Peter Drucker died of natural causes at the age of 95 on Friday. A great management visionary, he has inspired management thoughts for well over half a century. Even as early as the 40's and 50's when all the rage was managing the manufacturing process and the world was focusing on building production capacities, he highlighted the importance of Marketing. Customer as the core of business was his clarion call at a time when matching demand with supplies was the major concern. His vision of people as major business resources over capital is gaining ground with HR coming into prominence only now. In a world of manufacturing economies a few decades back he touted knowledge as the prime moving force of business over physical assets. He was the original proponent of the notion of 'knowledge worker' much before it became the catch phrase in the Information Technology boom. In a career spanning 60 years as a journalist, consultant, professor, and philosopher he has authored 39 books on management which has evolved into the management thought and philosophy of the corporate world. The world is yet to catch up with his amazing vision and management theories. Peter Drucker is survived by his wife and four children and of course the immense treasure of knowledge he has left for posterity. |
