The IDB Project is a series of posts sharing summaries, snippets, and takeaways from INSIDE DRUCKER’S BRAIN (Jeffrey Krames)
CHAPTER SIX
The Jeffersonian Ideal
“Everybody from the boss to the sweeper must be seen as equally necessary to the success of the common enterprise.” — Peter Drucker
Beginning with CONCEPT OF CORPORATION (1946) and continuing with THE PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT (1954), Peter Drucker shared his belief in the Jeffersonian Ideal of equality and empowerment for all employees.
It’s hard for us to believe treating employees as valuable assets (not dehumanized cogs) and giving them the responsibility to make decisions are revolutionary business concepts. But they were when Drucker began writing about business management matters in the 1940s.
In MANAGEMENT: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (1973), Drucker shared how he learned lower-level employees were more knowledgeable and competent than senior-level management gave them credit. During World War II, Drucker was conducting research inside a corporation. He was unable to talk with many management-level employees because a lot of them were serving in World War II. Instead, Drucker had to rely on lower-level employees for information. He learned the average worker was smarter and better adjusted than previously thought.
For decades, Drucker trumpeted the importance of engaging and empowering the “knowledge worker.” He viewed corporations as social institutions, not nameless and soulless assembly lines. His writings routinely argued the needs, goals, and strengths of individual employees had to be addressed by corporations. And, corporations needed “to be organized so as to bring out the talents and capacities within the organization.”
Next, Chapter Seven of the The IDB Project.
great series, john -- i'm loving the idb project!
i feel a little awkward suggesting an addendum to drucker's wisdom (he is, after all, the ultimate authority!) but i thought i'd share my reaction to his quote -- which is that it's not only important that company leaders see everyone as equally necessary to the success of the enterprise; it's also important that people see themselves and their co-workers this way -- people must understand and embrace the ultimate value they contribute.
further i would say it's up to leaders to facilitate this -- that's why so much of my work on brands is internal engagement -- that is, helping each person in the organization understand their role and value in delivering the brand, and how they can/should interpret and reinforce the brand in their daily work.
Posted by: Denise Lee Yohn | December 15, 2008 at 08:23 PM
So true Denise ... a quote Jeffrey Krames uses in this chapter syncs with your comment:
"Any institution has to be organized so as to bring out talents and capacities within the organization; to encourage men to take the initiative, and a scope within which to grow." -- Peter Drucker, CONCEPT OF THE CORPORATION (1946)
Posted by: johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy) | December 15, 2008 at 09:01 PM
For a look at the management/employee relationships of days gone by, watch some Flintstones (seriously).
Posted by: Greg | December 16, 2008 at 09:24 AM