A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

32 ■ A CLASS WITH DRUCKER
I eased into the empty classroom seat I had located and listened closely to
hear what kind of response such an impudent question would elicit.
How Peter Became a Management Consultant
Surprisingly, there was no rebuke, and Peter answered right to the point
and <strong>with</strong> no side commentary regarding my classmate’s brazenness in
asking the question. He said that his experience <strong>with</strong> management consulting
started just prior to the U.S. entry into World War II. With a doctoral
degree, he was mobilized for the war effort in a civilian capacity
and ordered to report to a certain army colonel. Peter was told that he
was to serve as a “management consultant.” <strong>Drucker</strong> said that he had no
idea what a management consultant was. He checked a dictionary, but
couldn’t find the term. He said he went to the library and the bookstore.
“Today,” he told us, “you will find shelves of titles on management. In
those days, there was almost nothing. The few books didn’t include the
term, much less explain it.” He asked several colleagues and had no better
luck. They didn’t know, either.
On the appointed time and date, <strong>Drucker</strong> proceeded to the colonel’s
office, wondering exactly what he was getting in to. A receptionist
asked him to wait, and then an unsmiling sergeant came to escort him
to the colonel. This must have been a little intimidating for a young
immigrant who not too many years earlier had fled from the military
dictatorship of Nazi Germany, where almost all party members wore
one sort of uniform or another.
Peter was led into the office by yet another stern-faced assistant. The
colonel glanced at Peter’s orders and invited him to be seated. He asked
Peter to tell him about himself and questioned him at some length about
his background and education. But though they seemed to talk on and on,
<strong>Drucker</strong> did not learn what the colonel’s office was responsible for, nor was
he given any understanding as to what he would be doing for the colonel
as a “management consultant.” It seemed as if they were talking round and
round, to no purpose.
<strong>Drucker</strong> was more than a little uncomfortable in dealing <strong>with</strong> the
colonel. He hoped that he would soon get to the point and explain exactly
what kind of work he would be involved in. He was growing increasingly
frustrated. Finally, Peter could take it no longer. “Please, sir, can you tell
me what a management consultant does?” he asked respectfully.