Drucker Mondays

Week 52: Peter Drucker’s Ten Principles for Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life

Week 52 of 52. Welcome to Drucker Mondays, a 52-week journey through the book, A Year with Peter Drucker: 52 Weeks of Coaching for Leadership Effectiveness, by Joseph A. Maciariello. Each Monday in 2015, we've featured a Drucker fan and his or her favorite snippet from the week's topic. Today is the 52nd and almost final edition, written by John Pearson. Watch for the final edition next Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, featuring a master list, highlights, and your invitation to the Awards Luncheon!

Week 52: Peter Drucker's 10 Principles for Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life (As Reported by Bob Buford)

THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: Author Joseph Maciariello calls on Bob Buford to summarize Drucker’s 10 principles for finding significance in life. If you like lists, you’ll love Week 52!

JOHN PEARSON'S FAVORITE DRUCKER INSIGHTS from Week 52, pages 393-400:
• Maciariello: “Staying in a position when you are out of sync with its values will either corrupt you or make you cynical.”
• Drucker: “Whenever people are on the road to success, they tend to think of repositioning as something they do if they’re a failure. But I would say that you ought to reposition when you’re a success, because that’s when you can afford it.”
• Drucker: “Know the difference between harvesting and planting.”

JOHN PEARSON'S COLOR COMMENTARY:
This 52nd week of wisdom from Peter Drucker highlights Bob Buford’s “Ten Principles for Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life from Peter Drucker.” Click here to download the 10 principles.

Buford, the author of Halftime: Moving From Success to Significance, Drucker & Me: What a Texas Entrepreneur Learned from the Father of Modern Management, and other books, writes, “Listen for the spirituality in Drucker’s 10 life principles and expect to discover your own success and more importantly your own significance.”

I especially appreciate these three Drucker Principles summarized by Bob Buford:
#1. “Find out who you are.”
#5. “Planning doesn’t work. ‘Opportunity comes in over the transom,’ Drucker insisted, and that means one has to be flexible, ready to seize the right opportunities when they come. ‘Too much planning can make you deaf to opportunity,’ Drucker said. ‘Opportunity knocks, but it knocks only once. You have to be ready for the accident.’”
#10. “Recognize the downside to ‘no longer learning, no longer growing.’” Here, Drucker identified three groups:
   • Group 1: People who retire—and don’t live very long.
   • Group 2: People who don’t retire, but lose their enthusiasm.
   • Group 3: People who “keep doing what they’ve been doing, but they’re looking for ways to make a contribution.”

Buford quotes Drucker on the third group: “’They feel they’ve been given a lot and they’re looking for a chance to give back. They’re not satisfied with just writing checks; they want to be involved, to help other people in a more positive way.’ And they’re the ones, Drucker said, who finish well.”

THIS WEEK’S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY JOHN PEARSON:


John Pearson, editor and publisher of Drucker Mondays, is a board governance and management consultant, and grandfather to five, including soon-to-be 13-year-old triplets.

TO-DO TODAY: 
• Download the 10 principles and pick three that arrest your attention—and discuss with a friend.
• Discuss the difference between planting (output) and harvesting (results).

Read Bob Buford's Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), with a foreword by Jim Collins (published this fall with more than 750,000 previously sold). 

 

NEXT MONDAY: 
On Jan. 4, 2016, watch for the final summary of this 52-week journey and your invitation to the Awards Luncheon, honoring our 52 guest writers!

Week 51: "We Mentor…Because We Can Envision What a Person Can Become"

Week 51 of 52. Welcome to Drucker Mondays, a 52-week journey through the book, A Year with Peter Drucker: 52 Weeks of Coaching for Leadership Effectiveness, by Joseph A. Maciariello. Each Monday, we feature a Drucker fan and his or her favorite snippet from the week's topic. (Subscribe on this page.) Michael Wong is our guest writer today.

Week 51: "We Mentor ... Because We Can Envision What a Person Can Become"

THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: Successful leaders know how to say no.

For over 20 years, Peter Drucker mentored Rick Warren of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose Driven Church (1995) and The Purpose Driven Life (2002). This chapter shares a talk honoring Peter Drucker delivered by Warren at the 2004 Drucker Alumni Day in Claremont, Calif.

MICHAEL WONG'S FAVORITE DRUCKER INSIGHTS from Week 51, pages 388-392:
• Rick Warren states two essential Drucker truths:
   1) “Leaders don’t ask, ‘What do I want?’ Leaders ask, ‘What needs to be done?’”
   2) “The mission comes first.”
• Drucker: “They (leaders) know how to say no. The pressures on leaders to do 984 different things is unbearable, so the effective ones know how to say no and stick with it. They don’t suffocate themselves as a result. Too many leaders try to do a little bit of 25 things and get nothing done. They are very popular because they always say yes. But they get nothing done.”
• Drucker: They (successful leaders) ask, “’Of those things that would make a difference, which are right for me?’ They don’t tackle things they aren’t good at. They make sure other necessities get done, but not by them. Successful leaders make sure that they succeed! They are not afraid of strengths in others.”

