Self-Study Course on Peter Drucker's Teachings

During the past year, I created and curated self-directed Fall, Spring and most recently Summer semesters based on the teachings of Peter Drucker.

I drew inspiration from the self-study programs (of varying length) that Drucker worked on throughout much of his adult life.

These programs were particularly admirable in that he studied while he was leading an extremely busy and productive professional life as a writer, teacher and consultant.

In the syllabus/outline below are the readings (two books and one article) and topics for each week. Even if you worked on the Fall semester last year, you will find new content for 2022.  

I’ve divided the semester into weekly segments, starting with the week of September 12, and ending the week of November 28.

Activities for each topic/week:

Find and read at least one chapter or section in each of the listed books. If you don’t have access to the entire book, sections of some may be accessible in a Google Books search.

Read as much material as you can from these books each week; you're not expected to read the entire books in such a short period of time!

Each week, after you've read the chosen material, write a brief (1-2 pages) statement on the following:

• Drucker’s central point regarding the topic, based on your interpretations of the readings
• Applicability and future implications to your current life and work.
  
  

Weekly Syllabus 

Week 1: September 12, 2022

Topic: Drucker on Self-Management
Drucker Book: Management Challenges for the 21st Century

Additional Reading:

Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker's Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life, by Bruce Rosenstein

Julia Wang: “Managing Oneself” Revisited, #DruckerForum Shape the Debate

Week 2: September 19, 2022

Topic: Drucker on Effectiveness and Decision Making
Drucker Book: The Effective Executive

Additional Reading:

Peter F. Drucker on Management Essentials (The Drucker Library, Harvard Business Review Press)

William A. Cohen, Ph.D.: Drucker’s Gold: MLA for Optimal Decision Making, Corporate Learning Network

Week 3: September 26, 2022

Topic: Drucker on Teaching and Learning
Drucker Book: The Age of Discontinuity

Additional Reading:

A Class With Drucker, by William Cohen

Bruce Rosenstein: Peter Drucker and the Power of Teaching, Psychology Today

Week 4: October 3, 2022

Topic: Drucker on Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Drucker Book: Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and Principles

Additional Reading:

Peter F. Drucker on Business and Society (The Drucker Library, Harvard Business Review Press)

Julia Kirby and Richard Straub: Performance that matters – Sparking the entrepreneurial spirit, #DruckerForum Shape the Debate

Week 5: October 10, 2022

Topic: Drucker on Teamwork
Drucker Book: Management: Revised Edition

Additional Reading:

Peter Drucker's Five Most Important Questions: Enduring Wisdom for Today's Leaders

Jane McConnell: The Inclusive Organization and the Reachability Factor, #DruckerForum Shape the Debate

Week 6: October 17, 2022

Topic: Drucker on Nonprofits and Social Impact
Drucker Book: Managing the Non-Profit Organization

Additional Reading:

Peter F. Drucker on Nonprofits and the Public Sector (The Drucker Library, Harvard Business Review Press)

Nalini Saligram: Aiming High in Global Health Challenges: Perspectives From a Nonprofit Leader, Leader to Leader

Mid-term Assignment

Visit a local library or bookstore for a field trip/site project. Spend at least 30-60 minutes browsing the shelves for books covering the topics covered in weeks 1-6. These books can be written by Drucker and/or other authors.

After you return, write an essay of 750-1000 words about books and authors you discovered that particularly resonated with you for their work on one or more of the topics.

For instance, you could write about discovering new authors on creativity as well as teamwork, and possibly about how those topics combine in interesting new ways.

Week 7: October 24, 2022

Topic: Drucker on Communication
Drucker Book: The Ecological Vision: Reflections on the American Condition

Additional Reading:

Classic Drucker: Wisdom from Peter Drucker from the Pages of Harvard Business Review

Carmine Gallo: Leadership Communication for the 21st Century Knowledge Economy, Leader to Leader

Week 8: October 31, 2022

Topic: Drucker on Information and Knowledge
Drucker Book: Managing in the Next Society

Additional Reading:

The Drucker Lectures: Essential Lessons on Management, Society and Economy

Charles Handy: The Seductions of the Infosphere, #DruckerForum Shape the Debate

Week 9: November 7, 2022

Topic: Drucker on Marketing
Drucker Book: Management: Revised Edition

Additional Reading:

Drucker on Marketing: Lessons from the World's Most Influential Business Thinker, by William Cohen 

Corporate Learning Network Editorial Staff: A Core Marketing Principle: To Win on the Corporate Battlefield, Compete on Value (Not Price), Corporate Learning Network

Week 10: November 14, 2022

Topic: Drucker on Leadership
Drucker Book: Management: Revised Edition

Additional Reading:

Drucker on Leadership, by William Cohen 

William Cohen: Drucker's 8 Principles of Successful Leadership, Corporate Learning Network

Week 11: November 21, 2022

Topic: Drucker on Developing a Global Worldview
Drucker Book: A Functioning Society: Selections from Sixty-five Years of Writing on Community, Society, and Polity

Additional Reading:

Peter F. Drucker on Globalization (The Drucker Library, Harvard Business Review Press)

Hans Stoisser: Hidden Champions-Europe’s hidden contribution to the globalized world, #DruckerForum Shape the Debate

Week 12: November 28, 2022

Topic: Drucker on the Future
Drucker Book: Managing in the Next Society

Additional Reading:

Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way, by Bruce Rosenstein

David Hurst: Report on the Round Table ‘Peter F. Drucker and the Society of the Future,’ #DruckerForum Shape the Debate

Potential Starting Sources of Information

• Articles and books found online via Google and other search engines (including material from Corporate Learning Network!)
• Articles and books in your own personal library
• Articles and books from public/academic/corporate libraries
• Drucker Institute: https://www.drucker.institute/
• Drucker School of Management/Claremont Graduate University: https://www.cgu.edu/school/drucker-school-of-management/
• Global Peter Drucker Forum: https://www.druckerforum.org/home/

Final Project

Write an essay of 750-1000 words about the main points of what you've learned; what topics were most valuable and what readings you'd like to pursue in more depth in the future.

Feel free to include your thoughts about authors besides Drucker that you plan on investigating in more depth after you've completed the course.

Projected Outcome

Your work on this course will deepen your knowledge of Peter Drucker, but it will also increase your knowledge about the various topics covered during the 12 weeks.

You'll ideally have learned about new online and print resources, and will have discovered new subject experts and sources. Ideally, you'll find this to be a useful, productive and stimulating learning exercise!