A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

234 ■ A CLASS WITH DRUCKER
ideas borrowed from engineering, the arts, even law, won the day. From
the law he brought the importance of preparation prior to action. The
preparation he insisted on was so rigorous that some considered it ruthless.
Nevertheless, these attacks were not only successful but resulted in
much reduced casualties in attaining the victory, so he had the full support,
respect, and loyalty of his troops. Monash’s training of his corps in
the combined employment of infantry, artillery, airpower and use of tanks
together was unique at the time. This idea may have resulted from his
engineering background and absence of bias toward one favored branch.
He also pioneered various raiding techniques of the type which we today
call special operations and a strategy which avoided the head-on attacks
and the heavy casualties they required. His success in winning battle after
battle was said to be a major factor in breaking the Hindenburg Line.
“Some members of the British High Command taunted him that he was
only a ‘Jewish colonel of the reserve.’ Nevertheless King George V knighted
him on the field of battle. Monash was not only a generalist; he had developed
himself in the ‘product’ he became.”
Self-Development Is Up to the Individual
Peter had a definite viewpoint on what self-development really means. As
we continued talking over our meal that day, he shared more of his
thoughts on the subject.
“Of course, acquiring general knowledge is just one aspect of what we
term self-development. There are other aspects. In all, too many managers
depend on others for development. That is clearly not self-development.
This is a fault of our school system,” he said. “Students are taught that their
teachers and the system will help them learn everything they need to know,
which is nonsense, of course. Growing up thinking this, they believe that the
companies that employ them will just pick up where their schools left off.
This rarely happens, and in any case never happens to a sufficient extent.
“Consequently, we have very bright and educated managers graduating
from good schools whose development frequently progresses at a very
slow pace, if at all. They are unprepared for unforeseen obstacles and sometimes
retire years later knowing not much more than they did when they
finished school.
“It is not up to others to develop us once we leave the comfort of the
home or school, it is up to ourselves.”