MICHAEL WONG'S COLOR COMMENTARY:
I find it intriguing that Peter Drucker, with all this wisdom, would teach Rick Warren the simple art of saying “no.” As a father of two young boys, I hear that beautiful two-letter word about a hundred times a day. If we learn the word at such a young age, why is it so difficult to say “no” when we grow up? Fear, control, pride, and a desire to impress others all factor into why we say “yes.”

I have a CFO mentor who once suggested that I set aside an hour each day during work hours to think. When I first heard this, I thought he was absolutely insane.

How can you get anything done if you are just thinking? What I’ve seen over the years is that we can become so consumed by the commitments we make that we lose sight of whether that commitment or activity makes any impact. When I make the effort to build in thinking/reflection time, I find that I am able to make better decisions and develop strategies and activities that directly impact and further the organization’s mission and goals. As a leader, I can think of no better activity to build into each day.

So, how can we build in time for thinking? We need to say no. We need to stop doing something. Peter Drucker advised Rick Warren in this way: “Don’t tell me what you’re doing, Rick. Tell me what you stopped doing.”

THIS WEEK’S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY MICHAEL WONG:


Michael Wong, CPA, is the chief financial officer at Open Doors USA in Santa Ana, Calif. Open Doors strives to raise awareness of global persecution, mobilizing prayer, support and action among Christians around the world. Click here to learn more about their World Watch List and how Open Doors ranks countries where Christians are persecuted.

TO-DO TODAY: 
• What will you stop doing so that you can build in time to think and reflect?  As Drucker notes, consider stopping things that either don’t make a difference or do not suit your skillset.  If you have been doing something consistently for years (a Monday report, for example), determine if it is absolutely necessary. Then help your teams ask those same questions of their daily routine.  

• Visit the Delegation Bucket webpage and download the "Don't-Do List" worksheet.

Read Bob Buford's Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), with a foreword by Jim Collins (published this fall with more than 750,000 previously sold). 

 

NEXT MONDAY: 
On Dec. 28, 2015, watch for the wrap-up color commentary for Week 52 by John Pearson on "Peter Drucker's Ten Principles for Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life (As Reported by Bob Buford)," the last chapter in the book’s final section, “Character and Legacy.” 

Week 50: What Do You Want to Be Remembered For?

Week 50 of 52. Welcome to Drucker Mondays, a 52-week journey through the book, A Year with Peter Drucker: 52 Weeks of Coaching for Leadership Effectiveness, by Joseph A. Maciariello. Each Monday, we feature a Drucker fan and his or her favorite snippet from the week's topic. (Subscribe on this page.) Tashawna Gordon is our guest writer today.

Week 50: What Do You Want to Be Remembered For?

THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: In a culture that strives for fame in various ways, for legacies, for remembrance, this week asks perhaps the most fundamental question that every generation has asked before: what do you want to be remembered for? A Year With Peter Drucker author Joseph Maciariello focuses on this idea with Drucker suggesting, “It is a question that induces you to renew yourself, because it pushes you to see a different person—the person you can become.” 

TASHAWNA GORDON'S FAVORITE DRUCKER INSIGHTS from Week 50, pages 381-387:
• “People were important to Peter Drucker. The artifacts from his twenty-plus years of mentoring leaders of various organizations confirm what is well developed in his writings: Drucker was fervent in his belief that organizations should develop people and that the most durable ones do!” (p. 383)
• “I learned three things from that conversation. First, one has to ask oneself what one wants to be remembered for. Second, that should change as one gets older. It should change both with one’s own maturity and with the changes in the world. Finally, one thing worth being remembered for is the difference one makes in the lives of people [italics mine].” (p. 386)
• “It is important to ask yourself the question, ‘What do I want to be remembered for?’ from time to time in your life because it motivates you to work toward the person you can become. It is a question that if asked seriously can lead to personal revitalization in your life.” (p. 386) 

TASHAWNA GORDON'S COLOR COMMENTARY:
As a 22-year-old recent graduate, I am often asked the question, “What do you want to do with your life?” In very real ways, that question bothers me more than I’d like to admit but I suppose I get it.

I get why people feel a compulsion to ask the newly graduated kid where I’d like to see my life go—but in all honesty, I just don’t know. I don’t know where I’ll be 10, 15, 20 years from now and I think I’m OK with that.

I’m OK with that because the difference between the questions of, “What do you want to do with your life?” and “What do you want to be remembered for?” is the breathing room the latter gives for seasons of growth; encouraging the pursuit of something more.

