41 Famous Peter F. Drucker Quotes (MANAGEMENT)

Top 10 Most Famous Peter F. Drucker Quotes on Business Leadership and Success

There is nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency something that should not be done at all.

Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.

So much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to work.

Doing the right thing is more important than doing the thing right.

If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.

Results are gained by exploiting opportunities, not by solving problems.

Meetings are by definition a concession to a deficient organization. For one either meets or one works. One cannot do both at the same time.

Long-range planning does not deal with the future decisions, but with the future of present decisions. — Long-range planning does not deal with the **future** decisions, but with the future of present decisions.

People who don't take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. — People who don’t take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.

31 Inspirational Peter F. Drucker Quotes on Effective Management and Leadership

“Cultivate a deep understanding of yourself – not only what your strengths and weaknesses are but also how you learn, how you work with others, what your values are, and where you can make the greatest contribution. Because only when you operate from strengths can you achieve true excellence.”
Peter F. Drucker

The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday's logic. — The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic.

Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action. — Follow effective **action** with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective **action**.

The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said. — The most important thing in **communication** is hearing what isn’t said.

The relevant question is not simply what shall we do tomorrow, but rather what shall we do today in order to get ready for tomorrow.

Only three things happen naturally in organizations: friction, confusion, and underperformance. Everything else requires leadership.

The key to greatness is to look for people's potential and spend time developing it. — The key to greatness is to look for people’s potential and spend **time** developing it.

The only skill that will be important in the 21st century is the skill of learning new skills. Everything else will become obsolete over time. — The only skill that will be important in the 21st century is the skill of **learning** new skills. Everything else will become obsolete over **time**.

“The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say “I.” And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say “I.” They don’t think “I.” They think “we”; they think “team.” They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but “we” get the credit. This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.”
Peter F. Drucker

The only real difference between one organization and another is the performance of its people.

We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn. — We now accept the fact that **learning** is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of **change**. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.

If you can't measure it, you can't change it. — If you can’t measure it, you can’t **change** it.

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.

Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth. — **Innovation** is the specific instrument of **entrepreneurship**. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create **wealth**.

“Successful careers are not planned. They develop when people are prepared for opportunities because they know their strengths, their method of work, and their values. Knowing where one belongs can transform an ordinary person – hardworking and competent but otherwise mediocre – into an outstanding performer.”
Peter F. Drucker

There is nothing worse than doing the wrong thing well.

The bеѕt wау tо predict уоur future іѕ tо create it. — The bеѕt wау tо predict уоur **future** іѕ tо create it.

Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work. — Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into **hard work**.

Strategy is a commodity, execution is an art.

The problem in my life and other people's lives is not the absence of knowing what to do but the absence of doing it. — The problem in my life and other people’s lives is not the absence of knowing what to do but the absence of doing it.

“Profit for a company is like oxygen for a person. If you don’t have enough of it, you’re out of the game. But if you think your life is about breathing, you’re really missing something.”
Peter F. Drucker

Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.

The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask. — The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The leader of the **future** will be a person who knows how to ask.

Most leaders don't need to learn what to do. They need to learn what to stop. — Most leaders don’t need to **learn** what to do. They need to learn what to stop.

The task of leadership is to create an alignment of strengths so strong that it makes the system's weaknesses irrelevant. — The task of leadership is to create an alignment of strengths so strong that it makes the system’s weaknesses irrelevant.

“An employer has no business with a man’s personality. Employment is a specific contract calling for a specific performance… Any attempt to go beyond that is usurpation. It is immoral as well as an illegal intrusion of privacy. It is an abuse of power. An employee owes no “loyalty,” he owes no “love” and no “attitudes” – he owes performance and nothing else. The task is not to change personality, but to enable a person to achieve and to perform.”
Peter F. Drucker

If you have more than five goals, you have none.

The purpose of information is not knowledge. It is being able to take the right action. — The purpose of information is not **knowledge**. It is being able to take the right action.

As a manager you're paid to be uncomfortable. If you're comfortable, it's a sure sign you're doing things wrong. — As a manager you’re paid to be uncomfortable. If you’re comfortable, it’s a sure sign you’re doing things wrong.

A man should never be appointed into a managerial position if his vision focuses on people's weaknesses rather than on their strengths. — A man should never be appointed into a managerial position if his vision focuses on people’s weaknesses rather than on their strengths.

In todays economy, the most important resource is no longer labor, capital or land; it is knowledge.

Peter F. Drucker Short Biography

Born 19 November 1909, in Vienna, Austria, Peter Ferdinand Drucker was an American economist, management consultant, and educator.

Drucker is credited for creating the concept known as “management by objectives”.

He obtained his doctoral degree in international and public law from the University of Frankfurt in 1931. He then became a journalist in Germany.

At the start of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, Drucker had run off to England and stayed for four years.

In 1943 Drucker became a U.S. citizen and became an adviser to British banks stationed in the United States.

Drucker’s first run with consulting came in the same year, when General Motors Corporation asked him to examine their organizational structure.

He wrote a number of books and articles on the topic of management, such as The Practice of Management (1955), The Effective Executive (1967), Management: tasks, responsibilities, practices (1973), and many others.

Peter Drucker was also an educator at the New York University (1950-1971) and Claremont Graduate University (1971-2005), he continued to teach until the age of 92, and worked as a consultant until his death.

Further Reading:

How to Apply Peter Drucker’s Management Theory – business.com
Marketing Is Business: The Wisdom of Peter Drucker – Marketing Insider Group
7 Lessons on Life and Business Learned from Peter Drucker – Disruptor League
Work-Life Lessons from the Legendary Peter Drucker – Business Know-How

Here are the best Peter Drucker quotes so you can value the importance of time and focus on your one big distinctive impact.

(MUST READ)

**The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done**

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