Peter Drucker's Way to the Top

by William Cohen

  BECOMING AN EXPERT IS A LOT EASIER

  It is generally thought that to become an expert in any field takes around five years. But, of course, this probably varies somewhat depending on the field, and how you define expert. Steven Spielberg took longer, although if you consider that his success came at an early age, it would appear that it took less time than it actually did for him to succeed.

  Spielberg is arguably the most successful movie-maker of our time. Spielberg was only in his twenties when he directed the successful movie Jaws. he didn’t stop with one big hit. This is the man who made Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, Indiana Jones, The Color Purple, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, and the numerous others that followed.

  How did Spielberg accomplish all this at such an early age? Wealthy parents with connections in the movie industry? Not quite. His father was an electrical and computer engineer and his mother a concert pianist at the time. They divorced when Steven was still in his teens, shortly after they moved to California.

  Maybe Steven went to a great graduate film school like the University of Southern California (USC) in nearby Los Angeles? Then, he was hired right into a high-paying director’s job. Right? Wrong! As a matter of fact, Spielberg applied to USC twice. And, he got turned down twice. USC probably regrets that decision dearly.

  No, Spielberg’s secret was that he took the time to become an expert at what he wanted to do. While only 12, he got his hands on an 8mm movie camera and began to turn out home movies starring relatives and friends. He decided right then on his life’s goal: he wanted to make movies.

  A year later, he won a prize for writing a fully scripted war movie. At the age of 16, he made a 2½ hour science fiction movie. It cost $500. He persuaded a local cinema to run it as a favour. It must not have been a great movie because they only ran it once. But that didn’t bother Spielberg, because he was almost an expert.

  While he was waiting to receive the second of two rejections from the USC film school, he was accepted at what was then Cal State College Long Beach and graduated in 1970 with a BA in English. While still a student, he was offered a small unpaid intern job at Universal Studios with the editing department. He was later given the opportunity to make a short 26-minute film for theatrical release. At age 22, he borrowed $15,000 from a friend and made a short film. It won a few awards and came to the attention of a vice president of Universal Studios who immediately recognized Spielberg’s talent and expertise. He hired Spielberg as a director on a seven-year contract.7 Spielberg had become an expert. He knew his stuff, and his many successes followed.

  YOU MUST LEARN FROM EVERY EXPERIENCE, EVEN FAILURES

  ‘Colonel’ Harland Sanders got his first pension payment after retirement and decided it wasn’t enough to live on. He then went on the road and spent two years trying to sell owners of fast food restaurants on the idea of using his recipe for Kentucky fried chicken. He didn’t ask for any money up front, only that the owner try his recipe, and if successful, give him a few pennies from each sale. Every single owner he approached turned him down. He failed, probably hundreds of times. But Sanders learned from each rejection. He improved his presentation. He did more research. He learned to handle every possible objection. Finally, after two years, he got an acceptance. And then another, and another, and another after that.

  No wonder when he was Governor of Kentucky, John Y. Brown, Jr, who was also former owner of Kentucky Fried Chicken, wrote about him: “Sanders took a bunch of people, most of whom had never been successful in their lives, and made them something of themselves. … In my lifetime, I have had the opportunity to meet and know nine US Presidents, most of the political and business leaders of our time, but the Colonel still stands as one of those great men you can count on one hand.”8

  Winston Churchill is one of my heroes. I know that he was one of Drucker’s heroes too. He was a military hero when a young man. During World War I he was first Lord of the Admiralty and engineered the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign because he believed it would outflank the German forces and end the war sooner. It failed after a horrendous loss of life and Churchill resigned his safe civilian post, went into the English Army and immediately volunteered for front-line duty where the danger was the greatest. Everyone thought it would permanently end his political career. But as you know if you watched the movie Darkest Hour, he became prime minister and he not only led the United Kingdom when it stood alone against Hitler early in World War II, but he held things together until it all turned around, and today many credit him with having saved everything, even Western civilization. When you think that failure will end your project, it’s good to remember his words: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

  NEVER STOP LEARNING

  If you think that you have learned all you’ll ever need to know for your career you’re making a big mistake, and I don’t care at what point in your career you are, a new hire, or the president. There are always new ways of doing things. Technology changes. The business environment is constantly changing and is usually different as you become involved with new companies, industries, or geographical areas. I remember hearing one new college graduate proclaiming: “I’ll never need to read another book again.”

  Drucker learned that a successful organization that continues to do what made it successful in the past will eventually fail. Why is this? Because of change. It makes what an organization knew or did to achieve success in the past irrelevant or even wrong. And this goes for everything. So, you must learn to keep up with change. You must constantly consider new approaches and new techniques with every task or project that you are assigned. It’s all part of knowing your stuff. And it was the one big thing that Drucker learned which led to his professional success.

  1. National Research Council with the collaboration of the Science Service, Psychology for the Fighting Man, 2nd ed. (New York: Penguin Books, 1944), 307.

