Drucker's Management & Leadership Principles for the 21st Century

Introduction

Since the turn of the century, the landscape of management may have changed, but the underlying principles remain steadfast. One of the major contributors to the field is the world-renowned Peter Ferdinand Drucker (November 19, 1909 – November 11, 2005), an influential writer and management consultant (the Drucker Institute, 2011). In 1943, Drucker became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He then had a distinguished career as a teacher, first as a professor of politics and philosophy at Bennington College from 1942 to 1949, then for more than twenty years at New York University as a Professor of Management from 1950 to 1971 (the Drucker Institute, 2011).

Over the next 70 years, Drucker's writings would be marked by a focus on relationships among human beings, as opposed to the crunching of numbers. His books were filled with lessons on how organizations can foster the best in people and how workers can find a sense of community and dignity in a modern society organized around large institutions (Drucker & Zahra, 2003). Many of his key principles are still embraced today.

Situational Assessment and Core Competencies

Karlgaard (2004) asserts that successful leaders do not start out asking, "What do I want to do?" They ask, "What needs to be done?" Then they ask, "Of those things that would make a difference, which are right for me?" Be authentic and do not try to be somebody else. Each manager has a unique management style, and he or she should know that style intimately. This is how one accomplishes tasks effectively and efficiently. One should not engage in activities that he or she does not believe in or is not competent at. Learn to say no. Effective leaders match the objective needs of their company with their own subjective competencies (Drucker & Zahra, 2003). They check and monitor their performance. Such effective leaders write down, "What do I hope to achieve if I take on this assignment?" One must have a baseline to gauge performance and to change parameters if market conditions warrant adjustments.

Generally, core competencies have been seen as capabilities held by people within a firm that, when applied to create products and services, make a critical contribution to corporate competitiveness (Byrne & Gerdes, 2005). Core competencies create sustainable competitive advantage for a company. This competitive advantage allows a firm to operate successfully in its common environment and creates the possibility of expanding into a wide variety of related markets. Additionally, core competencies have a major impact on the features of the product or service a company offers to customers. A competence strength is something the company can do better than a competitor — a feature that is valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and difficult to substitute. It can range from product development to employee dedication.

The starting criterion for determining a core competency is the question: is it capable of producing a sustainable competitive advantage? Conducting a S.W.O.T.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, and Trends of the marketplace) analysis will help to identify core competencies. Understanding core competencies allows companies to invest in the strengths that differentiate them and to set strategies that unify the entire organization. It is not correct to equate a core competence with a specific product or service. Products and services may frequently change, while core competencies are the foundation on which products and services are based. Core competencies are fundamental aspects of a company — its culture, values, skills, knowledge, and abilities — and therefore are not subject to sudden change. Build on your strengths and find strong people to handle the other necessary tasks. In other words, do what one does best and let others handle the rest.