A Class with Drucker: The Lost Lessons of the World's Greatest Management Teacher

From 1975 to 1979, author William Cohen studied under one of the greatest management educators and thought-leaders of all time: Peter Drucker. What Drucker taught him literally changed his life. Now, in this warm and inspiring read, Cohen shares the insights he gained as the first-ever graduate of Drucker’s doctoral program and teaches readers how Druker’s game-changing ideas stand the test of time in the face of real-world workplace challenges today. A Class with Drucker shares many of Drucker’s teachings that never made it into his countless books and articles--ideas that were offered to his students in classroom or informal settings. Cohen expands on Drucker’s lessons with personal anecdotes about his teacher’s personality, lack of pretension, and interactions with students and others. Having gone on from Drucker’s teachings to become an Air Force general and eventually professor, management consultant, multibook author, and university president, Cohen is a testament to the lifechanging impact of Drucker’s teachings and friendship. Enlightening and intriguing, this book allows you, too, to learn and grow from the timeless wisdom of a most inspiring man.

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS Acknowledgments and Dedicationvii What Peter Drucker Wrote About Bill Cohenviii Foreword by Ira Jacksonix Introductionxiii 1 How I Became the Student of the Father of Modern Management1 2 Drucker in the Classroom11 3 What Everybody Knows Is Frequently Wrong19 4 Self-Confidence Must Be Built Step-by-Step30 5 If You Keep Doing What Worked in the Past You're Going to Fail44 6 Approach Problems with Your Ignorance-Not Your Experience57 7 Develop Expertise Outside Your Field to Be an Effective Manager69 8 Outstanding Performance Is Inconsistent with Fear of Failure82 9 The Objective of Marketing Is to Make Selling Unnecessary96 10 Ethics, Honor, Integrity and the Law108 11 You Can't Predict the Future, But You Can Create It121 12 We're All Accountable133 13 You Must Know Your People to Lead Them147 14 People Have No Limits, Even After Failure160 15 A Model Organization That Drucker Greatly Admired173 16 The Management Control Panel189 17 Base Your Strategy on the Situation, Not on a Formula201 18 How to Motivate the Knowledge Worker215 19 Drucker's Principles of Self-Development 231 Afterword246 Notes249 Books by and About Peter Drucker252 Index253

About the Author :
WILLIAM A. COHEN, PH.D., President of the Institute of Leader Arts and The California Institute of Advanced Management, was Drucker's first executive Ph.D. graduate. About him, Drucker wrote: "My colleagues on the faculty and I learned at least as much as we could teach him." He has held executive positions in several companies and served as president of two universities. He is the author of many books, including Heroic Leadership, A Class with Drucker, Drucker on Leadership, and Drucker on Marketing.

Review :
"Entertaining and enlightening, this book is for any school leader interested in gaining fresh perspectives and seeking wisdom with practical applications." --"The School Administrator" "Entertaining and enlightening, this book is for any school leader interested in gaining fresh perspectives and seeking wisdom with practical applications." --"The School Administrator"