Peter F. Drucker

What makes an effective executive? The measure of the executive, Peter F. Drucker reminds us, is the ability to "get the right things done." This usually involves doing what other people have overlooked as well as avoiding what is unproductive. Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge may all be wasted in an executive job without the acquired habits of mind that mold them into results. Drucker identifies five practices essential to business effectiveness that can, and must, be learned: Managing time Choosing what to contribute to the organization Knowing where and how to mobilize strength for best effect Setting the right priorities Knitting all of them together with effective decision-making Ranging widely through the annals of business and government, Peter F. Drucker demonstrates the distinctive skill of the executive and offers fresh insights into old and seemingly obvious business situations.

The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done

The Effective Executive

Basically you can just read the foreword and get the gist. There’s also a bad chapter (7?) that tells you to hire brilliant jerks

Sarah Schumacher

This is probably the longest list of notes I've ever taken from a book. There's a reason Peter Drucker is so often quoted; he knows what he's talking about. Highly recommend this (I read the 50th Anniversary edition).

ANDREW BRYK

Tons of great insights, even for a non-exec. Felt repetitive with some points

Maria

Just like most of them, this book has too many words for 5 or so ideas. The conclusion at the very end sums everything up, so you don't have to read the whole book, just read the last few pages.

A handsome, commemorative edition of Peter F. Drucker’s timeless classic work on leadership and management, with a foreword by Jim Collins. What makes an effective executive? For decades, Peter F. Drucker was widely regarded as "the dean of this country’s business and management philosophers" (Wall Street Journal). In this concise and brilliant work, he looks to the most influential position in management—the executive. The measure of the executive, Drucker reminds us, is the ability to "get the right things done." This usually involves doing what other people have overlooked as well as avoiding what is unproductive. Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge may all be wasted in an executive job without the acquired habits of mind that mold them into results. Drucker identifies five practices essential to business effectiveness that can—and must—be mastered: Managing time; Choosing what to contribute to the organization; Knowing where and how to mobilize strength for best effect; Setting the right priorities; Knitting all of them together with effective decision-making Ranging across the annals of business and government, Drucker demonstrates the distinctive skill of the executive and offers fresh insights into old and seemingly obvious business situations.

Daryl Houston

This one's sure dated. Drucker writes clean, assertive prose. The book is very quotable and also full of useful info, but so much of it references case studies from 50 - 100 years ago that it's hard today to feel like I'm able to extract as much meaning out of the case studies as somebody might have in 1966. I'm simultaneously reading The Daily Drucker and for the moment am inclined to think that reading a summary of the high points of The Effective Executive book and maybe thumbing through a copy of The Daily Drucker would be a useful exercise for most anybody in a lead or management role. I'm not sure I'd recommend a full read of The Effective Executive for most, though.

(Side note -- the more I read this book, the more, for some reason, I had trouble not hearing it in my head in the voice of Droop Dog.)

I've written a slightly more comprehensive review here.

Wojciech Waśniewski

Enjoyed this book on personal and organisational effectiveness, despite its non-modern and heavily US-based examples.

It is a timeless classic indeed and goes nicely with modern takes on this topic (like Cal Newport's Deep Work).


What do you spend your time on?
Try to get rid of everything that's non-essential and time consuming.
Where do you excel, how can you truly contribute?
What is truly important that needs to be done?
Do more of THAT

Wei-Meng Lee

Johnie Hjelm

Mat Connor

Carissa 

Gigi V

Jeff Borton

Ryan Maher

D VA

Gabriel Ayuso

Alex 

Keven Wang

Nicholas Charriere

Drew Spartz

Specific examples of business successes and failures serve to illustrate the essential practices of effective administration.

The Effective Executive The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done

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