The Wisdom of Peter Drucker: Leader to Leaders

I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today had I not read Bob Buford’s book, Half Time: Moving from Success to Significancetwenty years ago. I was approaching ‘mid-life’ and was a bit lost and confused. His book reminded me that this season or stage of life did not need to be a crisis (dare I say mid-life crisis). Buford’s book taught me this season of life can be a catalyst for purpose, impact, and growth.

I get a bit misty-eyed now realizing how important that book became in the new formation of my life and leadership. Shortly after documenting my life of significance, I founded Leadership Quest, dedicating myself to helping leaders discover their greatness, potential, and embracing a life of significance.

At the close of Buford’s book, he outlines the profound influence of Peter Drucker on his life. (Are you seeing a pattern of mentorship and influence?)

Peter Drucker taught for more than 30 years at California’s Claremont Graduate School, where the Management Center is named after him. He published more than thirty books on management and leadership.

Here’s some wisdom from Peter Drucker, by Bob Buford:

1. Mission comes first
Mission should drive everything you do and everything your organization does. Don’t ask, “What should I do?” but rather ask, “What needs doing?” Ask something that creates extraordinary value. 

2. Build on islands of health and strength
Work on things that will make a great deal of difference if you succeed. You don’t need to reinvent yourself for a successful next season; instead, you need to find ways to deploy your ‘best self’ in new and significant ways.

3. Focus on opportunity, not problems
According to Drucker, most organizations assign their BEST resources to problems when instead, they should direct their best people, thinking, and resources to find and exploit opportunities.

4. Planned Abandonment
Drucker felt it was important to decide what not to do. The human tendency is largely driven by ego and we say, ‘yes’ to too many things. Focus on what yields the best results.

5. Become an adult
Drucker once said, “The beginning of an adult life is when you can ask the question, ‘What do I want to be remembered for?‘” Nothing will focus your attention on legacy more than writing your own epitaph. It forces you, while in good health, to think about what matters most to you.

Note: Thank you to Bob Buford and the late, Pete Drucker, for being my mentors from afar. There would be no “Steve Gutzler and Leadership Quest” without you!

— Steve 

As a master storyteller, Steve has unparalleled ability to communicate dynamic business and leadership truths through stories, anecdotes and humor. Harness the power of the “number one” predictor of professional success, impact, leadership, high performance and sustainable relationships in business and life. Steve’s highest rated keynote presentation.

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“The purpose of Leadership Quest is to help professionals develop their personal leadership, vision and emotional intelligence. Everyday I strive to help leaders and teams achieve their desired goals in sales productivity, leadership, time maximization, and life-balance. ”

About the Author

Steve Gutzler is the President of Leadership Quest, a Seattle-based leadership development company. Steve is a dynamic, highly-sought-after speaker who has delivered more than 2,500 presentations to a list of clients including Microsoft, Starbucks, the Seattle Seahawks, Pandora Radio, Boeing, Cisco, Starwood Corporation, the Ritz Carlton group, and the U.S. Social Security Administration. He recently was voted #1 by the readership of Huffington Post as the Most Inspirational Leader on Social Media.

A published author on leadership and emotional intelligence, Steve resides near Seattle with his wife Julie where they enjoy time with their three adult children and six grandchildren.