Biography

Peter DRUCKER

2003 ranking: 1

Somewhere in Korea it is reputed that a businessman changed his name to Peter Drucker in the hope that some of Drucker's wisdom would be transferred. Worth a try but, more realistically, if you want to emulate the creator of much of modern management theory, you better begin re-reading Jane Austen and Anthony Trollope. You might then also immerse yourself in Japanese art, Freud, and early twentieth-century European history. These are just some of the rudiments upon which Peter Ferdinand Drucker (b. 1909) has built an encyclopaedic store of knowledge which he has applied over the last 50 years to management.

Far sighted and always opinionated, Peter Drucker was born in Austria where his father, Adolph, was the chief economist in the Austrian civil service.
Drucker worked as a journalist in London, before moving to America in 1937. His first book, Concept of the Corporation (1946) was a groundbreaking examination of the intricate internal working of General Motors. His books have emerged regularly ever since - and now total 29. Along the way he has coined phrases and championed concepts, many of which have become accepted facts of managerial life.

The coping stones of Drucker's work are two equally huge and brilliant books: The Practice of Management (1954) and Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (1973). More than any other volumes they encapsulate the essence of management thinking and practice.

Drucker's book production has been supplemented by a somewhat low key career as an academic and some time consultant. He was Professor of Philosophy and Politics at Bennington College from 1942 until 1949 and then became a Professor of Management at New York University in 1950 - "The first person anywhere in the world to have such a title and to teach such a subject," he proudly recalls. Since 1971, Drucker has been a Professor at Claremont Graduate School in California. He also lectures in oriental art, has an abiding passion for Jane Austen and has written two novels (less successful than his management books). His most recent publications are Management Challenges for the 21st Century (1999) and Peter Drucker on the Profession of Management (1998).

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