Influential figures
This first newsletter would not be complete without mentioning Peter Drucker. In his own right, he deserves to occupy a place of honour at the Mount Olympus of the gods of Management, alongside Taylor and Fayol, and if I may say so, Mintzberg as well. Peter Drucker is considered the father of management, and among other strokes of genius characteristic of a forerunner, he predicted the advent of the knowledge society and coined the term.
You may not know that some years ago professor Drucker was awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and that Barcelona is home to one of the chapters of the Peter Drucker Society, chaired by my good friend Xavier Marcet.
If you look for famous Drucker quotes on the internet you will find around 20 or 30 of the same ones repeated on different sites. Needless to say, the best way to enjoy and learn from his knowledge is to go directly to the source and read his books and articles, such as ‘The Essential Drucker’ or ‘The discipline of innovation’.
However, among the most famous quotes, there is one that I’m sure many of you know that is worth a brief mention here:
“Because the purpose of business is to create and keep a customer, the business enterprise has two – and only two – basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs”.
The first time you read this phrase, you think it must have become well-known because it is a striking soundbite. In fact, it is more than this. I have worked on the phrase with my graduate students and I assure you it is worth the effort. If you briefly reflect on how the quote applies to your company or organization, you will see how much you can get out of it.
