the decision against the actual course
of events.
