Drucker on People: Build on Strengths Rather Than Search for Perfection

In The Effective Executive (1966), Peter Drucker covers three broad areas: time management, principles for working with people, and decision-making. The following concerns people. Managers should use people’s strengths and accept their shortcomings. They should help everyone in the organization fully use their strengths and achieve something of their own. Managers easily fall into a trap: believing important positions require someone outstanding in every respect, even perfect. Management books may say a senior executive needs exceptional analytical and decision-making ability, superb interpersonal skills, mathematical proficiency, artistic sensibility, creativity, and more—in short, mastery of everything. Such people are extraordinarily rare; you cannot simply seek them out at will. Even Steve Jobs and Elon Musk have extraordinary strengths and obvious weaknesses, such as difficult personalities. The question is how to use their strengths as fully as possible, allowing powerful advantages to outweigh weaknesses. Once we realistically accept that all-round superhumans cannot be found, two choices remain: people with pronounced strengths and weaknesses, or people ordinary in every area with no major faults. Which should we choose? Early in the American Civil War, President Lincoln selected generals for having no major shortcomings. By contrast, General Lee’s Confederate commanders had faults of every size. Lincoln’s carefully selected ‘faultless’ generals were thoroughly defeated by Lee’s flawed commanders. Lincoln later recognized his mistake and, against opposition, appointed General Grant commander-in-chief. Grant was a formidable and capable officer, but had one major weakness: heavy drinking. Events vindicated Lincoln’s choice. Taking command in a crisis, Grant met expectations, won crucial battles, and turned the war around. People develop unevenly. Greater talent often comes with more weaknesses. An organization that employs only conventional, faultless people is bound to become mediocre. Good personnel decisions identify exceptional ability in a particular area and put it fully to work, instead of constantly dwelling on weaknesses. Managers should ask more often, ‘What can this person do?’ rather than ‘What can this person not do?’ Their task is not to change people or overcome their faults, but to help each person use individual strengths and achieve personal success. Drucker concludes that an organization cannot rely on universally gifted geniuses. It must rely on ordinary people with particular skills. A good organization enables ordinary people to do extraordinary things. An effective executive must use not only subordinates’ strengths but also those of the boss. Bosses are people, with strengths and weaknesses. Instead of simply complaining about shortcomings, help them use their advantages. That also helps you do your work: if your boss communicates well, bring them along to important customer meetings. If a boss lacks the ability to advance, subordinates may struggle to advance too; conversely, the teams of rapidly promoted managers often find success. Helping your boss therefore helps yourself. Finally, managers should understand themselves and use their own strengths. When work goes badly, some complain about the boss and company, wasting time and talent in resentment. Even within constraints, someone who genuinely wants to accomplish things can find a way to use their strengths and deliver results. Above all, do not force yourself into work you do poorly. Follow your abilities and temperament toward what most interests you and comes most naturally.