A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

134 ■ A CLASS WITH DRUCKER
this bit of information was highly confidential, which I, perhaps foolishly,
had shared <strong>with</strong> several classmates.
As noted in previous chapters, the routine was that <strong>Drucker</strong>’s class
began at about 4:30 PM. We were in class for an hour and a half to two
hours. Then we had an hour break at the faculty club, during which we
socialized and shared a meal <strong>with</strong> our classmates and faculty. After this, we
returned to class for another couple of hours of class work.
One evening I was sitting at a table for six at this evening meal
break from our classroom instruction. I sat in the middle on one side
of a rectangular table, <strong>with</strong> Peter sitting on my right. My classmate sitting
on my left introduced me to a new student sitting opposite him.
“Bill, this is Joe Smith. He’s a vice president at your sister company,
Douglas Aircraft.”
Douglas Aircraft Company was located in Long Beach, California, only
a few miles away from McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company where
I worked, and all the senior executives from both divisions knew one
another. This new executive student was a colleague and at the same level
in the chain of command as my boss, Paul Smith. Paul was vice president
of marketing. Although some months before leaving I did tell Paul of my
plans, this was two years before my potential graduation and I had told no
one in my company.
Without pausing, my classmate turned to the newcomer and said, “Bill
works for the vice president of marketing at your sister company,
McDonnell Douglas Astronautics. However, Bill intends to quit and
become a professor as soon as he has his doctorate.”
I mentally sunk into my chair. I could have decked my big-mouth
classmate on the spot. Instead, I straightened up and managed a smile. My
hand shot out almost automatically. I shook the newcomer’s hand warmly
and said: “Hi, I’m Bill <strong>Drucker</strong>, Peter’s son.” Peter was talking to another
student sitting to his right and I didn’t think he even heard what was going
on, or my surprising statement claiming to be his progeny.
Peter completed his conversation <strong>with</strong> the other student. Then, he
turned slowly to me and said, “Bill, you may be my son, but I am not
your father.”
I was embarrassed, although I knew Peter had not taken my comment
seriously, nor was he offended by it. On the way back to class, I explained
what had occurred and why I had tried to claim a relationship as one of
his offspring.