Die fünf entscheidenden Fragen des Managements

This time I got hold of a classic of management theory to find out what was already taught as theory back then and what still holds true today.

The US economist and author of “Die fünf entscheidenden Fragen des Managements”, Peter F. Drucker, died in 2005. In 2009, some of his writings, supplemented by contributions from some of his companions, were compiled and published in this small management guide. He has often been called the father of modern management theory. And indeed: much of his content is reused today in the same or a similar way, even if nowadays we talk about “customer centricity”, “value creation” or “purpose”.

I had to smile a few times, because many decades ago people were already talking about topics that today simply go by a different name. In this review, you'll find out why the book makes good “reading for in between”.

With this book, that's very easy to answer: it's about exactly what the title says. What should managers pay attention to today, and what should they value? Even though Peter F. Drucker keeps referring to non-profit organizations, the central questions also apply to for-profit companies.

It's all about examining and questioning yourself again and again. An element I had already come across in Christoph Keese's book “Disrupt Yourself”.

The five most important questions the book revolves around are:

1. What is our mission?
2. Who is our customer?
3. What does the customer value?
4. What are our results?
5. What is our plan?

These questions made me think of exactly the methodical approach taught, for example, in the St. Galler Business Model Navigator or the Business Model Canvas. At their core, they are the same questions, but I have to say that answering them together in teams has become much more practical and methodical today. Today it's no longer purely a management task, and that's exactly where I see a big difference.

I think the book helps entrepreneurs sharpen their focus. In my own company, I noticed that I often wanted too much at the same time. In the end, that meant getting bogged down in too many topics and not really getting anything done. This is exactly where the guiding questions can help.

Peter F. Drucker doesn't appear alone in the book, either: certain subchapters are written by guest authors, which worked well too. I always felt the book read smoothly.

The book is especially suited to those of us in a hurry! It has a pleasant length. However, anyone expecting a methods toolbox will be disappointed. The book only tells us “why” something matters, but not how exactly to answer the questions. That's left up to you, but as mentioned earlier, there are already enough methods out there for that.

"Die fünf entscheidenden Fragen des Managements" is a successful guide for in between. Despite its age, its topics have lost little of their relevance. Even though I had the digital version, the quality of the book itself is praised several times – a small but fine detail.

It's a solid book for anyone interested in “manager topics”. The big difference to today, however, is that it's no longer purely a management task, but rather a team task that has to be carried out again and again.

At this point, I'd like to quickly give you a few tools for answering Mr. Drucker's questions in creative workshops:

1. Free Canvas Collection to make your business life easier
2. Innovation Tools
3. Canvases visualize complex business issues simply and collaboratively