  2. Luth, Wolfgang. “Command of Men in a U-Boat”. Speech given in 1943 at a German Naval Officers’ Course reported in Harald Busch, U-Boats at War, trans. L.P.R. Wilson (New York: Ballantine Books, 1955), 162.

  3. Montgomery, Bernard L., The Memoirs of Field-Marshall Montgomery (New York: World Publishing Co., 1958) p. 77.

  4. Montgomery, Bernard L., The Memoirs of Field-Marshall Montgomery (New York: World Publishing Co., 1958), 77.

  5. “Gordon Bethune”. Wikipedia, https://bit.ly/2O5GcIQ, accessed 30 August 2017.

  6. For those who want to know more about these Jungian concepts, the MBTI, and how it is used, I can recommend the following books: Gifts Differing by Isabel Briggs Myers with Peter B. Myers (Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1980); Please Understand Me, 5th ed., by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates (Del Mar, CA: Prometheus Nemesis Book Company, 1984); Type Talk by Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen (New York: Delacorte Press, 1988).

  7. “Steven Spielberg Biography”. Encyclopedia of World Biography, https://bit.ly/2I2Z3WF, accessed 30 August 2017; “Steven Spielberg”. Wikipedia, https://bit.ly/2qAljJY, accessed 30 August 2017.

  8. Pearce, John Ed. The Colonel (New York: Doubleday, 1982), dustcover, vi.

  CHAPTER 7

  EXPECTATIONS AND THEIR DECLARATION

  Proper management requires balanced stress on objectives… It avoids the all-too-common business malpractice: management by crisis and drives.

  – Peter F. Drucker

  Sometimes it’s more basic than you may think. It’s difficult to reach any objective or goal if you don’t have one or you don’t have it clearly and precisely defined in your mind. If you don’t have a clear objective or goal in mind, it’s unlikely that anyone who works for you does either, and it’s mostly unlikely that you will reach it. The chaos of management by crisis and drives is all too prevalent. Drucker knew that the way to the top for an individual or a corporation had to be spelled out exactly and it had to be declared to all, especially to one’s self.

  IF YOU ARE IN CHARGE, O
THERS EXPECT YOU TO SET THE STAGE

  Drucker spent years working and consulting with Japanese companies. Commenting on ‘Theory Z’, the American version of Japanese management and the forerunner of TQM (total quality management) back when it was thought that this was always the best solution to managing American companies, Drucker maintained that it wasn’t so much ‘quality circles’ or some other unique technique used in Japan that changed the quality of Japanese goods. Rather, Deming, Juran, and other quality leaders, simply made Japanese leaders aware of the problem. Once that happened, Japanese business leaders declared their own expectations regarding a focus on quality. This redirected the emphasis in their companies to a subject that had previously been ignored because it was thought unimportant. ‘Quality circles’ and other techniques that grew into TQM in the USA reinforced an effort that was begun with the understanding that this was something which needed to be done and was therefore emphasized.

  Drucker realized that, “The foundation of effective leadership is thinking through the organization’s mission, defining it and establishing it, clearly and visibly. The leader sets the goals, sets the priorities, and sets and maintains the standards … What distinguishes the leader from the misleader are his goals. Whether the compromise he makes with the constraints of reality – which may involve political, economic, and financial or people issues – are compatible with his mission and goals or lead away from them determines whether he is an effective leader. And whether he holds fast to a few basic standards (exemplifying them in his own conduct), or whether ‘standards’ for him are what he can get away with, determines whether the leader has followers or only hypocritical time-servers.”1 This applies to the individual as well. So, let’s start with what your mission, objective, and goals are. What are your expectations? As you’ll see, this applies to your leading an organization as well as to yourself. Let’s look at the organization you may be leading first.

  HOW DID FRED SMITH ESTABLISH A VERY SUCCESSFUL FEDERAL EXPRESS?

  The almost mystical story of how Smith grew FedEx with a marketing plan that earned a ‘C’ grade from his professor in college has become a part of business folklore, but it is largely just that. Fred Smith actually credits the Marine Corps for teaching him good leadership. Smith’s personal talent for leadership helped him to establish the world-famous company. It’s not surprising. Smith declared his expectations to his employees very clearly. Declaring his expectations and communicating them helped Smith to found a new industry.

  When employees meet his expectations, Smith follows through with a dramatic form of declaring his pleasure. New employees are taught that the highest compliment that can be given is “Bravo Zulu!” That’s Marine Corps-ese for: ‘Job well done, your performance rose above the call of duty.’ Smith was a Marine and this fact had more influence than any ‘C’ grade earned on a marketing plan from a college classroom.

  Once during a big UPS strike, FedEx was swamped with almost a million extra packages every day. Thousands of employees needed to work through midnight, weekends, and other inconvenient times after their regular hours. After the strike was over, Smith ordered bonuses and took out full-page newspaper ads congratulating his employees whose work had enabled FedEx to accept and fulfil this additional and unplanned work. All congratulations ended with the phrase “Bravo Zulu!” Some say it meant more than the extra money. Smith knew how to declare his expectations and reward his employees when these expectations were attained.

