As I write this, the world is undergoing unprecedented social and economic upheavals. We need all the hope and good counsel we can get. It is just the time when we need the voice of Peter Drucker, and he is no longer here to speak to us.
So the timing of Bruce Rosenstein's Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker's Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life This fortuitous, and not just because it will be published in Drucker's centenary year. Rosenstein has distilled Peter Drucker's philosophy and teachings in a powerful way to help us meet new challenges and help others do the same. He brings the authentic Drucker voice to each reader.
The Peter Drucker I encounter in these pages is the man I met in 1981 and worked with while I was with the Girl Scouts of the USA. In 1990 I left the Girl Scouts and six weeks later found myself CEO of the new Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, now the Leader to Leader Institute. He is wise but tough-minded. He is good-humored yet serious, and profound when the need arises. He is capable of introspection, yet always his focus is on others.
Readers who treat this book as an interactive experience will gain the most from it. In particular, Rosenstein's thought-provoking questions that you are encouraged to ask yourself throughout the text are reminiscent of Peter's consulting style: many questions—even seemingly obvious ones—to make your companion think about the reasons for a situation that is happening, and what that person can do about it. As you read this book, you may find yourself responding in the spirit of Drucker by thinking through your answers from every possible angle and questioning your own assumptions. You will move internally to ultimately have an external impact. Positive change beyond your own four walls will happen because of the change and growth within you, with the aid of this remarkable partner for the journey.
There are good reasons why a steady stream of articles, books, and Web sites continue to reference or quote from Drucker's words and work. He mastered the art of remaining relevant throughout a long lifetime. His followers have the satisfaction of knowing that his relevance has grown, expanding globally in the years since his death.
In a way that few authors have accomplished, Rosen-stein's interviews draw out Drucker's wisdom in this intense, ongoing study of Peter Drucker as a person. Published over more than a decade, Rosenstein's many articles and interviews—appearing mainly in USA Today, but also in the journal Leader to Leader and elsewhere—demonstrate a keen perception of what continues to make Drucker so significant. Rosenstein extends that deep study and analysis into the pages of this book. He has interviewed not just Drucker himself, but also many of Drucker's friends, colleagues, and students. This book does not simply present Drucker's thinking, but takes a fresh approach by placing it in the context of how we can improve our lives now and in the future.
The answer, Rosenstein discovered, is to diversify our daily existence, much as Drucker himself did. It is to sharpen our sense of curiosity, remain open to new ideas, and learn as much as possible for as long as we can. It is to teach others, partly so we can learn more and be more effective. It is to be introspective when needed, but to remember that the most important things happen in the outside world. An especially important theme of our guidebook is generosity. We will be asked to share our time, talents, and expertise.
A successful diversification also involves doing what needs to be done today so that your future will be bright—the kind of future that will not unfold just because we or someone else predicted it. The book will provide many suggestions and strategies. You will find that a premium is placed on areas such as character, competence, achievement, and leaving something of value behind for others. These are presented not as a choice, but as essential. Rosenstein also reminds us that we must be aware of possible pitfalls in our diversification, including finding the time to do everything we want to do. Getting the most out of our reading will require ongoing work and thought, not a quick fix. Answers will emerge, but not because we have taken shortcuts. I believe Drucker would have appreciated that the entire book involves helpful action. You can start right now to make a better life for yourself and others, including people you will never meet, possibly those who may be born after your lifetime.
I have been deeply impressed since I first met Bruce Rosenstein by his rapport with Peter Drucker, which makes him as an author an especially companionable fellow traveler. Rosenstein writes from the viewpoint of a person facing the same challenges as his readers, with a fluid writing style that makes it easy for us to absorb the message.
It is not necessary to have ever heard of Peter Drucker, much less to have read his books, to enjoy and find value in Living in More Than One World. It is entirely possible that, beyond what you learn here, your curiosity will be stimulated to discover or return to Drucker's books. The suggested reading section at the end of this book will guide you to a select group of his most important books for individual development and personal growth. I believe you will now read or re-read these books with new eyes and a deeper appreciation of the meaning and philosophy of the Drucker message.
You will find it energizing to read and interact with the distilled, yet information-filled pages ahead. It will not be a passive experience. You will be elated as you discover that life and work approached with the Drucker spirit is a gift you can give to yourself, a gift that brightens the journey.
Frances Hesselbein
Chairman and Founding President,
Leader to Leader Institute
(formerly The Peter F. Drucker Foundation
for Nonprofit Management)