Four years after his death, Peter Drucker remains the king of the management gurus

Excellent article and good insight. As a manager, I've always appreciated Drucker's writing to most advice because it lacks both the turnkey promise and the ideological confidence that precedes most catastrophes. Now if I could only get my stupid people to read him the same way.

Great, great article.
It sums up Peter Drucker not really in a nutshell but in one single page.
And that is no mean feat.

I am grateful to see a Drucker article under the Schumpeter section. Being both from Vienna tell me about the quality and contributions of the Old school of Vienna.

Drucker has the unusual mix of deep practical experience, historical knowledge, and visionary thinker. Being involve with such companies like GM and others certainly can help you to get your hands dirty and to know how the 'thing' works.

Drucker was the pioneer and that is something that give him an advantage. But I like the way he saw straight where the discipline and practice of management will move.

Edgar

I wish that more individuals and companies would keep one of Drucker's most ardent beliefs alive: that profit should be a mere consequence and not the main goal of a business.

I admire Drucker and his philosophy. I am surprised a "school" of interested parties have not got together on the internet to exchange ideas especially on how to implement them in todays businesses. I would be interested. jtrought@bigpond.net.au

I think the most important reason he is still revered is that he stood out as a true visionary, in a tribe of text book writers. Some of his far reaching insights, such as the disenchantment with Government as a manager, make him a credible thinker, who did not have to rely on math or jargon to make his point.

Too bad all the best management practices in the world can't help when the primary motivation is looting, er, I mean, profit by financially orientated people. Re-engineering or financial engineering?

Fantastic piece of genuine and good writing.Economist,you excel when occasion demands.Once a Guru always a Guru and a great one at that and it will only be Mr.Drucker.

Can anyone give a good explanation about the amazing aboundance of bright minds born in or around Vienna between 1890 and 1914?

Without question Peter Drucker was one of the most significant contributors to the field of management science. His writing covered a wide range of areas and he did not seem to be irrelevant in any of these. One of his sayings that had a particularly profound impact on me came from an interview he was giving on a radio broadcast. In this dialogue he described organisations as “complex human systems”. That statement really helped me to look anew at the issue of management in an organisation. It helps explain why some organisations are better managed than others, and that to improve the management of an organisation you have to look at the interaction between people. I agree with the other comments on this article. A good piece of work.

I am greatly indebted to peter drucker in understanding the economic processes in globalization of businesses and the changes in the concept of rights of an individual and society and the critical view he enlightened the fallacy of communist theory and practice in management issues as early as i940 and 70s though he himself is dubbed as pro communist ideas.

the article and remembering of peter drucker in times of this turbulant time is richly deserving.

I first read Drucker's Innovation & Entrepreneurship a year after I finished University and I was totally blown away by his insight and wisdom on business & management and most importantly making a true success of it. He made (makes) timeless business sense and will continue to be the greatest management guru whose ideas and insights I feel privileged to have been exposed to.

Peter Drucker's centennial should cause us all to do something to honor him and improve business and society. He inspired me to start a company and write a book using his principles. His combination of management, ethics, and social responsibility have never been more important to our organizations and to our way of life.

Peter Drucker is to Management what Shakespeare is to English. Shakespeare was at the birth of modern English. Drucker hits chords that were never hit before.

Ironically, there is a famous quote from Drucker: people use the word "guru" only because they do not want to say "charlatan."