I am avid reader. I believe that I have to be, as a consultant I need to be where the knowledge is. I need to be in flow of information and I need to know how to access that information quickly.
In today’s knowledge economy, we can’t afford not to ‘know’. We have to be eternal learners. I have been reading the late Peter Drucker’s Classic collection. Peter Drucker coined the phrase ‘knowledge worker’ and as such is required reading for anybody involved in management, whether of one self, or others.
In particular the book Effective Executive caught my attention, and whether effectiveness can be learned, and if so how. Drucker makes the case that we not only need to, but we must. Making the ‘knowledge worker’ productive is the next great challenge of our society.
Anyone can become ‘effective’ and note that efficiency is not mentioned. Results are all that matter.
Drucker lists five areas to practice.
- Know where your time goes. I have never been more aware now that I am a full-time consultant. Gaining control over what little time we have is critical, if we are to make any significant gains in our productivity.
- Effective executives focus on outward contribution. That is they think about what their customers need. They ask “What should my contribution be?” They ask “What is expected of me?”
- They build on strengths. They learn and understand their own strengths and that of their superiors, their colleagues and direct reports and build on them. They don’t start out with things they can’t do.
- They focus on the few major areas that will produce major results. Where their performance will be superior. They set priorities with in these areas and ignore all else. Simply put second things just aren’t done.
- Effective Executive make effective decisions. They develop a process for making decisions and generate dissenting opinions rather than consensus. They take their time and make fewer good decisions.
I salute the manager who develops himself or herself by engaging in continual learning. Further its skills that you need. That is applied learning that matters. Read by all means, but apply the learning immediately, by teaching it, by acting on it and reflecting. Otherwise the learning is gone.
Finally Drucker, closes the book aptly, by saying not only can effectiveness be learnt. It must be.
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Daniel Lock
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