One of my professors asked us one day, seemingly out of the blue, what we wanted our tombstones to read. As a class filled with twenty-somethings, death almost seemed like a far off rumor that hadn’t made its way to our reality yet.

Confused and a bit uncomfortable, I remember sitting at my desk racking my brain for things that could be written in memory of me. Things like status, or profession, or my own versions of fame didn’t seem to make any sense: why would I want to put that on my tombstone?

Finally, our professor, sensing our inability to think of something, prompted us again,
“What do you want to have been known for?”
I then scribbled on my tombstone: 
Walked Slowly.
Breathed Deeply.
Loved Well.

In the grand scheme of things, I don’t know what I want to do with my life. But I do know that at the end of it all, I want to know that I walked slowly, I breathed deeply, and I loved well. If I have done this, it will be a life well lived. (Editor's Note: To create your own tombstone, click on this app.)

These realizations didn’t just come to me on my own. They were prompted by people who have invested in me, guided me, and mentored me in ways that Peter Drucker did for others like me. The opportunity to empower and enable others is at the core of what it means to lead and to lead well.

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY TASHAWNA GORDON:

Tashawna Gordon is the pastor of youth and families at North Valley Friends Church, Newberg, Oregon. She served as a 2015 summer intern at M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust in Vancouver, Washington and is a graduate of George Fox University. One of her many passions is serving as chaplain of the GFU women’s basketball team. (Enjoy this short video!)

TO-DO TODAY: 
• Pause. In the midst of the busyness of the week, pause for a moment and ask yourself this question: What do you want to be remembered for?
• Reflect. What are you doing now that is leading towards what you want to be remembered for?
• Seek. As Drucker invested into the lives of others, mentoring and guiding, I invite you to do the same. Ask them this question and other questions like it that challenge them and stretch them—but also journey with them in their seasons of growth as they journey through what it means to live a life well lived. 

Read Bob Buford's Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), with a foreword by Jim Collins (published this fall with more than 750,000 previously sold). 

 

NEXT MONDAY: 
On Dec. 21, 2015, watch for the color commentary by Michael Wong on "We Mentor...Because We Can Envision What a Person Can Become" (Week 51), the next to last chapter in the book’s final section, “Character and Legacy.” 

Week 49: You Become a Person by Knowing Your Values

Week 49 of 52. Welcome to Drucker Mondays, a 52-week journey through the book, A Year with Peter Drucker: 52 Weeks of Coaching for Leadership Effectiveness, by Joseph A. Maciariello. Each Monday, we feature a Drucker fan and his or her favorite snippet from the week's topic. (Subscribe on this page.) David Schmidt is our guest writer today.

Week 49: You Become a Person by Knowing Your Values

THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: If you surrender your values you end up losing your self-esteem.  This “progressive discomfort,” as Joseph Maciariello states in the book, can haunt us every day and erode our values, not just in our workplaces, but in our lives as well.

DAVID SCHMIDT'S FAVORITE DRUCKER INSIGHTS from Week 49, pages 375-380:
• “You become a person by knowing what your values are, what you contribute, and it is outside yourself.”
• “There is sometimes a conflict between a person’s values and the same person’s strengths. What one does well—even very well—and successfully may not fit one’s value system.”

DAVID SCHMIDT'S COLOR COMMENTARY:
We don’t do in life what we believe, we do what we value.

We all believe many things about our faith, our role as leaders, a healthy diet and exercise, being a spouse, a dad, a friend.

Big deal.

Check your calendar, checkbook, recent conversations and thought life for the real truth. One writer in the Bible, James, pointed out that even the demons “believed” in one God—but they certainly didn’t live that way. To Drucker’s point, we become who we are designed to be by knowing and living out our values. Our lives are a record of what we value.

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY DAVID SCHMIDT:

David Schmidt is president of J. David Schmidt & Associates. He notes, “We help our clients explore and develop strategies ‘off the map’ so they can better achieve a different kind and level of results. Email him at [email protected] or visit his website.

TO-DO TODAY: 
Tomorrow morning as you get ready to start the day, stand in front of your mirror and stare for at least a minute.  This is the face your mom looked into the day you were born, the face others around you see every day.  Now ask yourself, “What am I feeling about the person I know behind that face?  Am I satisfied with the way that person is living out their values?”  That is the test question for us all.  

Read Bob Buford's Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), with a foreword by Jim Collins (published this month with more than 750,000 previously sold). 

 

NEXT MONDAY: 
On Dec. 14, 2015, watch for the color commentary by Tashawna Gordon (a 2015 summer intern at Murdock Trust) on "What Do You Want to Be Remembered For?” (Week 50), the seventh chapter in the book’s final section, “Character and Legacy.”