A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

HOW I BECAME THE STUDENT ■ 7
“In this new executive PhD program, you will still be required to do
research and write a dissertation on a specific business topic. You must
also meet the requirements for traditional research tools, such as taking a
qualifying examination and a proficiency examination in two foreign languages.
The difference is that your doctoral courses will not be in one area,
but will cover all of the various disciplines of business and economics.”
The requirement for two foreign languages was later changed to either
one foreign language and one research tool, or two research tools. I understand
that some years later the traditional requirement of mastery of a foreign
language was finally dropped altogether.
“Also,” the dean continued, “You will be required to take several
courses from Peter <strong>Drucker</strong>, as his management concepts are the basis of
the program.”
The magical name, “Peter <strong>Drucker</strong>,” grabbed my immediate attention.
I could not believe that the number-one managerial thinker and
writer in the country, and probably the world, was teaching at the very
university at which I was interviewing, one I had even suspected might
be a diploma mill. I didn’t want to insult Dean Albrecht about my disbelief
that this world famous professor could be at this university <strong>with</strong>
which I had previously been totally unfamiliar. So, I asked, “Which
“Peter <strong>Drucker</strong>” is this?” I guess it was a rather inane question, but it was
all I could think of to ask at the time to confirm that we were talking
about the same individual.
“I believe there is only one Peter <strong>Drucker</strong>,” Albrecht responded. I don’t
recall now if he was smiling or not when he said this to me. As Paul
described himself, he was a “taciturn German.” However, he was taciturn
<strong>with</strong> a sense of humor. I recall thinking at the time that he seemed somewhat
amused at my question. “Our new program has much to do <strong>with</strong>
<strong>Drucker</strong>’s ideas and way of thinking, and if you join us, you will be
required to take several courses from him as a minimum,” he repeated.
I decided right then that this was exactly what I wanted. I applied for
Claremont’s new program and was eventually accepted. A couple of months
later I was in a class <strong>with</strong> nine other executive PhD students <strong>with</strong> perhaps
the greatest management thinker of our time, teaming up <strong>with</strong> the man
behind the program, Dean Paul Albrecht. It was the first class of the new
program, limited to ten new executive doctoral students, and conducted
in a lounge room at the university faculty club. The class was completely
informal, <strong>with</strong> both Paul Albrecht and Peter <strong>Drucker</strong> leading the class in