I had to comment on the recent passing of Peter F. Drucker, aka the “father of modern management.” I’ve followed his teachings throughout my career, especially as my work in services marketing evolved to focus on internal marketing and nonprofit marketing.
Drucker was truly a visionary who advocated:
- Employee value … “People are a resource and not just a cost.”
- Customers as the focal point of business … “To satisfy the customer is the mission and purpose of every business.”
- Marketing as “the distinguishing … unique function of business” (see Customers above), and
- the Importance of the Social Sector … “The nonprofit exists to bring about change in individuals and in society.”
Here’s my favorite quote from Peter Drucker, and it comes to mind every time I finish up an internal marketing session:
“If a client leaves this room feeling he has learned a lot he hadn’t known before, he is either a stupid client or I’ve done a poor job as a consultant. He should leave saying, ‘I know all this — why haven’t I done anything about it?'”*
Thank you, Peter, for your incredible legacy. You’ll be greatly missed.
*Note: No offense meant to those who attend my internal marketing programs; I truly value their interest & willingness to learn more about it. Most feel internal marketing is intuitive and already buy-into the concept (hence my experience of “preaching to the choir”) … the challenge is getting more organizations to put it into practice.