  OK, that’s for day to day operations. But at the top rung is the vision. And your vision is as important for setting personal goals for yourself and having expectations for an organization that you may lead.

  VISIONS ARE AT THE TOP RUNG

  A vision is an all-encompassing picture of the way you want an organization or yourself to look in the future. Without a vision, you and your organization will drift. Without a vision, you’ll never get there and neither will your organization.

  GREAT VISIONS ARE ALWAYS POWERFUL

  The vision held by the one in charge is extremely powerful. This is true because it is always before him or her. Dr Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote the bestseller The Power of Positive Thinking, found that with great visions, “You have it, because it has you.”2 Such a vision is so strong that it can even appear in the subconscious to make things happen.

  YOU CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING WITH A COMPELLING VISION

  In his most famous speech, Dr Martin Luther King told his listeners, “I have a dream.” King went on to describe a very different kind of America than the one that existed at that time, one in which people weren’t to be judged by the colour of their skin, but the content of their character. Dr King’s vision galvanized the process that would help change America forever.

  Sam Walton built a spectacular retail chain because he had a vision of providing quality goods to people at a competitive price, in geographical areas that major retailers were not serving. He felt so strongly about his vision, that he risked his personal future and wellbeing, and left a well-paid, executive position at J.C. Penny to implement it. Wal-Mart was the fruit of his powerful vision.

  All successful organizations, whether small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, athletic teams, combat units, or even countries must be built on a clear and compelling vision. This vision provides direction for everyone in the organization. It guides all action and tells everyone exactly where the organization is going. Properly involved in this vision, members of the organization willingly work towards it. Almost miraculously, the organization usually attains the vision that the leader sees, sometimes in every single detail.

  THE HEAD OF THE ORGANIZATION SEES THE VISION BEFORE IT EVEN EXISTS

  When they opened EPCOT Center in Florida – a theme park at Walt Disney World Resort – a news reporter interviewed Roy Disney, Walt’s brother. At one point in the interview, the reporter commented: “It’s too bad Walt isn’t here to see all this.” He had died before EPCOT Center had opened. The reporter continued, “What would Walt have thought about EPCOT Center?”

  Roy Disney didn’t hesitate in replying: “Walt saw it years ago, before anybody else … that’s why you and I are seeing it today.”

  The head of the organization always sees the finished product first, in his or her mind. Usually that proves to be a pretty accurate representation of the final product. Then, he or she declares these expectations to others (and to himself or herself), promotes them, and starts everyone making his vision a reality. Again, this happens long before the completed product appears.

  In 1948, Disney took his daughters to an amusement park. He was distressed that the amusement park had frequently become run down, a place that parents no longer wanted to take their children. Walt Disney put out a memo for what he called the “Mickey Mouse Park” that very year. It read: “The Main Village, which includes the Railroad Station, is built around a village green or informal park. In the park will be benches, a bandstand, drinking fountain, trees, and shrubs. It will be a place for people to sit and rest; mothers and grandmothers can watch over small children at play. I want it to be very relaxing, cool and inviting.”3 And thus began Walt Disney’s vision for “The Happiest Place on Earth”.

  SEEING YOUR OWN EXPECTATIONS AND DECLARATIONS

  A vision must be so strong, that it outweighs the egos or negative thoughts that may block real attainable possibilities.4 When he was a teenager, my oldest son, Barak, wanted to attend West Point for college. That’s not an easy goal to achieve, I should know since I am a graduate myself. Barak studied hard and had a high grade-point average, but each congressman only gets one appointment for his district, and though Barak had a 3.8 grade-point average with honours, four others in our Congressional district had a 4.0 with honours. So Barak didn’t attain his vision the first year he tried. But as famed motivational speaker, Tony Robbins says, “God’s delays are not God’s denials.” Barak attended another college but kept his vision and asked for my advice. I advised him to make a business-card-sized n
ote and to write on it: “I am attending West Point and will graduate in four years.” He was to keep this card in his wallet, but to take it out and read it aloud at least three times a day and to visualize himself as a cadet and how it felt as he went through West Point after attaining the goal of being accepted, and to write down the benefits of being a West Point cadet. Barak followed my advice and did exactly as I had instructed. Several times a day he would take out the card from his wallet and read the positive instructions he had written for himself. The following year he applied for West Point again, was accepted, and on schedule four years later, he graduated.

  THE BIBLE SAYS THAT WITHOUT VISION THE PEOPLE PERISH, BUT IS THAT TRUE FOR CATERPILLARS?

  The Bible tells us “Where there is no vision, the people perish …” (Proverbs 29: 18). Do you think that you can learn anything about vision from an insect? Well, I did. Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre was a French naturalist, an entomologist and author known for the lively style of his popular books on the lives of insects. Fabre became curious about a strange insect called a processionary caterpillar. What makes this species of caterpillar so unusual is the way it travels. A family of these caterpillars moves as a physically connected unit. They actually hook up, one behind the other and move in a long, undulating, connected line. The one in front knows where they are going. The others simply hang on and have a rather spectacular view of the rear end of another family member as they hang on and keep moving forward together.