Inside Drucker's Brain

Starred review from September 1, 2008
Editor and publisher Krames parlays six hours spent with the late father of management, Peter Drucker, into a book worthy of reading and rereading. In December 2003, Krames flew to Southern California in anticipation of two full days of conversation with the 94-year-old guruand dozens of questions then scaled back to a little more than a half day and six queries. Nonetheless, the result is masterful.Fifteen chapters distill the essence of Vienna-born Drucker, snippets of his life, and a 360-degree appreciation of his prescience. One example is called Execution First and Always, which anticipates by many decades the publication of a full range of theories and tactics on the importance of implementation in business, from Larry Bossidy to Ram Charan. Although the importance of people and employees has always been acknowledged but not necessarily trumpeted in U.S. corporations, Drucker, via Krames, delivers a hard-nosed warning about the mandate to treat workers as partners, keep them in the loop, and to remember that, above all, people decisions are the most important decisions. Druckers life comes alive in the insertions of information, including his escape from Nazi Germany and the extent of his worldwide audience. A must-read for anyone in business, beginner or wizened pro.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)