Editorial Review:
Father of modern management, social commentator, and preeminent business philosopher, Peter F. Drucker has been analyzing economics and society for more than sixty years. Now for readers everywhere who are concerned with the ways that management practices and principles affect the performance of the organization, the individual, and society, there is The Essential Drucker -- an invaluable compilation of management essentials from the works of a management legend. Containing twenty-six selections, The Essential Drucker covers the basic principles and concerns of management and its problems, challenges, and opportunities, giving managers, executives, and professionals the tools to perform the tasks that the economy and society of tomorrow will demand of them.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
It's 1 of the best  2007-07-01
Its a very good collection of Peter Drucker's writings. It's a must read and re-read.
Managment for people who can think outside the box 2007-06-09
Peter Drucker has a long, well-earned reputation for writing about management skills and practices. He writes plainly, cogently and with direct examples of his observations. It's too bad more people do not read (or if they do, do not practice) his principles: marketing is listening, not selling, and if you have listened (and responded) accordingly, the product/service will be obvious and well-received, regardless of the presumed capacity of the target to benefit from it. It's almost like management for dummies, but you DO have to listen first.
Outstanding 2007-05-14
Excellent review. No matter if you alreday know his work. Is always good to remember and appreciatte his sharp and lasting concepts over the years.
Like trying to do Quantum Physics while reading Newton  2007-04-25
I only made it 115 pages into the book before I had to put it down. In fairness, I'm a formally trained MBA (masters in business administration) so this experience should not be considered representative, but it does mean that I can offer a substantive and critical review of the compilation. I have two major points: one on accuracy and one on style
To his credit, Drucker could easily be considered the most influential source on management of the 20th century. Many of the basic ideas he offers are valuable and if a reader does not have any formal background in management, his book is accessible and full of extremely illustrative examples. The structure flows naturally and could be an excellent learning tool or primer.
The problem with Drucker is he was an influential source of the **20th** century and the compilation occurred without any substantial updating. One example in particular is on page 107 where Drucker offers, "Companies typically measure their proposed capital appropriations by... four yardsticks: return on investment, payback period, cash flow, and discounted present value. But we have known... since the early 1930s... that none of those is the right method... a company needs to look at all four." While this may have been a cutting edge approach in 1930 (and while it is still a common sentiment among managers whose education dates to the 50s and 60s), modern management theory recognizes that NPV *actually is* the one and only right method. This is one of a number of instances where actual errors are present. Indeed, there are additional instances where his perspective seems to conflict with a modern management education, but where there is no clear cut right answer.
The second point I would like to make is that there are really two basic ways to teach a concept. One is to offer plentiful examples so that a reader can draw conclusions and/or hopefully find one or more situations with similarities to each problem they face (inductive). The other is to offer a structured and unified theory that is less precise in its examples, but can be easily applied to situations that are dissimilar to those presented (deductive). Drucker writes in the inductive style, with plentiful examples. As a result, he doesn't offer a condensed nugget of theory that one can take away to apply to seemingly novel situations. If a reader isn't an expert on management, this isn't a problem and, in fact, the structure improves the learning process. If a reader has some structure and background, it reduces the value of the read.
All together, the book offers a number of great concepts and makes an illustrative primer to management (encouraged read for the untrained, 5 stars). That being said, the book and much of its content is out of date (all readers beware, 2 stars) and the style lacks the "ah hah" moments that might be found in a denser and more theory focused text (advanced readers strongly warned, 2 stars).
Not quite timeless 2006-09-16
Good book, contains a lot of useful advice, which is "timeless".
However, the world has changed a lot since, and there are many better management books to read/study.
This book deals a lot with processes, many of which have become obsolete today.
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