I can’t put the book down. I’m using it to prepare for a strategy meeting this Thursday for a $1.5 billion company, full of Drucker fans. And I love the website.
Brendan Calder
Adjunct Professor of Strategic Management,
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
Although corporate business has never interested me, I cannot put this book down. The writing is captivating. Edersheim’s clear examples show precisely where businesses soared and faltered because specific questions were addressed or not addressed. This book has awakened me and I’m eager to read the next 100 pages. The world was waiting for this book to be written and I’m grateful it jumped off the shelf and found me.
Judy Winkler
Relationship Specialist-San Diego
Although I’m a voracious reader of business books, astonishingly I had never read anything by Peter Drucker. The timing was perfect, because I am transitioning into consulting but hadn’t developed a methodology that I could use consistently-or a philosophical approach that would work with a broad range of organizations. Peter’s question-based approach, not to mention his insights, has provided me with the perfect platform. Edersheim has added enormous value to his thinking by including contemporary references and wonderful case studies.
Newt Barrett
President, Succeeding Today
I enjoyed the entire book and took a photocopy of the last chapter-listening, courage and vision of the whole. Thanks.
Ben Moyer
CEO, Pro Mujer
Having grown up with Drucker’s practical wisdom, this is a delightful refresher to his books. It is crisp and chuck full of new and useful insights that make the book a must to everyone that knows Drucker philosophy and how it applies in the new global order. Edersheim has done a terrific job of crystallizing Drucker-the person, his work and his passion.
Maria Fiorini Ramirez
President & CEO of Maria Fiorini Ramirez, Inc.
I am sending copies of The Definitive Drucker to all Humana and Hospira (HSP) directors. Peter had a real influence on my life and on our accomplishments at Humana, which I founded, with Wendell Cherry in 1961. Edersheim truly captured Peter, and is a terrific writer.
David Jones
Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus, Humana
This is not a book to be read and discarded. It is a guide to be kept accessible and revisited regularly by anyone who leads or hopes to lead an organization. Edersheim captures the clarity of Drucker’s insights and frames his approach in a manner that will be beneficial no matter how the business world changes.
Jeff Pasek
Attorney, Cozen O’Connor
A must read for anyone who has read Drucker in the past and wants a refreshing new look at his ideas and for anyone looking for a modern day primer on Drucker’s insights.
Rita Foley
Retired President, Mead Westvaco Consumer Products
I know of no one who has said more meaningful things about management theory and practice than did Peter Drucker. Every one of my students should read The Definitive Drucker. It passionately brings Peter Drucker into today and tomorrow.
Hal Lazarus
Professor, Hofstra University
(Formerly shared an office with Peter Drucker at NYU)
I am not formally educated in business but find myself in a senior management role. This said, I am always looking for ways to develop my leadership acumen and improve my organization’s performance. I purchased your book yesterday after realizing (40 pages in at the book store) that it just clicked with me. Your interpretation of Drucker’s vision was simple, clear, and practical for me. I had several “ah-ha” moments while reading – meaningful collaboration, understanding that my work is a “service” versus a product, and innovation. I have a journal full of notes and just completed my second reading. Thanks for some great lessons and a great book.
Clyde Douglas
Vice President, Claims, The Hartford Financial Services Group
Edersheim applies Drucker’s body of work, clarified by extensive interviews with the man himself and many of the top executives whom he influenced (e.g., Jack Welch), to 21st-century business. She takes “Druckerian” questions and quotations and conducts her own analysis, often pulling current examples from her own client base… The end result is a clear and readable update to Drucker’s business philosophies. Recommended for most libraries.
Brian Walton
Library Journal, Rolling Meadows Lib., IL
In a concise introduction to the philosophy of the 20th-century’s most distinguished business theoretician, Edersheim explores the insights that have shaped management thinking from the 1940s through the 1990s. Drucker himself chose Edersheim to interview him, based on her previous book (McKinsey’s Marvin Bower, about the man who built the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company). Edersheim blends brief summaries of Drucker’s thinking on various management topics (innovation, customers, leadership, decision making) with examples of how his ideas have been practiced at specific organizations and comments from contemporary business leaders.
Publishers Weekly