Peter Drucker: Death of a Coach
By Vikki Brock
Peter Drucker (November 19, 1909-November 11, 2005) was a management guru of Austrian descent. Back in the fifties and sixties, he said a manager’s job was to develop the staff. His 1969 book The Effective Executive is deemed a classic.
Byrne (2005) wrote on his passing:
November 11, 2005, at the age of 95, Peter F. Drucker died peacefully in his sleep at home. Drucker’s genius lay in his ability to find patterns among seemingly unconnected disciplines and to focus on opportunities rather than problems. Asked how he came up with so many original insights, Drucker said, “I learn only through listening to myself.” It was never Drucker’s style to bring people clear, concise answers to their problems, but rather to frame questions that could uncover the latent issues standing in the way of performance. “My job,” he once lectured a client, “is to ask questions. It’s your job to provide answers.” Drucker never fit into the button-down stereotype of a management consultant. He always worked from a home office filled with books and classical records on shelves that groaned under their weight. He never had a secretary, answered the telephone himself and admitted he was something of a phone addict.
Sounds like a coach to me. What do you think?
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