A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

DEVELOP EXPERTISE OUTSIDE YOUR FIELD ■ 81
author mentally. All you need to do now is to organize these thoughts and
write them down.
Years ago I was taught a very simple way of doing this. State the premise,
question, or assertion in your introductory paragraph. Now, write
three to five elements which support what you say in the introduction.
Each one of these supporting arguments becomes a paragraph. In each
paragraph, write three to five proofs of each supporting point. Now, write
a concluding paragraph which restates your premise, questions, or assertion,
and sums up your supporting arguments. That’s it, you are done.
You can also find items from your daily newspaper. As problems
and crises arise, think them through, integrating the many different
aspects of the issue <strong>with</strong> which the article may or may not deal <strong>with</strong>.
Take the time to do a mini-analysis and write out your conclusions
and recommendations. You may even get them published if you send
a letter to the editor in charge of such responses.
If you have never thought of yourself as much of a writer, this may be
challenging at first. However, the more you write the better you’ll get at it.
If you carry this a step further to actually publish what you write, that’s
even better. This can net a number of additional benefits, including boosting
your credibility in whatever discipline you write. It will certainly
develop your ability as strategic thinker and help prepare you for the
strategic tasks and actions required of a top manager.
And one final thought. There is an old saying that until you write
something down, you really don’t understand it, so this will improve your
understanding of the subject matter as well.
<strong>Drucker</strong> Lesson Summary
Peter felt strongly that there were other important elements in becoming
an effective manager than the traditional tracks to the top. He specifically
mentioned past proven success and personal readiness for the job. He also
emphasized that any manager’s preparation for a top job was primarily the
responsibility of the individual executive.
<strong>Drucker</strong> clearly saw that certain abilities were needed by executives at
the strategic level which were not developed through challenges at the tactical
level, and he hit on a unique way for an executive to develop these
abilities. He encouraged us to become experts in at least one field outside
of our professions.