Week 17 of 52. Welcome to Drucker Mondays, a 52-week journey through the new book, A Year with Peter Drucker: 52 Weeks of Coaching for Leadership Effectiveness, by Joseph A. Maciariello. Each Monday, we'll feature a Drucker fan and his or her favorite snippet from the week's topic. (Subscribe on this page.) Mike Pate is our guest writer today.
Week 17: Rough Period of Transition Ahead for America
THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: When life gives you lemons...well, you know the rest!
The author begins this chapter stating that Drucker “turned pessimistic” toward the end of his life as he looked at the problems confronting the United States. In considering the incredible amount of transition that is occurring all around us at every level of life and society, we would do well to focus not on the problems, but on the opportunities that will naturally follow as we find solutions to the myriad challenges we will face as leaders and citizens.
MIKE PATE'S FAVORITE DRUCKER INSIGHTS from Week 17, pages 133-138:
• “The most effective way to manage change successfully is to create it.”
• “A ‘change leader’ sees change as an opportunity.”
• “To make the future is highly risky. It is less risky, however than not to try to make it.”
MIKE PATE'S COLOR COMMENTARY:
There is no doubt we are in an enormous season of societal transition (Drucker said in 2004 that he thought it would be a rough period of transition for the next 30 years or so.) It is crucial in times of transition that we don’t just respond to change but seek to leverage it and look for opportunities in the midst of it! We must be proactive by anticipating changes; keeping our organizations lean; abandoning unproductive items and programs; and developing and using our most talented people effectively. Though risks exist everywhere, it is far riskier to do nothing!
On a personal note, my hobby of trading stock options is a frequent reminder of how change and technology can lead to opportunity. I can sit on my deck (or nearly anywhere on the planet for that matter) with my laptop and make money by buying and selling interest in companies around the world. It is something that wasn’t even possible just a few years ago. What do you need to learn or do to take advantage of the many transitions around you?
THIS WEEK’S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY MIKE PATE:
Mike Pate, executive director, Transformation Ministries Camping, also serves as board vice chair of Christian Community Credit Union and chair of his local Municipal Advisory Council. Mike’s passion is to live an extraordinary life and influence people and organizations to be all that God created them to be! Click here to visit Mike's favorite spot on earth.
TO-DO TODAY:
1. Make a list of the greatest challenges facing your organization. Can you brainstorm a few possible strategies that might turn these challenges into opportunities?
2. Buy and read The Attacker’s Advantage: Turning Uncertainty into Breakthrough Opportunities, by Ram Charan.
NEXT MONDAY:
On May 4, 2015, we will continue this five-week segment on “Navigating a Society in Transition” with Week 18’s topic, “A Major Period of Transition for Society and Individuals."
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