Managing Oneself
by Peter R Drucker
Success in the
knowledge economy
comes to those who
know them selves their strengths, their
values, and how they
best perform
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Feedback analysis is by no means
new. It was invented sometime in the
fourteenth century by an otherwise totally obscure German theologian and
picked up quite independently, some
150 years later, by John Calvin and Ignatius of Loyola, each of whom incorporated it into the practice of his followers. In fact, the steadfast focus on
performance and results that this habit
produces explains why the institutions
these two men founded, the Calvinist
church and the Jesuit order, came to
dominate Europe within 30 years.
Practiced consistently, this simple
method will show you within a fairly
short period of time, maybe two or
three years, where your strengths lie -
and this is the most important thing to
know. The method will show you what
you are doing or failing to do that deprives you of the full benefits of your
strengths. It will show you where you
are not particularly competent. And finally, it will show you where you have
no strengths and cannot perform.
What one does well even very well and
successfully may not fit
with one's value system.
the long term is likewise a question of
values. Financial analysts believe that
businesses can be run for both simultaneously. Successful business people
know better. To be sure, every company has to produce short-term results.
But in any conflict between short-term
results and long-term growth, each company will determine Its own priority.
This is not primarily a disagreement
about economics. It is fundamentally
a value conflict regarding the function
of a business and the responsibility of
management.
Value conflicts are not limited to business organizations. One of the fastest growing pastoral churches in the United
States measures success by the number
of new parishioners. Its leadership believes that what matters is how many
newcomers join the congregation. The
Good Lord will then minister to their
spiritual needs or at least to the needs
of a sufficient percentage. Another
pastoral, evangelical church believes
that what matters is people's spiritual
growth. The church eases out newcomers who join but do not enter into
its spiritual life.
Again, this is not a matter of numbers. At first glance, it appears that the
second church grows more slowly. But it
retains a far larger proportion of newcomers than the first one does. Its
growth, in other words, is more solid.
This is also not a theological problem,
or only secondarily so. It is a problem
about values. In a public debate, one
pastor argued, "Unless you first come
to church,you will never find the gate to
the Kingdom of Heaven.
"
"No," answered the other. "Until you
first look for the gate to the Kingdom of
Heaven, you don't belong in church."
Organizations, like people, have values. To be effective in an organization,
a person's values must be compatible
with the organization's values. They do
not need to be the same, but they must
be close enough to coexist. Otherwise,
the person will not only be frustrated
but AI so will not produce results.
A person's strengths and the way
that person performs rarely conflict; the
two are complementary. But there is
sometimes a conflict between a person's values and his or her strengths.
What one does well-even very well and
successfully - may not fit with one's
value system. In that case, the work
may not appear to be worth devoting
one's life to (or even a substantial portion thereof).
If I may, allow me to interject a personal note. Many years ago, 1 too had
to decide between my values and what
I was doing successfully. I was doing very
well as a young investment banker in
London in the mid-i93 os, and the work
clearly fit my strengths. Yet I did not see
myself making a contribution as an
asset manager.
People, I realized, were
what I valued, and I saw no point in
being the richest man in the cemetery.
I had no money and no other job prospects. Despite the continuing Depression, I quit-and it was the right thing to
do. Values, in other words, are and
should be the ultimate test.
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