IIPM B&E July Magazine Article: The Great Peter Drucker

It happens every day, all over the world, not just in entrepreneurial startups. In fact, it’s particularly common at older, established companies, where new competitive dynamics emerge seemingly out of nowhere to upend the status quo. Unfortunately, all too oft en, in these big companies, certain businesses have become such shrines that managers do not react with the kind of clear-eyed realism that your letter suggests. Look, change requires leaders to overcome all sorts of completely human dynamics, like inertia, fondness for tradition and hopefulness that things will get better. But such strategic moments require a kind of courage, or at least a lack of sentimentality, which is rare. It is in these moments that the best leaders find a mirror and ask the defining question that the late, great Peter Drucker posed nearly 50 years ago: “If you weren’t already in your business, would you enter it today?” If the answer is no, Drucker said, you need to face a second tough-question: “What are you going to do about it?” Every leader today should take heed to his advice and, if need be, follow it through to its conclusion, whether it is to fix, sell or close the business. Congratulations for having passed through the first two stages. Your decision may be tough in the short run, but will ultimately release your people from a losing work environment and enable them to find a future filled with opportunities, perhaps even with your new venture.

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Source: (Business& Economy), IIPM; Editor: Arindam Chaudhuri