The Effective Executive

November 7, 2005
The Effective Executive
(1966) forms one of the foundations of Drucker's reputation as a corporate leadership guru, and this workbook companion developed by Maciariello, a professor at Drucker's business management school, draws heavily upon the master source. The format extracts bullet points from the original text, along with supplementary material from other Drucker writings, then adds reinforcing questions and suggested action items. Additional space is provided to write down reflections and results. "Decision making is the specific activity of the executive," Drucker writes, but before you can learn how to make the right decisions, you need to manage your work time and concentrate your focus on the right tasks, then develop your strengths and the strengths of those around you. These precepts have become familiar mantras in the corporate environment, so little of the material should come as a surprise, making the exercises accessible and easy to perform. Key points are emphasized and re-emphasized, developed in broad themes then presented once more for individual review. If the text is repetitive, it can perhaps be forgiven by the authors' obvious desire to drill Drucker's recommended behavior into readers' heads so that it becomes consistent practice.