Having a mentor in business is almost a requirement to truly excel in business. Even though I never got the chance to meet him, I consider Peter Drucker to be my mentor. Through his books, he continues to teach me exceptional insights into complex business matters that are hard to come by and tend to be universal. The dozens of books he authored are replete with world-class advice that not only can be applied to the business world, but also to one’s personal life. Here are five leadership lessons that I gleaned from unique ability to break down complex processes and offer new perspectives.
Know Where Your Time Goes
Making the best use of your time is important because it helps you control your workday so you can build your business without compromising your work-life balance. It ensures that your energies are devoted to tackle the most pressing issues at hand and not waste your efforts on non-critical details. If you know how you’re spending your time, you can adjust as necessary for maximum effectiveness.
Understand Why Something is Being Done
As someone that valued operational efficiency, Drucker believed that if you understood the WHY of an assignment, you would naturally improvise and approach it in ways that would guarantee better results. Not only does knowing the reasoning behind a task more intellectually satisfying, but it imbues efforts with a heightened self of purpose.
Be the CEO of Your Life
Self-management is an ongoing discipline that requires self-knowledge, introspection, and personal responsibility. “In effect,” Drucker wrote, “managing oneself demands that each knowledge worker think and behave like a chief executive officer.” The sooner you start thinking of yourself as the CEO of your life and career, the sooner you’ll contribute at work and in the world.
Make Time for Thinking
Not all of us have the luxury of taking up Drucker’s suggestion of spending a “week in the wilderness”, but we can all find a few minutes per day to truly think. In today’s hectic business world, those that take the time to clear their mind, even with a short stroll, will be better prepared to confront challenges than those that are juggling various items in their head.
Volunteer Your Time and Talent
If you’ve been blessed with certain talents, you almost have a moral obligation to use them to help others. Not only is it an intrinsically good way to devote your energies, but it keeps you in regular contact with others and helps you develop a solid support system for when you’re going through challenging times.
In Conclusion
Many hundreds of insights can be gleaned from Peter Drucker’s contributions to the industrialized world and some may speak to you more than others, so you would be doing yourself and your organization a favor by reading any of his books. Feel free to reach out to us to learn how the above lessons can make your organization more effective and profitable by booking your free operational efficiency assessment with us!
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